The Third Sector: 'pivoting' on 'the other side'

I’ve never been a fan of the National Lottery – I’ve never even bought a ticket. Call me old fashioned but I’ve always been of the view that public services should be funded from the public purse.

Don’t get me wrong. As someone who was a Third Sector Board member for over a decade, I’m acutely aware of the value that lottery funding brings. It concerns me however that those least able to afford it may be encouraged to spend a greater proportion of their income on scratch cards and the like thus perpetuating the poverty trap.

Last week, the BBC’s ‘Big Night In’ combined Children in Need with Comic Relief to raise over ￡27m for good causes, which the Government has pledged to match. To put this in context, last year Children in Need raised almost ￡48m – down 5% on their record high in 2018 of ￡50.6m. Comic Relief’s biannual Red Nose Day 2019 brought in ￡63.5m – down 10% on their 2017 total if over ￡71m. 

The reduced revenue may be indicative of redefined individual priorities in lockdown. That said, Captain Tom Moore pottering around his garden captured the mood and matched the ‘Comics in Need’ level of fundraising. There was already a downward trend which should be much more troubling for the Third Sector. 

The RSA’s Director of Economy, Enterprise and Manufacturing, Asheem Singh, points out:

Most charities have fewer than four months of reserves – and this includes many of the biggest charity brands, whose work will be crucial as we go through this crisis. Indeed, many charities in the UK with a turnover of less than a million have nothing resembling a sustainable reserves policy at all.

Elsewhere, ‘pivot’ seems to be something of a word du jour. ‘On the other side’ is right up there too.

On the other side, assuming they can make it that far, the Third Sector must pivot to survive. The notion of being too big to fail has long since been dispelled. 

I don’t know what the other side will look like but I may just buy a ticket and hope that my numbers come up!

• About the Author: Paul Sullivan LLM was called to the Bar in 2001, dual-qualifying as a Solicitor in 2008. In 2019, he was elected to Membership of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM) and awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). Paul writes a regular 'Blawg' at https://blog.lawmark.uk