The Covid 19 pandemic has had significant and adverse consequences, not only for our young people and families, but for CLDF itself.
As you know, we are a small charity, reliant on voluntary donations and the fundraising efforts of a whole community of supporters and organisations. Over the past few months our income has fallen dramatically by around 30%, as official events and community fundraising have been cancelled and many funders have focussed on local Covid 19 related causes.
CLDF has not been eligible to receive any of the Government support provided to charities, neither did we benefit from any of the high-profile fundraising campaigns which took place earlier this year. Between March and July the charity received around £120,000 less income than we normally would. When we look to the coming months we can see this trend continuing, which could mean we have to reduce future plans and services.
In order to survive and continue to deliver the information and support that our families need, the trustee board has had to make some very difficult decisions. As a result, we have radically restructured the charity.
In short, we have had to make six of our staff redundant – a 45% cut in our workforce – and many of those who remain have accepted a reduction to 80% of their salary over a six-month period. It has been very hard to see dedicated members of our team leave us, but we would like to reassure all of our supporters that in making these difficult decisions, our ‘front line’ staff posts (those who deliver our services to families, young people and healthcare professionals) will remain. Throughout this period our core aim has been to maintain our work with young people, families and healthcare professionals to the very best of our ability. This will always be the heart of CLDF’s mission.
The support we provide to our families and young people may feel a little different at the moment, but be assured we are still here at the end of the phone and via email, Zoom, Hive, Facebook and our website. We continue to inform and support and look to new digital ways to deliver our programmes, stay in touch and meet families, as we cannot attend clinics like we used to. We are also exploring how activities and events could take place virtually.
The trustees have taken these tough decisions now to ensure the charity can continue to be there for everyone who needs us in the future (although this might be in different ways than before). They are incredibly proud of all the CLDF staff, who have pulled together in extremely challenging circumstances over the last 5 months.
It is our 40th birthday in September and we are more determined than ever that the charity should survive. The financial challenges are far from over, but the actions we have taken have averted an imminent crisis. We are so grateful to all of you who have supported the charity over this period, your donations have meant so much to us.
Alison Taylor, our CEO explains a little more about the current situation here.
We hope that you all stay safe in these continuing uncertain and challenging times. We are here for you, your support is invaluable.
If you have any questions please contact us at ceo@childliverdisease.org.
Alison Taylor (Chief Executive)
Mairi Everard (Chair of the Board of Trustees)
