Charity optimism tempered by fewer volunteers

A survey of charities has identified growing optimism in the sector following months of financial hardship associated with the cost of living crisis – but there is rising concern about dwindling volunteer numbers leaving charities in a precarious position, according to the latest VCSE Sector Barometer, a quarterly survey conducted by Pro Bono Economics and Nottingham Trent University’s National VCSE Data and Insights Observatory. Albeit paid staff recruitment is up.

This shift in confidence among charities comes against a persistently challenging backdrop. Charity demand remains elevated, with a majority saying it continues to grow. And, while more expect to meet demand, it remains the case that a large proportion do not expect to do so. 

COMBINATION OF FACTORS. There are also particular concerns about volunteer recruitment, retention and wellbeing. Four in 10 (40%) charities reported they have been unable to meet their objectives over the last 12 months due to a lack of volunteers, while concern about volunteer recruitment has grown among charities of all sizes, especially small charities, since November last year. This has been driven by a combination of factors, but reflects a wider decline in volunteering across the country over the past decade.

Glimmers of hope in the economy – with energy costs dropping and inflation starting to tick down – are reflected in charities’ responses to this latest survey. Between November 2022 and May this year, charities of all sizes have reported increased optimism about their financial outlook.

Optimism among medium-sized charities has hiked to 28% from 21% in November, while a quarter (25%) of small charities now expect their finances to improve, compared to one-fifth (20%) in November. Large charities have recorded the biggest jump in optimism, with a third (32%) now saying they expect their financial position to improve over the next three months, compared with less than a fifth (17%) in November.

ENERGY PRICE DROP. This growing optimism is likely driven in large parts by the drop in energy prices. The latest Barometer found concerns about energy prices have fallen over the past six months for charities of all sizes. The Chancellor’s announcement at the Budget of over £100 million for charities in England, combined with warmer weather, may also have played a role. Small charities, in particular, are less concerned about the cost of energy now – with just under a quarter (23%) ranking energy prices as a main organisational concern, compared to two-fifths (41%) in November.

RENEWED STAFF RECRUITMENT CONFIDENCE. Renewed confidence has also been identified in relation to recruitment of paid staff. Since November, the proportion of charities of all sizes expecting their workforce to grow in the next three months has increased. Nearly half (48%) of large charities now expect to recruit more staff, compared with just over a third (36%) in November.

Although expectations for recruitment and the near term financial outlook have improved, the challenging economic landscape means demand for charity services remains very high. Almost three-quarters (73%) of large charities and four in five (81%) medium-sized charities responding to the survey said that demand had increased over the last three months. More than four in five (83%) large charities said they expect demand to grow over the next three months too.

Despite more than half of charities of all sizes now expecting to meet demand over the next three months, there are still large numbers that do not expect to be able to meet the level of need. In total, 47% of large and medium-sized charities do not think they will meet demand over the next three months, compared to 31% of small charities.

SMALL CHARITY VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT WORRIES. This is likely to be driven in part by growing concerns about volunteer numbers among charities. Almost six in 10 (56%) charities say volunteer recruitment over the past year has been difficult and the latest survey found that volunteer recruitment is a rising worry for charities of all sizes, especially small charities. Since November last year, the proportion of small charities ranking it as a main organisational concern has grown from four in 10 (45%) to six in 10 (63%).

The latest Barometer found that more than four in 10 (42%) small charities consider volunteer retention a main concern for their organisation. Furthermore, around one in six (17%) charities overall believe the wellbeing of their volunteers has deteriorated in the past 12 months.

These findings reflect government data showing a decade-long decline in regular volunteering rates. Wider economic and social pressures are exacerbating this trend, with a third (34%) of charities citing the cost of living crisis as an issue for volunteer retention and one in five (19%) saying it has made volunteer recruitment more difficult. Nonetheless, a quarter (27%) of charities cite a lack of organisational capacity as a key issue preventing volunteer recruitment and one in six (17%) say they lack the resources to retain them.

ECONOMIC GLIMMERS OF HOPE. Matt Whittaker, CEO of Pro Bono Economics, says: “With the tougher winter months behind us and the first glimmers of hope emerging in the economy, our latest survey seems to suggest that the car has at least shifted out of reverse for the social sector. Nevertheless, it’s worrying to see concern about volunteer recruitment, retention and wellbeing growing across the sector.

“The enormous number of volunteers that came forward for the Big Help Out, as part of the Coronation celebrations, was hugely encouraging to see. It is important the sector is now supported and puts in a concerted effort to convert this show of volunteer spirit into a sustained return for organisations around the country.”

