National Youth Agency’s income has fallen by more than £2m in the last financial year but the charity has reduced its reliance on government funding and diversified its income base.
Its total income for 2011/12 was £4.8m (spending £4.7m) compared with £7m in 2010/11 (spending £6.9m). But the total amount the charity received in grants from non-statutory sources rose from £1.3m to £2.9m while at the same time grants from statutory sources dropped from £4.8m to £1.3m.
Partnerships to deliver specific programmes with Barclays and O2 brought in £1.3 and £1.1m respectively. The charity also secured funding from grantmaking trusts including the Baring Foundation and Comic Relief.
Trustees explained in the annual report and accounts for the year ended March 2012, published this month, that: “As local authority budgets are cut their youth services are diminishing and funding for the voluntary sector is also reducing. This has led to restructuring and new thinking about how to deliver services.”
NYA is continuing to work with government and secured contracts to deliver National Citizen Service in 2012 and from the Social Action Fund. It is part of the Serco consortium to run NCS projects up to 2014.
Earlier this year the charity's chief executive, Fiona Blacke, told civilsociety.co.uk how the charity was making use of outsourcing services to cut costs, by having “minimal in-house professional staff”.
The total number of full-time equivalent staff the charity employed in 2011 was 31; in 2012 this was 24.
NYA was a client of Charity Business, shortly before the financial ourtsourcing company went into administration at the beginning of 2012. NYA had begun transferring its business to Crossleys in the autumn 2011.
Plans for 2012/13
Trustees revealed in the report that the charity is hoping to continue to diversify its income streams and is “especially keen to secure an additional corporate partner”.
The charity is also planning to set up an Institute for Youth Work as a body to support youth workers. It is currently developing a potential framework and a stakeholder consultation event will be held in early 2013.
