Almost 25,000 online fundraising pages have been set up by charities and crowdfunders to help people cope with the cost-of-living crisis so far, according to insight from JustGiving, with over £12mn raised since January to help with rent, mortgage payments, energy bills and food.
Pages created to support people with their energy bills have seen the biggest surge, growing by over 1,600% and collectively raising almost Ā£75,000. Last year, donations to help with energy bills totalled just over Ā£2,000. Ā
JustGivingās data also reflects the growing need for food support. Since last year, the number of crowdfunding and charity pages set up to help people gain access to food has increased by over a quarter (29%).
Overall, the data shows that the number of online pages set up to help people with rent and mortgage payments has broadly remained the same as last year although this is expected to grow in the coming months.
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager at JustGiving, said:
āThe cost-of-living crisis is something that is affecting millions of people across the country right now and weāre seeing this reflected on our platform.
Ā
āWhilst itās heartbreaking that so many people are having to turn to charities and their communities for help, the generosity shown by individuals across the country is extraordinary.
Ā
āAs we get deeper into the winter, the situation will likely worsen. Weāre here to help support those individuals, communities and charities who are struggling.ā
Charlotte Phillip, Director at Umbrella CafƩ, which is fundraising on JustGiving commented:
āAs a not-for-profit community cafĆ© we exist to combat social isolation and food insecurity in our local community of Whitstable.
Ā
āThe demand for our services is the highest itās ever been and sadly, we have 20 households on our waiting list for access to our social pantry and low-cost food shop.
Ā
āUnfortunately, due to our oven being on constant overdrive, itās now failing and weāre in desperate need of a new one. Just a few days ago we set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for this, and already itās reached Ā£3,000 in donations from individuals within our community which is just amazing.ā