Civil Society Almanac 2013

NCVO has published its UK Civil Society Almanac 2013, examining charity accounts for the financial year 2010/11, which shows the effect that high inflation had on charity sector finances in recent years.

The Almanac shows that in monetary terms, the charity sector generated an extra £2billion in income in 2010/11 compared to the previous year, with a total income of £38.3billion. However the rising costs of inflation at 5% wiped out the effect of this increase and meant that the sector’s real-terms income was almost identical to its level in 2009/10.

The Almanac registered its biggest fall in the sector’s real-terms spending since it began recording in 1996. Spending stood at £36.8billion in 2010/11, a real-terms fall in spending by the sector of £800million compared to the previous year’s inflation-adjusted figure of £37.6billion.

Other data in the Almanac, which covers a period when the UK was no longer in recession and before government plans to reduce public spending had come into effect, shows that:

• The proportion of income from government grants and contracts remained steady after a decade in which contract income had consistently increased and grant income decreased
• Individuals remained the sector’s dominant source of income, with income from individuals increasing by £945million. This trend is consistent with the UK Giving findings for that year.
• Sector assets regained value that they had lost during the recession, with the sector’s total assets topping £100billionn for the first time. Income from investments remained low, however, and reserve levels did not recover to the same extent as assets overall.

For further information and to view detailed data and analysis visit http://data.ncvo-vol.org.uk.