Cost of living resources & information

Policy, research and commentary

Citizens Advice has created a cost of living data dashboard sharing insights from across their advice service on how the crisis is affecting the people they help. The dashboard is regularly updated to track how the crisis in changing and to identify trends – Citizens Advice cost of living dashboard
The Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies (CABS) examines how older people are particularly vulnerable to a potential ‘heat or eat’ trade-off and to repercussions on health – Fuel or food? Health and policy implications for older people in the UK
Research from Sported / Ring has concluded that cost of living pressures are putting the future of many grassroots sports clubs in Wales at risk, and threatening to freeze young people out of participation – Cost of Living Research Report May 2023
The latest Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) survey found that 89% of food banks saw increased need for their help from January to March 2023 – IFAN survey April 2023
Donations to charities in the UK have significantly decreased as a result of the cost of living crisis according to new research from the Benefact Group – Charity donations halved to £4.3bn last year amid cost-of-living pressures, says research
Esmée Fairbairn foundation has published findings from research into the effects of the crisis on their funding recipients – Impact of the rising cost of living on organisations we fund
Senedd Research has released a report on the crisis affecting culture and sport in Wales – The impact of the increased cost of living on culture and sport
Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, Chief Executive of the Wallich, has warned Wales must be ready for a big surge in homelessness – ITV Cymru’s Wales This Week
Wellbeing Economy Alliance are hosting an event on 29 March 2023 on ‘The path towards a Global Living Wage’ – March WEAll Talk – Living Wage Foundation: ‘Global Living Wage’
Civil Society has published a piece on how working with service users and partners can help organisations operate more effectively – Kim Bond: Collaboration is key to charities surviving the economic crisis
New Bevan Foundation research reveals the extent of the hardship caused by the cost of living crisis – A snapshot of poverty in winter 2023
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have produced a report on poverty in the UK – UK Poverty 2023: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK
The Resolution Foundation has produced a briefing note on how people with disabilities are experiencing the crisis – Costly differences – Living standards for working-age people with disabilities
An update from Welsh Government’s chief statistician provides signposting to useful sources of data – Chief statistician’s update: where to find data and analysis on the cost of living crisis
Senedd Research are warning that the cost of living crisis is a public health emergency – The cost to life: how soaring living costs affect people’s health and wellbeing
The Community Foundation has released a report on finances, assets, and organisational wellbeing – Third Sector Trends in England and Wales 2022
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed that energy support for non-domestic customers (including voluntary sector organisations) will be reduced from March onwards – The government unveils new ‘Energy Bills Discount Scheme’ for businesses

Results of a new survey estimate that a third of local charities in the UK are seeing utility costs rise by over 60% – Third of local charities seeing utility costs increase by over 60%
UK government have published guidance from the Charity Commission on managing financial difficulties in your charity arising from cost of living pressures
Welsh Government released its draft budget for 2023/24, with specific support for cost of living (page 21) – Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24. The BBC has provided wider analysis of the budget as a whole – Welsh government budget: What does it mean for me?
A brief by the Older People’s Commissioner has warned that some 80,000 eligible households in Wales are not claiming what they are entitled to in Pension Credit – Pension Credit: Action needed so older people don’t miss out
New research by the Living Wage Foundation reveals that minority ethnic workers are disproportionately employed in the UK’s most insecure jobs – minority ethnic workers disproportionately employed in UK’s most precarious jobs
This article looks at research from Senedd Research explaining the impact of the cost of living crisis on women and why women are particularly vulnerable – ‘Women are the shock absorbers of poverty’: the impact of the cost of living on women
National Energy Action’s Warm and Safe Houses (WASH) campaign is calling for action to keep more people warm and well this winter. The campaign pack is available for anyone who wants to get involved – Warm and Safe Homes campaign
New Philanthropy Capital have created a briefing note for MPs on how to work with charities during the cost-of-living crisis – Working with charities – a guide for MPs
The Runnymede Trust has published a report showing black and minority ethnic people are disproportionately affected by the crisis, with Wales being one of the places where this is more pronounced – Cost of living crisis highlights racial inequalities
NCVO are calling for continued energy bill support for voluntary organisations and have created a template letter for writing to your MP about the issue – Call for continuing energy bill support for voluntary organisations
Public Health Wales have published a report – Cost of living crisis in Wales: A public health lens. An executive summary and infographic are also available
WCVA and Living Wage Wales have published a blog – top tips on how to be a Living Wage funder
WCVA’s Head of Policy, Ben Lloyd has some sobering feedback from our recent engagement with the voluntary sector about the cost of living
WCVA’s CEO Ruth Marks reflects on the cost-of-living crisis and what it means for the voluntary sector in Wales in this blog, Keeping the lights on
Joint statement from WCVA and other charities calls on the Chancellor to act now on the cost of living crisis – Civil Society group joint statement
The GOOD Agency have been looking into what the cost of living crisis means for charitable giving and are sharing findings from their Cost of Giving Monitor report to help charities and communicators prepare for what is ahead – What the cost of living crisis means for giving
The Institute of Health Equity have issued a new report reviewing the direct and indirect impacts of fuel poverty and cold homes on health, the inequalities who this effects the most, and the relation between health inequalities and climate change – Fuel Poverty, Cold Homes and Health Inequalities in the UK
The Cost of Living – Help and Hope, a new webinar series run by The Benefact Group starting on the 1 March. The first session will explore key implications for organisations and the sector. Click here to learn more and register

