Acorns hospice forced to cut jobs to save money
The charity, which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year, was given a free sponsorship deal by Aston Villa in June last year but Acorns emphasised that the charity would receive no extra funding from the Premiership club and only the branding and chance to publicise the charity nationwide. Despite this, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest the public thinks a charity backed by Villa needs less support.
Acorns, which needs to raise £7.5 million every year to runs its hospices, said it is asking fundraisers to concentrate on activities that raise immediate cash in the short term as part of the new Acorns Fragile Lives Appeal.
The recession has hit the charity hard as it receives large portions of donations from legacies and trust funds.
Mr Strudley said the credit crunch and a slowdown in the property market, leading to probate not moving and no prospect of legacies coming through, had played a part in this funding crisis.
It was added to by the 17 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the Midlands being slow to agree increased funding contracts, that the Government had encouraged. Acorns receives only 8.9 per cent of its budget from Government funding, compared to 30 per cent given to adult hospices – but new deals could see the percentage to Acorns rise to up to 30 per cent in coming years when PCTs release the necessary cash.
Mr Strudley, who joined the charity two years ago from the Naomi House hospice charity in the south, added: “We won’t be closing any beds because that is our priority as a hospice and it would send a terrible message to the families.
“For the time being, we have absolutely every intention of keeping nurses and carers for these primary services going but we have reshaped our mission, it is now to survive the recession while continuing to support families with high quality care they depend on.
“We made it clear that the Villa deal would not mean us getting extra money but it has hugely increased our database by 30 per cent so more people know about us. What they do, with players coming to the hospice and families invited to matches, is just as laudable and important. There are 1,600 life-limited children living in our region. They do not have time to wait for the help that they need.
“We must reach them. Acorns must not let these families down so it is critical that the charity survives the recession.”
Andrew Hind, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: “Nearly all organisations, including charities, are feeling the effects of the financial downturn. Some charities will struggle in the coming months and others may need to make difficult decisions about use of resources.
“Unfortunately some charities may have to make cuts, or delay projects; some may have to make redundancies. We carried out a survey in September and found 40 per cent of charities reported that the credit crunch was affecting their work.”
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