The overwhelming majority of small charities have been hit with higher costs during the cost-of-living crisis – and say they are braced for things to get even worse.
Three quarters of small charities and community groups said everyday costs had gone up in the last 12 months and more than half faced higher energy bills, research shows.
The data, released by the firm Easyfundraising, says that a third of small charities saw demand for their services grow at the same time as costs rose.
One charity told researchers: “Costs for all services have increased. Contractors, subscriptions, materials and services have all increased.”
Just under half said they expected costs to carry on increasing during the next year and six in 10 are making plans based on falling donations from the public.
James Moir, the firm’s chief executive, said: “People still want to give to the causes that they care about, but household budgets are stretched and often something has to give.”
About 20 per cent of small charities told researchers they also anticipate a fall in their volunteer numbers next year.
Another charity said that it would need to spend more on equipment because its corporate partners were cutting back on the amount of goods they donated to local groups.
Inflation hit 40-year highs earlier this year amid spiralling energy bills and warnings that the charity sector faced an “all-hand-on-deck crisis”.
Easyfundraising surveyed 1,600 small charities and grassroots community groups in March and April.