Unicef UK reported a record total income last year despite a turbulent period for the charity.
The charity’s accounts for 2020 show total income increased to £109.4m, up from £101.4m in the previous year. According to the charity register it last recorded a total income of more than £102m in 2016.
Income from donations and legacies in 2020 was up to £102m thanks to 86,000 regular new givers.
Unicef UK’s accounts also point to a positive performance in direct marketing and corporate partnerships, which increased by £5m and £7m year on year respectively.
Total spending increased by about £8m to £109.2m, while spending on charitable activities increased by more than £10m to £75.3m.
Total staff costs fell from £16.4m to £15.7m in 2020 as the overall number of employees fell slightly, to 351.
In his foreword to the accounts, Shatish Dasani, interim chair of the UK committee for Unicef, said: “The fundraising and campaign success of Unicef UK were all the more remarkable in the context of the organisational upheaval caused by the resignations of both the chair and the executive director in September 2020.”
He said the charity was determined to learn from this process and make lasting improvements to the culture of the organisation.
Aside from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the charity is still seeking a new executive director and chair after the previous post-holders’ departures last year.
The positive financial results come just a week after two consultants pulled out of a Unicef UK project and accused the charity of institutional racism.
The allegations were made following a difficult period for the charity during which Sacha Deshmukh, the charity’s previous executive director, resigned in September after making allegations of bullying behaviour against Douglas Alexander, then the charity’s chair.
Alexander, who was cleared of any bullying allegations in a subsequent independent investigation, also stepped down at the time the claims were made.