YORK’S voluntary sector has seen an increase in demand for its services but many organisations have also seen a drop in income, a new report has shown.

A State Of The Sector report by York CVS has shown a quarter of the city’s voluntary sector organisations have seen a fall in income over the past two years while more than two-thirds have seen a rise in demand for their services.

The survey aimed to get a snapshot of the state of the city’s voluntary sector but it found that, despite the economic uncertainties, most organisations were currently coping well.

Melanie McQueen, deputy chief executive of York CVS, said: “The findings of the survey confirm that York has an extremely strong and active voluntary sector, supporting some of the most disadvantaged groups and individuals across the city.

"There are, however, significant challenges as public sector grants decrease and voluntary sector organisations start to compete for public sector contracts. There is still work to do to prepare the sector for these opportunities, as 32 per cent of survey respondents felt they could not compete with larger organisations for such contracts.

“York CVS is working in partnership to ensure the city’s voluntary sector stays strong and that it can identify and benefit from other sources of income.”

Nearly half of organisations had seen little change in income and 32 per cent found their income had increased in recent years. However, the report also shows that decreases in public sector spending have had an impact. Just under two-thirds of organisations believed changes in local government spending had affected them, especially the reduction in grants.

This could be one reason why 84 per cent of organisations hold a year or less of operational costs in reserves, with almost a quarter holding less than a month’s such reserves.

The survey also indicated that there has been an increase in the need for services for older, disabled or socially excluded people.

Some 25,000 people in York – 13 per cent of the city’s population – regularly carry out voluntary work.

The survey was supported by the City of York Council and the University of York.