Funding and fundraising

Sports Wales’ Energy Saving Grant is supporting sports clubs to make energy-saving improvements and save money – Energy Saving Grant
Our Sustainable Funding Manager, Alison Pritchard has written a blog on how to make good fundraising decisions in a crisis
NPC has written a piece to help voluntary organisations talk to funders about the impacts of rising costs – How to talk to funders about the cost-of-living crisis
JustGiving has produced a winter fundraising guide – How to successfully fundraise through the winter season

Listen to a podcast recorded by Philanthropisms Podcast discussing how philanthropists should respond to the cost of living crisis – Listen: Philanthropy in a cost of living crisis
The Wales Funders Forum has release a statement on how funders are responding to the cost of living crisis – Wales Funders Forum statement on the cost-of-living crisis
Children in Need announce new funding strands for Autumn 2022 which includes funding for core costs – Children in Need grants
The National Lottery Community Fund has made £2 million available to help organisations and the communities they serve to address the impact of the cost of living crisis in Wales – The National Lottery Community Fund

Energy and property issues

The Government has announced an extension to its Energy Price Guarantee, which was due to be scaled back from April – Energy bill help to continue until end of June
UK Government have a collection of household energy saving tips – Energy saving tips to save money
UK government announces plans to help businesses and voluntary organisations with energy bills. Though this will be reduced from April 2023 – Energy Bill relief scheme
The UK Government announced an Energy Price Guarantee which will mean that the energy prices will be frozen at £2,500 for the average household until April 2023. This will be in addition to the previously announced £400 support per household. Support will be targeted at a smaller number of households following this
DTA Wales delivers the Energy Action Group (EAG) service which can provide competitive quotes in order to save your community owned asset or enterprise significant money

Antonia Swinson, CEO of the Ethical Property Foundation has shared her thoughts on how to cut your organisation’s energy costs in a blog for Charities Aid Foundation – Cutting your charity’s energy costs: what you need to know today
Ruaire Glackin from Utility Aid have shared a helpful guide to energy use – Understanding energy consumption
This article from Daniel McCool, writing for IWA, explores how the development of shared mobility schemes in Wales would help with the rising cost of transport and enable sustainable travel – Can Shared Mobility Support Transport Decarbonisation in a Cost-of-living Crisis?
National Energy Action have produced a series of multi-lingual information leaflets aimed at frontline workers to help provide advice in communities – NEA Information leaflets
Gus Williams, CEO of Bevan Buckland LLP, provides an insight into the factors that are impacting global energy markets and seeing our energy bills rise – Gas and Energy Prices – what’s going on?
WCVA are hosting a webinar with Utility Aid about managing rising energy costs on 13 March. The aim of this webinar is to support organisations struggling with rising energy costs, by helping them understand their bills, how to reduce their consumption and understand what support is available. Click here to register.

Financial management

DSC (Directory of Social Change) has a piece on managing financial hardship and your mental health at the same time – Managing financial challenges and protecting your mental health
Siân Eagar, WCVA’s Resilience Officer, summarises the key learning points from Gus Williams’ recent talk on financial management in the cost of living crisis – Managing your finances through challenging times
Charities Aid Foundation has recommendations for coping with rising operational costs and building longer-term resilience – Key priorities for charities amid rising operational costs
In response to concerns about the impact of the economic situation on charitable donations, Blackbaud have put together seven practical steps that voluntary organisations can take to innovate and build financial resilience – Seven steps to take today

Charity consultant, Nick Moore gives some advice on how to deal with inflation – Charities and the inflationary challenge
This article from ICAEW gives an overview of the financial concerns for charities and some tips for navigating difficult times – Cost of living crises hits charity sector hard
Pro Bono Economics have produced a guide explaining the impact that inflation will have on charities – What UK charities need to know about inflation
In this article Charity Digital look at how we can prepare for a possible recession – How to prepare for a recession
Rathbones suggest five top tips to help with fundraising – Five tips for fundraising during a downturn
This article from the Cranfield Trust gives some practical tips on financial management – Managing your finances in a high inflation environment

