'It was kind of life or death': A nation's charities in crisis

Within days of the lockdown beginning in March, Pastor Jon Owen of the Wayside Chapel was flooded with calls from families of the 600 volunteers who help the charity every month. Because of COVID-19, they asked him to "ban" their relatives - many older than 65 - from volunteering at the Kings Cross centre which provides services to rough sleepers and those in need.

"It was a huge strain because we didn't have the volunteer workforce," he says. When events were cancelled and regular giving slowed, Owen says "it was kind of life or death [for clients] but also life or death for Wayside". According to a financial analysis by Social Ventures Australia and the Centre for Social Impact at the University of NSW, Australia's charity sector is teetering on the edge of a cliff.

These charities connect the rich and poor, the well and the sick, the well-heeled and well-housed with the down at heel and homeless."Past recessions tell us that if unemployment goes up by 4 or 5 per cent it could take us half-a-decade for it to go down again," says Riddell. The coming year is equally bleak, with JBWere's Outlook for Philanthropy, forecasting a 20 per cent drop in all types of giving - ranging from corporate funds, trusts and bequests to donations from individuals.snapping the fragile thread that connects those with the most to those with the least.

Jane Jose of the Sydney Community Foundation - which supports a range of local charities - says Sydney had traditionally been a city that showed "a lot of generosity" when people were "in the room", particularly at the end of the financial year."The way people fund raise is about connection, and COVID-19 is about isolation." she says.The foundation has launched a Be Kind Sydney appeal to raise $1 million for smaller charities.

Karlie Stewart, 24, of Coogee, began work as a caseworker at Weave soon after graduating with honours in social work. It seemed right for her to return to the same place that had helped her mother, a sole parent, and her five siblings when she was growing up.

juliepower A land of crooks and thieves....Australian charities.

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