The voluntary sector in the UK: characteristics and some contemporary challenges

John MohanProfessor of Social Policy and Co-Director, Third Sector

Research Centre, University of Birmingham

mohanj@bham.ac.uk

Some comments on the strengths and limitations of voluntary action

• “charity always does too much or too little: it lavishes its bounty in one place, and leaves people to starve in another” (John Stuart Mill, 1848)

• "it took the first half of the 20th century for the country to recognise that charities could not provide the services that a modern society needs; and the second half to realise that the state by itself could not do so either. Both charities and state were needed.” (Malcolm Dean, The Guardian, October 2013)

• “the map of social action in Britain is a vibrant kaleidoscope of institutions and organisations, competing and combining, developing effective local responses to local needs” (David Cameron, 2006)

Popularity of charitable causes

Animals

Hosps / re

hab

Nursing h

omes / h

ospice

Other hlth

Researc

h

Religio

nSp

orts

Internat

Soc s

erv

Envir

onment

Housing

Civic /

advo

c

Mental

hlth

grantm

akers

Culture

/ arts

Prim / s

ec ed

law / l

egal

Other ed

uc

Empl /

train

Econ, so

c, comm dev

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Philanthropic particularism: proportion of charities reporting legacy income, by ICNPO

Series1

Principal income sources, UK charities

Charities / 1000 pop0.81 - 1.37

1.38 - 1.77

1.78 - 2.20

2.24 - 3.23

3.24 - 14.06

Charity deserts? Ratio of charitable organisations to population, England, 2010Or, as William Gibson said: “The future is out there, it’s just not evenly distributed”

Median charity expenditure

Charities / 1000

0.81 - 1.48

1.49 - 1.97

1.98 - 2.89

2.89 - 14.1

Distribution of charitable resources: charity-population ratios cross-classified with median charity incomes, 2010

0

.2

.4

.6

.8

1

Org

anis

atio

ns/p

opul

atio

n: R

ate

ratio

0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55+Deprivation [score]

No public income Public income

Charity begins at home? Distribution of organisations working at the neighbourhood scale, by IMD

Public FundingProportion of voluntary organisations receiving public funding

Local variation in volunteering: Place Surveys, 2008

Local variations in voluntary action: volunteering and unemployment in census output areas, N Ireland

Components of civic core: shares of volunteering, participation and giving to charity

Distribution of core and non-core groups by IMD

Distribution of core and non-core groups by IMD

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

IMD -deciles

% o

f gro

up Civic coreNon-core but engagedNot engaged

Charity dates of establishment, 1900-

www.shaw-trust.org.uk

Proportion of charities experiencing year-on-year declines in income

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70Pr

opor

tion

of o

rgan

isat

ions

1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12Years compared

Any decline in income At least 25% decline

Median growth of income, 1998-2008, by initial (1998) income