Support charities during the coronavirus outbreak

[Andy]

Just thought I would highlight that at this time of great upheaval, the income for charities will be impacted heavily, ironically at a time when many will be required the most.

Behind the scenes, I have been told that charities, both ME ones and otherwise, are looking at significant reductions to their income - anywhere between 25 to 50% has been talked about (obviously as an estimate).

So my request is that, if you can comfortably afford it, either maintain that regular donation that you might make, or even consider making a new donation to the charity of your choice

ETA: The word "been" so that my sentence now makes sense.

 

[Andy]

Just bumping this to remind people if you can comfortably afford it, please support charities financially - to my knowledge they aren't receiving any additional government support in this time.

 

[Andy]

Are you currently a member of the ME Association? Subscriptions are a vital part of our charity income and they allow us to help make the UK a better place for people with M.E.

Moreover, the more members we have, the more representative we can be – which is especially useful when trustees and staff take part in medical and societal debate, or we decide to launch a specific campaign.

When you join, you will receive a membership pack and will be updated with our magazine. You do not have to personally have ME to join the ME Association, so please do share with loved ones so that they can keep up to date on the information.

Please join here: https://meassociation.org.uk/get-involved/membership/

https://www.facebook.com/meassociation/posts/3173318826059087

And in case you are wondering how much it costs

Membership subscriptions

Full membership of the ME Association is available to all adults with M.E., carers and anyone with an interest in the disease.

• £18.00 (UK residents and BFPO)
• £24.00 (Mainland Europe including Republic of Ireland)
• £30.00 (Rest of the World)

 

[Andy]

We need your help. We have to raise £7500 in pledges by 28th August to help us continue and to expand a campaign that provides vital information to medical and allied health professionals about M.E. on a regular basis throughout the year!

https://meassociation.org.uk/2020/0...drive-change-in-medical-attitudes-towards-me/

 

[Trish]

That seems a very worthwhile campaign to raise money for. I'm happy to donate to it. I'm struggling to understand why it's not just asking for straight donations, rather than complicating it with a pledging scheme.

 

[It's M.E. Linda]

Reply from ME Association on twitter:

 

[Andy]

It's not just ME charities affected.

Government must act now to save charity-funded research

The pandemic has seen charities’ income plummet. As the UK went into lockdown charity shops were closed, fundraising events were cancelled, and donations were diverted to NHS charities.

AMRC [Association of Medical Research Charities] members are reporting a 38% loss in fundraising income. This leaves many of our charities with no option but to pause or stop research, withdraw funding calls, furlough charity staff and make redundancies.

Whilst some charities are receiving funding from Government's £750 million support package, medical research charities have so far been overlooked. With no financial support in sight, AMRC charities are projecting an average 41% decrease in their research spend over the next year, a £252-£368 million shortfall.

https://www.amrc.org.uk/blog/government-must-act-now-to-save-charity-funded-research

 

[MEMarge]

That seems a very worthwhile campaign to raise money for. I'm happy to donate to it. I'm struggling to understand why it's not just asking for straight donations, rather than complicating it with a pledging scheme.

It looks like they needed to have pledges of £7.5k to be eligible for the BIG GIVE in December, where they hope to reach £30k

"We are hoping to reach a target of £30,000 in total which will help finance the campaign in 2021/22.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge specialises in helping charities get more bang for their buck out of fundraising – something that we’re in dire need of this year following the fall-off in funds because of the coronavirus crisis.


Help us to reach more health professionals. Please pledge your support for our campaign!
In December, supporters can double their donations until the matched-funding pot has been emptied. The first matched funds to be used will be those kindly promised by pledgers.

We’re hoping you will be generous enough to pledge a total of £7,500 to get us started by 28th August.

When those promises have run out, money pledged by the Big Give’s own band of community-minded commercial companies and private philanthropists’ kicks in. We’ve asked to be considered for another £7,500 worth of promises from that quarter.."

https://meassociation.org.uk/2020/0...drive-change-in-medical-attitudes-towards-me/