CHARITIES in Scotland are more likely to struggle with funding, a report has found.
More than a third have said they made cuts and can't find any more room to make more.
The report by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), an advisory group for the charitable sector, found that 35% of charitable organisations are struggling to get by which is notably higher than the fifth (20%) of English charities who are in the same boat.
The new research is with 621 charities across the UK and includes more than 130 in Scotland.
Three in five charities (56%) in Scotland are worried about their ability to survive, compared to 38% south of the Border.
Staffing is another issue for many organisations. Across the UK only above half (53%) say they can afford their current staffing levels, while 60% are struggling to retain or hire qualified candidates or volunteers.
Scottish charities are more likely to ask funders to help with increased costs than in England, with 52% and 39% respectively, and to pay for wage increases for staff with 35% in Scotland and 18% in England.
Charities across the UK miss out on roughly £500m a year when people that donate do not use Gift Aid – the organisation can receive and extra 25p for each pound you give.
Neil Heslop OBE, chief executive of the CAF, said: “Charities are still feeling stretched. They are worried about recruiting staff and struggling to meet demand for their help.
“Like the rest of us, they are having to adjust to inflation being higher – but they face the added challenge of people needing them more than ever, while donors’ incomes are squeezed.
“Britain can’t afford to have charities facing such uncertainty. We need a resilient, vibrant charities sector supported by a renewed culture of giving.
“That is why we need for the Government to draw up a UK strategy for philanthropy and charitable giving to mobilise effort across society and business.”
