Derby charities admit to funding pessimism
Up to 50 Derby charities and voluntary groups could be forced to close over the next year, a new report suggests.
Research carried out by Community Action Derby, a charity which helps co-ordinate groups in the city, says dozens are fearful about funding cuts.
Derby City Council will announce on 20 September how it plans to allocate about £2m in funding.
But Kim Harper, chief executive of Community Action, said many groups were already expecting bad news.
"We're looking at potentially 6% of all organisations going out of business in the next year," she said.
"You have a sector in Derby which at the moment doesn't know whether it has any funding following the end of December or not."
Ms Harper said the charities most at risk were those without shops or fundraising who rely on grants from local councils to stay afloat.
She said: "It's obviously very difficult to work in uncertain times. It isn't just the council funding, it's the national picture too. There is less funding around."
Adrian Dewhurst, from children's charity Umbrella, said his organisation expected to lose about a quarter of its funding.
He said: "Our response has been to look at our overheads to look at cutting the cost of running the organisation.
"We will try to minimise the effect on our end users - disabled children and the families we work with."
Last month, the TUC claimed more than 2,000 charities across England have seen their funding cut, or in some cases completely withdrawn, by local councils.