Funding concerns for charities

Figures released on 4 September by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations shows how the sector delivers significant public service on behalf of the government, with sector income from statutory sources totalling £12bn.

According to the report - The State and the Voluntary Sector (recent trends in government funding and public service delivery) - 25,000 voluntary organisations receive over three-quarters of their incomes from statutory sources to deliver crucial services in social care, education, housing, employment and training, law and advocacy.

Vital service

Stuart Etherington, chief executive officer at NCVO, pointed out: "These services are not just nice add-ons, they are critical to the wellbeing of communities across the UK."

The report came after Firm Foundations, a snapshot by the Charity Commission of how trusts and foundations are responding to the economic downturn.

Through interviews with the largest grant givers, it found that funding levels are being sustained despite the recession. The report stated: "The downturn has had a positive effect on governance in the trusts and foundations interviewed. They are taking a strategic and considered approach, with trustees reflecting more on their collective board responsibilities."

With charities lobbying hard to avoid funding cuts during the recession and board trustees acutely aware of the need to spend every penny wisely, the importance of expert, independent advice on insurance and risk management is heightened, something that a new service from Zurich could help to address.

The insurer works with more than 10,000 civil society organisations and, in conjunction with 115 brokers, is targeting its new propositions at three customer groups: care and retirement organisations; heritage, religion and culture organisations; and organisations involved with community activities groups.

Limited resources

With almost as many non-registered UK charities as registered, some organisations do not have access to critical information, nor do they appreciate the importance of addressing risk when it comes to safeguarding their businesses as well as their community activities and interests.

Paul Emery, Zurich's head of community and social organisations - its charity proposition - said: "We like to work with brokers with a specialism in the sector that understand the customer and the way the product has been designed. It is a growth segment being driven by the third [voluntary] sector taking an increasingly prominent place in society and government working more with them to deliver services."

According to Zurich, areas in which brokers can look to support communities include managing diverse risk issues and associated risks regarding outsourcing and tendering.

Central to the insurer's offering is working in partnership to enable communities and organisations, be they charitable or for-profit organisations, to run their operations safely and with minimum risk.

In the event of a claim, the insurer also provides legal support and attempts to mitigate the impact of an incident on a community, for example by helping to rehabilitate people to the point of being able to volunteer again, not simply returning them to work.

Emery concluded with an example: "We run a number of schemes tailored to meet the needs of village halls and parish councils, meaning that local communities are more knowledgeable about and better protected against risk."

With the charity sector remaining resilient, there are plenty of opportunities for brokers - backed by supportive insurers - to provide critical community enhancing advice and products.