19 posters in Sheffield, England

CREDIT: TIM DENNELL - ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL 2.0 GENERIC (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Programmes at risk as more NGOs face closure

6 MAY 2020

More NGOs face cuts and closures as the volatile Covid-19 crisis continues. Our latest survey shows that 50 out of 116 organisations won’t survive longer than six months without additional funding. 

This is an increase from 34 NGOs who said they faced closure after six months in our previous survey in late March. We surveyed our members again in late April to get more information on the repercussions of Covid-19 on international NGOs’ finances and operations. 

NGOs are doing what they can to continue supporting the world’s most vulnerable people. But as financial pressures increase, 53% of respondents said that they have already or are planning on cutting programmes. 

Here are the key findings from our survey of 116 CEOs of Bond members (representing over a quarter of our membership), ranging from small to large organisations. 

More NGOs face closure in the next six months  

43% of respondents said that their organisations will fold within six months unless they receive additional funding from other sources, whether public fundraising, institutional donors or the UK government. CAF’s latest survey shows that only 13% of British people are likely to donate to international charities, compared to 28% who are likely to donate to national charities and 48% who would donate to local charities. 

DFID is providing some flexibility to those who already hold grants or contracts to help them cope with the effects of the virus on their programmes, although further clarification is needed. Only a quarter of Bond’s members receive direct funding from DFID currently.