Governance and decision making

WCVA’s Resilience Officer has shared Top tips for decision making in a crisis, based on the key learning points from our cost of living event ‘Decision making in a crisis’

Three quick tips for keeping your leadership on track while working on your organisation’s response to the current cost pressures from Ben Wittenberg at DSC – Leadership in hard times
This article from Simon Hickman, CEO, Assess Insurance looks at the importance of risk management in decision making – Assessing risk in strategic responses to cost of living pressures

People

Welsh Government have added a Benefits Calculator to their cost of living page to help people understand and access the support that’s available to them – Get help with the cost of living
The Welsh Government has an advice line to help people access the support that’s available to help them with the cost of living crisis – Here to help with the cost of living
The Living Wage Foundation has launched the Living Pension Employer standard, a new programme to tackle low pension saving amongst low-paid workers – Living Pension launched to provide low-paid workers with security and stability in retirement
Bates & Wells have pulled together resources for supporting current employees in financial difficulties – Managing the cost of living crisis
BBC Wales has mapped out the warm hubs that are available by region – Cost of living: Where can you keep warm in Wales this winter?

David Jessop from Charities Aid Foundation has guidance on supporting voluntary sector staff – Six ways to support staff during the cost-of-living crisis
Healthy Working Wales has launched a new website section for employers with advice on how they can support their staff’s health and wellbeing with links to useful financial wellbeing services and resources – Healthy Working Wales guidance
Here are some ideas from Greenpark about how to support employees – How can organisations support their employees?
The Royal Voluntary Service has produced practical guidance on how to keep homes warm this winter – Stay Safe, Warm and Well guide for winter health and wellbeing
News about the latest increase to the Real Living Wage – Real Living Wage
Mental Health & Money Advice have created this page providing information to help maintain mental wellbeing, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise – Cost-of-living crisis and your mental health

Other sources of help

Healthy Working Wales has created a cost of living crisis page as part of their health and workplace guidance for employers – Health and Wellbeing Workplace Guidance – The Cost of Living Crisis
The Bevan Foundation have a series of events & webinars related to cost of living – Upcoming Events & Webinars
Citizens Advice are running monthly briefing with updates on data and insights from the ‘frontline’ of the cost of living crisis – Citizens Advice Cost of Living series
We’ve developed a safeguarding checklist for those that are setting up warm hubs – Warm hubs – safeguarding checklist
Cranfield Trust’s Jayne Kendall provides some practical tips to help voluntary organisations address the cost of living crisis – Prepare, act and survive
Public Health Wales is hosting an online summit to support partners in collaboration efforts to prevent short, medium and long-term harms of the cost of living crisis – All Wales Cost of Living Summit
Senedd Research have put together a list of help and information for households, businesses, charities and public sector organisations across Wales – Help and information on cost of living support
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) have created a Charity Resource Hub, drawing together resources on a range of topics such as governance, planning and funding to help navigate the cost of living crisis – Charity Resource Hub

Warm Wales have put together a guide to help navigate the financial support that is available to individuals during this time – Cost of living support
Chartered Institute of Fundraising have brought together relevant research, guidance and advice to help voluntary organisations keep generating income during this time – Chartered Institute of Fundraising
The Directory for Social Change have created a page drawing together a selection of their resources to support voluntary organisations – DSC cost of living hub
The Charity Excellence framework have launched #surviveandthrive as their response to the cost of living crisis, offering a range of resources and grant funding information – Charity Excellence
ACEVO are gathering links to reports, surveys and important data to support civil society leaders to better understand the impact of the crisis on their organisations, stakeholders and the sector at large – AVECO cost of living page
New Philanthropy Capital have created a guide with information on the impact of the cost of living crisis and how charities can adapt – NPC confronting the cost of living crisis
Cranfield Trust have a telephone advice service to help charities troubleshoot and get answers to pressing management questions – Cranfield Trust On Call
Welsh Government advice on the support available to individuals – Get help with the cost of living

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Cost of living resources & information

On this page you will find a collection of resources and information offering support to voluntary organisations relevant to the challenges raised by the cost of living crisis.

Policy, research and commentary

Funding and fundraising

Energy and property issues

Financial management

Governance and decision making

People

Other sources of help

Search WCVA

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Cost of living resources & information

On this page you will find a collection of resources and information offering support to voluntary organisations relevant to the challenges raised by the cost of living crisis.

Policy, research and commentary

Funding and fundraising

Energy and property issues

Financial management

Governance and decision making

People

Other sources of help