With widespread statutory funding cuts to charities, how will your charity weather the storm? Here are 5 ways you can cope with cuts to funding.

1. Alternative sources

This is a good time to start thinking about ways of diversifying your income, particularly if you are heavily reliant on statutory funding. Even if your funding has not been cut yet, it’s wise to have other options.

2. Impact reporting

Be prepared to face tougher questions about how your charity is really making a social impact. If you can’t demonstrate your outcomes there is little to set you apart from other charities serving the same beneficiaries. Think outside of simply counting how many people you’ve helped, strong impact reports explain why it matters and what the knock effects are for society as whole.

3. People care

It does matter to the public that services provided by charities might be lost, particularly in communities that are already deprived. Be open with you supporters. Tell them how you plan to survive cuts to funding and don’t be afraid to ask them for help.

4. Team-up

If you know of other charities in your community doing similar work to you, this is an ideal time to co-operate. Funders look favourably on organisations that proactively preserve resources by working with each other and donors are cautious of over subscribed causal areas.

5. Service provision

The government is encouraging feedback from charities on its Open Public Services White Paper. If your organisation has the expertise to run services then look into the various initiatives being launched to make charities ready to bid for public service contracts.

Find out what charity supporters think about cuts to statutory funding.

This article first appeared in The Fundraiser magazine, Issue 8, August 2011