When will Leicester's charities be part of the extended lockdown conversation?

When the Coronavirus pandemic struck in early March 2020, my charity Menphys, an organisation that supports disabled children and young people closed it's newly opened hub less than two weeks after it's official opening. This meant all face to face services were suspended, our charity shops closed and our community library and coffee shop stopped serving. We furloughed staff, took advantage of the government furlough scheme and the core staff left began to adapt to the situation in order to continue supporting the young people we were founded to serve.

This was the case for hundreds of charities not only across the country but across the world. Amazing fundraising acts like those of Captain Tom raised millions for those that needed help during some pretty dark days and for the first time in my 8 years working in the sector funders were making fast decisions on grant and trust applications. Anyone who knows the grants process will know it is the hope that kills you, you can live with a no from a grant funder but a don't know is excruciating. So, when all of a sudden applications were being accepted or rejected faster we could move, make decisions and respond to the unprecedented times we were in.

Then, after what felt like a lifetime for many came the news that lockdown would be eased, the grant process returned to normal, donations slowed as the reality of the situation set in and people began to plan their return to the 'new normal'.

As a charity it was all hands to the pump, our centre manager refurbished our charity shops, put social distancing measures into place and the team were energised to get back to work. That was until Matt Hancock announced our charity shops, hub, and coffee shop would remain closed and Leicester would remain locked down for a minimum further two weeks.

No matter your opinion on the rights and wrongs of this decision it was made, Leicester then became the epicentre of COVID-19 in the UK. News outlets were everywhere, people I know in the business community were being interviewed on national news describing the "devastating blow to the high street" and "a knife in the heart to the hospitality industry". What caught my attention and frustrates me to this day is that not once did I hear about the charity sector in these news stories. Apart from my own 3-minute interview on Radio Leicester and one zoom call where a prominent business leader in the city mentioned the sector, it was silence and when I challenged it I was told that charities were included in the catch-all term of "businesses".

Now my argument is, charities are run as businesses, a successful charity should have a business structure and mentality yes, but when I talk about what charities do I do not use the word business in my vocabulary. If I did talk about my organisation like a business, refer to our young people as customers I am pretty sure people would be put off supporting us in a heartbeat, I know I would.

I am not saying the sector is special but I do know it has been part of the conversation. Don't believe me, read a story in any newspaper, listen back to any interview on the TV and radio about the lockdown in Leicester you'll hear from publicans, restaurateurs, and small business owners, you won't find a charity in there and if I've missed one I'll put my hands up. Like I've said it's not about being a special case it's about being part of the conversation, people rely on the work charities and the work non-profits do and if we get left behind I fear for some charities. I'm even more afraid for those people and animals that rely on the support of these organisations because once they are gone where do people turn next.

People will say "people are working for the sector in the background" but I don't understand why it's not front and centre like hospitality and the high street. Is it because the sector is deemed as 'business', is it because it is deemed a separate subject or is it because it has been missed from the conversation completely.

I guess time will tell.