Digging deep on Leeside
Pockets in Cork are as deep as ever this year, as charities enjoy a festive surge, but they are bracing for a post-Christmas drop-off in donations.
According to a number of Cork charities, the months following the festive period can be very challenging.
Carla Ankiah of Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI) told the Cork Independent that although 2019 has been the organisation’s best year to date for fundraising, she expects a big dip in the New Year.
“January and February are very poor months in terms of income generation for us. If it's not achieved before Christmas, January and February can be a bit of a struggle. Come March, we start to gather some momentum, but the beginning of the year can be very difficult months for most charities,” said Carla.
She added: “Other than people lodging money they've collected at Christmas for us, we don't get any other income as such. But at the end of the day, it's understandable. People have spent a lot of money on Christmas.”
She also highlighted how competitive the Christmas period can be for charities due to the large amount of different organisations upping their efforts.
Carla said: “It's a very competitive time of year of charities. There's a lot of them looking for support at this time of year. We find our existing support network is very generous, but in terms of recruiting new supporters, it's probably not the best time of year.”
Chief Executive of Good Shepherd, which encompasses Edel House, Allison Aldred, told the Cork Independent that most of the organisation’s funds are raised towards the end of the year when donations of food and gifts for homeless families peak.
Ms Aldred said: “You see that pattern where most of our fundraising would be done in the fourth quarter, and then the first half of the following year can be fairly quiet.”
Paula McGovern, Head of Fundraising and Communications for Marymount Hospice, says that there will always be a donations drop-off after Christmas.
She said: “In fundraising there's always a dip, and that's okay. People are very generous around Christmas time and you really can't be going out asking for money constantly. People have their own needs.”
Marymount Hospice is currently running its Light Up a Life appeal which allows donors to share memories and dedicate a message to a loved one online.
As the homeless crisis continues on Leeside, Paul Sheehan at Cork Simon says that fundraising is going well this year but that Christmas can be a particularly tough time for people who use the service.
“People in Cork have been very supportive of us and the work we do throughout the year. Coming up to Christmas, people are particularly generous.
“Our main challenge is to try to accommodate everybody who is looking for a bed. It can play heavy on people's minds, remembering what they had, what they might have had; what was, what might have been,” he added.
Mícheál Sheridan, CEO of the Mercy Foundation, said that he feels Christmas is a time of year to think of the welfare of others. Rather than rely on public fundraising, the Mercy Foundation relies on its long term support at this time of year.
“We feel that Christmas is a time to give to homelessness and welfare, so we do our own fundraising primarily asking our own database of supporters to support projects that we might have at this time of year. We don't do any public fundraising at this time of year,” said Mícheál.
Visit the charities’ websites on how you can donate.