Coronavirus: Rural community groups threatened by crisis
And in the context of the above article, here’s the rub. Whilst this news item is from Northern Ireland, I know from my own survey work in Lincolnshire that between a third and 50% of Voluntary and Community bodies have lost their income base. We need to think seriously how we address this if we are to hang onto the infrastructure to take us positively forward into 2021. This article reveals:
One in four community groups in rural areas said the pandemic is threatening their future financial viability.
Such organisations have provided vital services in recent weeks, providing telephone support, checking on the elderly and vulnerable people and delivering food and medicines.
An umbrella body said it would have expected more of its 225 members to be under financial pressure.
It said bigger organisations are facing more problems than smaller ones.
That is because they tend to own a premises and employ full-time staff whereas the smaller organisations rely on a volunteer workforce.
The findings were in a survey for the Rural Community Network.
“Groups in rural communities have really stepped into the breach in terms of responding to need during the lockdown,” said policy officer Aidan Campbell.
“The government couldn’t have done it without them, but the concern has to be how long that can keep going.”