The Wheel Celebrates International Day of Charity

The International Day of Charity (5 September) was established by the United Nations to raise awareness and provide a common platform for charity-related activities all over the world for individuals, charitable, philanthropic and volunteer organisations.

This is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the contribution of the half a million volunteers, 165,000 staff and 86,000 volunteer directors and trustees supporting Ireland's 35,000 community and voluntary organisations (of which 11,000 are registered charities).

The sector includes thousands of charities, community groups, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises. These organisations provide supports, services and advocacy in every community in the country — in areas like health and disability, social care, education, housing, poverty relief, the arts, sport and international development.

Charities often work in partnership with state agencies and government departments that fund or part-fund their work – and the sector plays a key role in Ireland’s hybrid public services system.

They all face similar challenges — all need to raise funds to survive, they all need occasional support and advice, and they all need to attract committed volunteers if they are to survive. Additionally, the state depends on many charities as part of its strategy for delivering essential services and developing communities — and funding arrangements often do not reflect this reality, which creates challenges for both service delivery and staff retention.

Both the Government and the public can take action to charities achieve better outcomes for the people they serve.

Arguably the biggest issue facing our sector now is pay parity for organisations delivering essential services on behalf of the state. Section 39/56/10 organisations, named for the Acts under which they are funded, deliver disability supports, older people's services, children's services, family care, addiction, and homelessness services. Over 2,000 community organisations and charities work in collaboration with the HSE, and 700 organisations deliver child and family services funded by Tusla. Hundreds more provide services for people experiencing homelessness. These organisations' commitment to addressing the needs of vulnerable groups and their ability to adapt to changing demands makes them indispensable in delivering people-centred, responsive, and local services. Despite their importance, Section 39/56/10 organisations face a pay and staffing crisis, struggling to retain and recruit staff due to pay deficits compared to civil service staff performing similar roles. This issue, exacerbated by a widening pay gap that could reach an average of 11.69% by October if unaddressed, threatens the sector's ability to maintain and expand service delivery.

According to a recent survey, 60% of members of The Wheel did not begin 2023 with sufficient funding for the year ahead. A third of respondents hold no reserves. These stark figures reflect the serious position many of our members find themselves in due to both recent global events and pre-existing challenges that have not yet been addressed. Funding concerns are central to the sector, with so many organisations in ongoing states of financial precarity. Many of these organisations are delivering essential public services, and they require a funding model that reflects this reality. Multi-annual funding models would result in better outcomes for both charities and for the state departments with which they collaborate. This applies even to services and activities not deemed “essential,” but which are, nonetheless, entirely necessary threads in the fabric of a vibrant society, such as arts programmes, animal welfare, community activities, and more. Improved funding models enable long-term planning, assist effective staff recruitment and retention, and help to deliver better and more sustainable services.

The high cost and poor availability of insurance cover continue to have a negative impact on our members. While we acknowledge the very positive progress made by the Government in this area in recent times, it has not yet had the desired impact on liability insurance. We urge Government to do everything in its power to increase underwriting capacity in the liability market, encourage competition, and improve the availability of cover.

Charities can’t exist without the public's generous support. Anyone can help by volunteering their time and skills, donating to their favourite cause, leaving a legacy to a charity in their will, or supporting Ireland’s 4,300 social enterprises or any of the thousands of charity shops across Ireland.

Community and voluntary activity creates significant social value (sometimes called ‘social capital’) and, quite simply, it sustains communities, builds a sense of common purpose and creates trust and willingness to work together in our society – this is something that should be celebrated and cherished.