IWFM charity partner launches property survey: please take part
News
26 February 2020
Our organisational charity of choice, the Ethical Property Foundation (EPF), is the UK property advice charity for voluntary groups working in local communities. Not only is it a very worthy cause, but it’s aligned to our professional hearts and the Institute’s values. Please read on below for a guest blog from EPF’s CEO, Antonia Swinson, and kindly participate if the survey applies to you.
This month, property advice charity the Ethical Property Foundation launches its fifth survey of voluntary organisations’ property issues.
If you are a Facilities Manager involved in a charity, please spend just a few minutes filling it in today and help us all understand how property is serving the UK voluntary sector.
As the property advice charity for the UK voluntary sector, we are delighted to be IWFM’s new charity partner. EPF was set up in 2004 and has supported thousands of voluntary groups in partnership with the property industry with expert, independent property advice and education. Since 2015, EPF has been sole referral partner to the Charity Commission for land and property advice.
This bi-annual survey began in 2012 and has since developed into a unique research project. It is the only country-wide property research undertaken by a charity for charities, covering all causes, sizes, models and regions with increasingly valuable data on the key property trends and challenges.
The voluntary sector contributes £17.1bn annually to the UK economy, more than the agriculture and fishing sectors combined; employing 865,000+ staff and accounting for 20 million volunteers. This means that workplaces play a vital role in delivering effectively for good causes and local communities.
This is important, timely research increasingly welcomed by policymakers, local authorities, funders and landlords. Findings in EPF’s 2018 survey found 30% of charities said property was a barrier to delivering their charitable objectives - almost double the proportion in 2016 (17%) - while more than one third of charities (36%) believed that property poses a high or very high risk to their organisation. For the first time, more organisations rent from commercial landlords than local authorities.
So, if you are an FM with a charity side to your life, please spend just a few minutes filling in the survey today and help us all understand how property is serving the voluntary sector.
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