Fuel cost crisis impacting the voluntary sector
Our survey on the impact of the fuel cost crisis on the voluntary sector received 90 responses in two weeks.
This is an issue affecting many organisations and impacting on their ability to maintain and deliver services. See the full survey results.
Affect of rising fuel prices
85%of respondents said the rising fuel prices were affecting their organisation’s activities in some way; and 87% have no contingency for rising fuel prices.
The main effects were: reducing volunteer hours, reducing service provision, and putting programmes on hold.
70.5% said in the event of fuel shortage, their ability to provide services would be compromised. 68.5% of respondents said their organisation had a plan, or one was in progress.
“Our centre is open to the public and if volunteers are unavailable then we can’t open.”
“We support community organisations over a large geographic area but we are not able to travel for events and collaborations as travel is too expensive and our finances are strained.”
What organisations are doing to mitigate the impact
Organisations are adapting to the impact of the rising fuel costs. Respondents said they were:
- Working from home where possible, and using online tools for meetings etc
- Reducing the amount of travel distances e.g. through less frequent deliveries, or matching volunteers closer to the service locations
- Some were offering financial support to volunteers such as petrol vouchers, and mileage reimbursement
- Sometimes it was necessary to cut, reduce or pause non-essential services and programmes.
What response was needed
The overwhelming majority want Volunteering New Zealand to lobby the government for:
- Financial support or fuel price controls
- Recognition that the not-for-profit sector provides essential services
- Tax relief for charities
- Contact MPs directly about the impacts on the volunteer sector
Other ideas included:
- Support in accessing additional funding for increased travel costs
- Include volunteer sector in fuel rationing priority plans
- Access to fuel discounts for volunteer organisations
- Prioritise fuel access for critical volunteer services (e.g., Meals on Wheels, hospital transport)
“Advocate for VIOs to Government - funding is tight already and high fuel costs may be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back for some struggling organisations. A plan is needed - including the for-purpose sector to enable us to continue to deliver services and support our clients(who are also struggling).”
Thank you to everyone who responded to this survey. We'll use your responses to advocate to government and funders for support for the voluntary sector.