Almost four in five charity leaders from 27 countries are warning that demand for their support has increased over the last year, according to a report by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

Just under half of those reporting a rise in demand said this has “increased significantly”.

In the report's survey of 3,000 global charity leaders those representing organisations in lower income countries the most likely to report an increase in demand.

Health, poverty relief and humanitarian aid charities are the hardest hit by an increase in demand, amid a rise in economic hardship, social crises and the withdrawal of public services, says CAF.

More than four in five charity leaders expect demand to increase over the next year. The proportion rises to nine in ten among charities in lower income countries.

Three in five charity leaders are also concerned about the financial sustainability of their organisation.

Shrinking government grants, falling donations and increased competition for limited resources are among chief concerns.

Among the most pessimistic about their future are charities in high income countries.

While in low-income countries 55% of charity leaders are ‘very optimistic’ for the future of their organisation, this proportion slumps to 15% among those based in wealthier European nations.

“As in the UK, funding is the most pervasive challenge for charities around the world,” said CAF chief executive Neil Heslop.

“And with ongoing and escalating social division, conflicts, climate change impacts and huge numbers of people displaced, charities that are relied on to offer relief are particularly affected by increasing demand for their services — such as those working in health, poverty alleviation and humanitarian aid.”

CAF’s report also found that volunteer engagement is strongest in Africa, where three in four charity leaders said recruitment was easy and two in three said the same about volunteer retention. However, just one in three European charity leaders said volunteer recruitment was easy.

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