So, just what is on the horizon for us in 2010?
There is of course going to be an election (finally!). Some say it will be as early as March, others that Brown will push it until the last minute in May.
But here’s the thing… it barely matters which party gets elected, they are all going to have to do the same: CUT public spending. Sorry did I say cut? It won’t be called it that. A phrase like “a radical overhaul of public expenditure” will be used to gloss over it.
Of the multiple, unpleasant effects that this will have, one will be to put more pressure on the third sector to try and deliver the services that government has unofficially washed its hands of. Our fragile economy has been on life-support for the past twelve months. This is about to be switched off and, if it doesn’t just give up the ghost there and then, one of the early consequences is likely to be a rise in unemployment.
Simultaneously taxation, on those lucky enough to have a job, is going to rise steeply.
Net effect: fewer donors with less money in their pockets.
The great challenge to our sector this year will be to meet ever-increasing demands for resources with a falling income.
We are going to have to work incredibly hard to do that. And we’re going to have to be open to the idea of working differently. The old way of doing things may simply no longer work.
We are entering a period of huge, dinosaur-toppling change.
Online will be more important than ever as charities search for ways to open up new income streams. We’re all aware of an explosion in the use of social media (watch out for the inevitable cack-handed attempts of political parties to do an Obama with it as we head into election fever.)
Many charities have been cocking a suspicious eye towards Twitter and Facebook, and some (Dogs Trust, Adopt-a-Word, Childs-i, Oxfam, RSPB, Amnesty to name but a few) have grasped these new media with both hands.
Some of the more far-sighted charities have been preparing during 2009 by establishing new digital departments. Good move. While the rest of the sector puts a committee together to agree the wording of their first tweet, they will be well placed to start connecting with new supporters online and to begin developing their digital brand identities.
As well as an election there is another tired old contest about to be re-run this year: the World Cup. Of slightly more interest, if you’re a techie, is the fact that there are apparently millions of 3D TV sets stock-piled for the event.
2010 is definitely going to be a 3D year. So here’s another prediction: the first 3D TV ad for a charity. (Heck we might even make it ourselves – any takers?)
To summarize, here’s the whole post in one Twitter-sized bite: CUTS, unemployment up; income down; online v big; huge change; dead dinosaurs; 3D World Cup: England loses.
