Church-affiliated NGO Christian Aid saw income fall 13% to £86.4 million ($114.8 million) in the financial year ending March 2021, while the number of staffers declined from 963 to 866, according to documents filed with Companies House, the U.K. registrar.
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In the financial review section of its annual report and accounts, Christian Aid said that the drop in funding was “primarily due to a reduction in institutional grants and government contracts.” It said funding had been impacted by a reduction in U.K. government development opportunities and the fact that the country is no longer part of the European Union.
Furthermore, it said fundraising income had been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted a large public fundraiser known as “Christian Aid Week.” This is the second year in a row that Christian Aid has reported a sharp fall in income, with a £14.4 million drop in the period ending March 2020.
This is also the second year that Christian Aid has reported its expenditure exceeding income. It spent £2.4 million more than it earned in the financial year ending March 2021 and £6.1 million more in the previous financial year.
In 2019, Christian Aid announced plans to close a number of country offices and make reductions to its programs as part of a new strategy called “Standing Together,” which aimed to cut £7 million from its cost base. The organization said in its latest annual report that this process had largely been completed by March 2021.
Like those at other NGOs, a number of Christian Aid staffers faced furlough or pay cuts during the course of the year. The highest paid employee was the CEO, whose pay dropped 5% from the previous financial year to £128,000.
Devex, with support from our partner GHR Foundation, is exploring the intersection between faith and development. Visit the Focus on: Faith and Development page for more. Disclaimer: The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of GHR Foundation.
About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
