Net income at Guide Dogs fell by 92 per cent last year, new figures show.
The charity’s accounts for 2022 show its surplus dropped from £43m in 2021 to £3.4m last year.
The documents show the charity recorded an income of £142m in 2022, down £11m on the previous year. Guide Dogs said the 2021 figure had been boosted by an “exceptional legacy of £16m” in 2021.
Income from donations and legacies also came down from £141.9m in 2021 to £131.1m in 2022.
The charity also recorded investment losses of £10.3m in 2022, which the charity attributed to an “exceptional external environment.” This is compared with a £7m increase in 2021.
Despite income being down, the organisation increased spending on charitable activities from £81.6m to £95.7m – and within this, it increased spending on the provision of guide dog services from £53.2m to £63.8m.
This funding went towards establishing the Guide Dogs Academy on 15 sites, hiring 59 additional specialist guide dog trainees and increasing the number of qualified canine technical staff to 233 (from 220 in 2021).
The average number of people employed by the charity in 2022 was 1,734, up by 111 on the previous year.
A spokesperson told Third Sector: “In 2021 we received an exceptional legacy of £16m which significantly boosted our income figures for the year. This is the primary reason for our dip in income in 2022.
“Indeed we are reassured to have only seen a relatively modest drop in donations year-to-year, despite the additional pressures of cost-of-living on UK households and a widespread tightening of discretionary spending – including charitable donations.
When asked what the charity was doing to improve the situation in the future, the spokesperson said: “Despite troubling economic headwinds and the significant challenges posed to our sector and donors by the cost-of-living crisis, we are pleased to have sustained our fundraising efforts and are deeply grateful to our supporters who have enabled our income to remain stable.
“This year we remain focused on providing excellent supporter experiences through our core fundraising pillars, such as Sponsor a Puppy, but ensuring we continue to reach new audiences and accelerate growth in core areas of opportunity such as events, commercial partnerships and developing our trading arm.
“We are also harnessing existing and emerging technology to bring compelling fundraising propositions to the best space to engage younger, broader audiences through ”must do” motivational campaigns.
“We can be categorical that the slight dip in income will not impact our services or the provision of the guide dog service this year or in the future.
The investments we have made in our people, places and programmes mean we are in the strongest possible position to accelerate and scale our services to help more people with sight loss.”