Charities feeling the pinch
Charities across Cork are down more than €1 million in donations because of Covid-19, the Cork Independent can reveal.
The pandemic has meant that annual collections and fundraisers couldn’t take place this year which many charities depend on to keep their services running.
SHARE, which will launch its fundraising collections and crib next week, has made changes to the way the public can donate.
James Cuddigan, Chair of the 2020 SHARE executive, said: “We are expecting less people in town, and a bigger logistics challenge in terms of shift changes for students collecting.“We are also facing the very practical reality, in that some people don’t carry cash anymore. So we have adapted and added 50 ‘tap to donate’ collection boxes this year and we have also secured a premises on Princes Street, where we can manage the sanitising of equipment.”
James added: “We are also accepting online donations on sharecork.org and we are delighted to see donations coming already, which are greatly appreciated.”
Meanwhile Focus Ireland has said that some donations are down as much as 90 per cent on last year. Focus Ireland Southwest Manager, Gerard Spillane, said: “We need the continued backing of Cork people who have already been hugely supportive. Crucially, 89 cent of every one euro we spend goes directly back into the services we deliver.
“Donations from individuals, community and business would be down 90 per cent for 2020 compared to last year in terms of toys and presents. Festive foods has seen a reduction, probably in the region of 25 per cent. We have been encouraging donations in the form of vouchers and gift cards from both the general public and business,” he added.
Donate at focusireland.ie.
Homeless charity Cork Simon is also feeling the pinch with all of its community-based events brought to a halt since mid-March.
A spokesperson said: “The most significant casualties were our annual fundraising ball in April which was cancelled. It usually raises around €100,000. Also cancelled were our annual street collection in late November which usually raises around €60,000 and, of course, our church gate collections, which usually raise around €30,000.”
The spokesperson warned: “December will be a critical month for us for fundraising – it is usually the busiest month and how the year turns out for us will very much depend on the next couple of weeks. We are concerned about 2021. It is difficult to gauge the economic and social impact of the Covid-related restrictions, but we expect there will be an impact.”
Visit corksimon.ie to donate.
Animal charity CSPCA has also said that donations are down but recognised that 2020 has been an extraordinary year. Vincent Cashman, Manager of the CSPCA, said: “All charities, human and animal, have felt the pressure to review fundraising activities because Covid-19 made it impossible to engage with the public as we normally love to do.
“At the CSPCA, our state funding is a solid support, and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have generous donors who have been brilliant in sending us donations and even vouchers for pet stores which all go to the best possible use.” Visit cspca.ie to donate. Meanwhile, SVP is asking the public to support its car draw. A spokesperson said: “While we are delighted and so grateful for the generosity we have received to date, we would like to really encourage people to continue their support during this extremely challenging year and ask people once again to consider supporting our annual Christmas Car Draw.”
Elsewhere Marymount’s fundraising has been affected as it had to cancel all of its events and many campaigns.
A spokesperson said: “We have lost more than €1m as a result of all of these cancellations and decreases in donations. Many people have been incredibly creative and innovative in how they have supported Marymount this year – from online solo runs to wearing red for the day to mask sales to solo online choirs. We are as always indebted to the people of Cork for their support.”
Support the Marymount Light Up your Live campaign at lightupalife.marymount.ie while Christmas cards and gifts are available at marymount.ie.
Good Shepherd Cork’s fundraising has also been impacted. Allison Aldred, CEO at Good Shepherd Cork, explained: “We have had to cancel our annual December church gate collection and the shopping centre collections we undertake during the year which, in total, raise approximately €30,000. Despite these challenges, our dedicated team is busy preparing to make Christmas magical for families and children who are homeless. We are delighted and amazed by the generosity of people who are donating to Good Shepherd Cork this year and, as always, it’s very much appreciated.” Donations can be made at goodshepherdcork.ie or by post to Edel House, Grattan Street, Cork.