A second wave of coronavirus could spell the end for small charities. We can’t let it

At the height of the pandemic in April, we were left hanging by a thread. We can only guess at the ravages that another surge could cause, writes Rosemary Macdonald

Volunteers at Edible London's temporary food bank sort food into parcels (AFP via Getty Images)

As we hear more and more reports of a looming second surge of coronavirus cases, I cast my mind back to the devastating impact the pandemic had on small charities all over the country in March.

Within weeks of the UK’s first lockdown, leading figures in the charity sector warned the government of a £4bn shortfall in funding.

The scale of economic distress we’ve seen across industries in the past six months makes it all too easy to become immune to such big figures.