The charity believes National Insurance changes will cost them £35,000
The charity believes National Insurance changes will cost them £35,000
A Liverpool-based charity has launched an urgent appeal to raise funds as it faces a significant rise to its operating costs due to National Insurance changes. From April, employers’ National Insurance contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% and the point at which employers pay National Insurance contributions will decrease from £9,100 to £5,000.
These rises affect charities, with hospices being the only exemption. It means The Brain Charity, a national charity that supports people facing the challenges of neurological conditions that is headquartered on Norton Street in Liverpool city centre, will incur an additional £35,000 in costs to Inland Revenue between this April and next March.
The charity has said this expense puts a strain on its resources, potentially diverting crucial funds away from the front-line support it provides to people affected by all forms of neurological conditions.
Pippa Sargent, CEO of The Brain Charity, said: “This £35,000 increase represents a direct pressure on our ability to deliver our life-changing services. To put it into perspective, that sum could fund a full year of free counselling for over 200 individuals. It could also provide nearly 900 hours of vital welfare benefits support.
“It could also help 35 people per week access crucial support through our Information & Advice service, or fund more than 1,000 counselling sessions for carers who are struggling. This is the real impact of these increased costs, and why we are launching this appeal.”
Almost 80% of all funds raised go directly towards delivering the charity’s services, with another 14.3% reinvested into fundraising efforts in which for every £1 spent it generates £6 in return. Only 7.3% is allocated to operational costs.
Pippa added: “We are committed to showing our donors how every donation makes a tangible difference to the lives of people with neurological conditions.
“Even small, regular donations can make a huge difference. Donating as little as £2 a month would help us chip away at the gap created by increased National Insurance contributions.
“Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us to continue to provide vital services like our Neuro Gym, counselling, and information and advice services. Thank you for any level of help you can offer.”
The Brain Charity provided support to 2,734 clients from all over the UK last year and aims to continue expanding its reach. The charity is urging the public to donate and support their appeal to ensure these vital services can continue.
Last week, the ECHO spoke to people from hospitality businesses in Liverpool city centre about the National Insurance rises, with many worrying they would lead to job losses and closures. Peter Kinsella, chairman of Lunya, said: “It will affect us enormously negatively.
“We’ve calculated the cost of it – on the same day we have the National Insurance threshold more or less halving, the employee rate going up to 15%, a halving of the business rate support that retail and hospitality get and, rightly so, the increase in minimum wage by the best part of 7%.
“Those measures cost us another £106,500 this coming year for one small business. It’s enormous. It would be challenging at any time, but none of us has properly recovered from the negative impact of the pandemic and is still paying off a lot of our pandemic borrowing like the government-backed loans.”
To read that full piece, click here. To donate to The Brain Charity’s National Insurance appeal, click here.