"NGOs Pare Down in Face of Financial Crisis"

Source: IRIN via Global Policy Forum

"Some of the biggest development and humanitarian NGOs are laying off staff or revising programmes for 2009 as their income streams flatten because of the global financial crisis. Fundraising experts of three of the world's top NGOs - Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK and World Vision USA - said programme growth will slow in 2009 as a result of the squeeze. 'The growth we had assumed when putting plans together a year ago is not materialising,' John Shaw, director of finance and information systems at Oxfam GB, told IRIN. 'The overall picture is essentially flat.' Oxfam had envisaged five to six percent growth over 2009-10, but has now revised this to zero. Some of the biggest reductions are coming from corporate donors in the financial sector, NGO staff told IRIN. 'The fall-off with corporate started six to nine months ago,' said Tanya Steele, supporter relations and fundraising director for Save the Children in London. 'The financial services and investment banking sector have been very generous in the past but we know it will be a tough financial year for them going into 2009. We'd expect [funding from them] to be flat or potentially decline going into 2009.' 'Growth from corporations won't be as much so we won't be scaling up our programmes as we'd want to do,' Robert Zachritz, World Vision's director of advocacy and government relations, told IRIN from Washington, DC. As a result, NGOs such as Save the Children will not be able to make substantial investments in existing or new programmes as they had hoped. The three agencies have an annual income of US$3.1 billion."

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