Charities are in crisis. Beyond the immediate funding shortfall, the economic and social changes brought about by Covid-19 will create a raft of new challenges that charity leaders will have to grapple with, from big questions around governance and longer-term funding models, to how to equip themselves to continue delivering services. But the crisis also gives us great opportunities. We don’t want or need to go back to all the ways we did things in the past. How radical we are will depend upon our appetite for bold change.

Our research captures our sector in the final few months of calm before the storm, offering insight into its strengths, weaknesses, challenges and risks. It paints a picture of a broad and complex sector, wrestling with its relationship with government, funding challenges, technological change and its own diversity and representativeness.

We hope that by understanding the trajectory the sector has been on since 2017, funders, philanthropists and policymakers will be more able to understand what happens in the crisis and help charities adapt to the new challenges they face, so they can keep serving the people who need them more than ever.