Charity and development work : Future trends

Communications and the possible impact of technology

The rise of social networking sites such as Facebook, and micro-blogging sites like Twitter, has made it possible for charities and development organisations to reach and enable their target audiences in new and effective ways. It allows them to offer a more mobile form of communication and support, and as social media and micro-blogging are very popular and cost-effective, this trend is likely to increase.

Over the next decade, charities want to provide more personal communication with their target audiences rather than relying on mass communications. To do this, the sector needs to find more effective ways of analysing data about its supporters and communicating messages more suited to the individual supporters needs.

Government and policy

The new coalition government recently announced plans for The Big Society; a society to enable citizens to achieve change in their local area. A short outline of Big Society agenda  has been published and more proposals are expected in the coming months which could impact the sector greatly.

The new policy aims to give voluntary and community organisations a greater role in public services. It also aims to support the voluntary and community sector. 

The economy

Voluntary sector income is still increasing but future funding streams are uncertain. Funding from government is very likely to fall in the coming months. The government recently announced that it will stop funding local authority grant programmes, including many programmes that fund local charities. This means that many local charities will receive no further payments from their local council.

The current economic climate is likely to make fundraising more difficult over the next few years. This will be particularly difficult for smaller organisations that rely heavily on fundraising.

Although the UK is now coming out of a recession, employment is still expected to fall. This alongside an increase of individuals experiencing debt problems could lead to more charities providing advice, counselling and welfare services.

Volunteering

Recent unemployment rises have resulted in increasingly more people seeking volunteering opportunities. This has resulted in an increase in paid volunteering management roles within organisations.