Professor Daniel King, director of the National VCSE Data and Insights Observatory, says: “This is the third of our quarterly Barometer surveys and we are now beginning to see evidence of trends in the sector’s evolving response to the conditions in which it is operating. It is heartening to see that concerns over energy costs and staffing are beginning to ease. However, there is an emerging picture of increasing challenges for our small groups and organisations, who are so dependent on the energy, commitment and skills of volunteers for their survival. 

“According to the Barometer, 58% of small charities found their experience of volunteer recruitment over the past year difficult, and concerns around volunteer retention are escalating. Worsening wellbeing among volunteers in smaller charities is also an emerging concern.”

Changes in charity salary and job demand trends

CharityJob, the specialised job board, has launched it latest salary report, based on over 60,000 paid roles posted on its website last year. The report lists average salaries across the sector for different specialisms, levels of role and sizes of charity and shows how these have changed since 2019.

CharityJob points out that with the current cost of living crisis, as well as the shortage of candidates since the pandemic, charities have been under rising pressure to increase salaries in the fight for talent. The report allows recruiters to benchmark the salaries they’re offering against averages for the sector, so they can make sure they remain competitive.

Key findings include:

• Average charity salaries are failing to keep up with inflation, with a decrease of 3% since 2019.
• Finance roles pay the most and admin roles pay the least.
• Support work roles have had the biggest pay increase since 2019.
• Jobs in the “policy/research, advocacy, governance and campaigns”, “admin” and “marketing, PR and digital’ categories were most in demand.
• Remote roles are six times more popular than on-site roles.
• The number of hybrid roles posted has increased by more than 2,000%.

“Salary is always a sensitive issue in the charity sector, but in such a difficult recruitment market, it's essential for charities to offer fair pay both to recruit and retain the best talent, and to increase diversity in the sector,” says Steve Wexler, co-founder of CharityJob.

Average salaries by job category

Source: Charity Job Salary Report 2023.

According to the report the benefits the job board’s candidates most want are:

• 25+ days annual leave (not including bank holidays.
• Flexible working hours.
• Remote working options.
• Training and development opportunities.
• Four-day work week on full-time pay.

The report also reveals that more candidates attach high importance to organisation culture and mission/purpose compared to salary.

Charities record sharp rise in sick leave

Charities have seen one of the biggest rises in sick leave across the UK in the last four years, according to the Sick Leave Report 2023 produced by HR systems specialist Access People HR which revealed that the average charity reported 166 days lost to sick leave in 2022. This is a sharp rise from 128 in 2021, 114 in 2020 and 106 in 2019. In total, the sector experienced 30% more days lost in the last year due to short and long term illness, and 56% since 2019.

According to Mind, one in six workers are currently dealing with a mental health problem, such as anxiety, depression or stress. Charity workers have been facing numerous challenges in the last few years which could exacerbate burnout, and a recent report from Ecclesiastical Insurance found that 44%of the sector is concerned about mental health.

According to the Access People HR report, the sectors which saw the biggest spike in the last year were:

1. Accommodation and food service activities - 146%.
2. Water supply, sewerage and waste management - 135%.
3. Arts, entertainment and recreation - 66.7%.
4. Transportation and storage - 44.3%.
5. Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - 34.6%.
6. Administrative and support service activities - 34.3%.
7. Wholesale and retail trade - 32%.
8. Construction - 32%.
9. NGO/charity - 30%.
10. Information and communication - 18%.

The sectors which saw the biggest spike in the last four years were:

1. Accommodation and food service activities - 491%.
2. Water supply, sewerage and waste management - 271.4%.
3. Arts, entertainment and recreation - 92.2%.
4. Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - 91%.
5. Transportation and storage - 76.3%.
6. Human health and social work activities - 57%.
7. NGO/Charity - 56%.
8. Manufacturing - 48%.
9. Financial and insurance activities - 47%.
10. Administrative and support service activities - 44%.

Charles Butterworth, managing director of Access People HR, says: “This report into the status of sick leave in the UK highlights the importance of charities adopting a robust HR strategy as a first point of call when it comes to reducing sick leave. This includes a strong HR system, having clear policies and procedures, and being able to offer tangible support to those who appear to be struggling and taking an excessive amount of sick days.

“This growth of sick leave in the charity sector could be due to a number of factors, such as experiencing more burnout and long term sickness following the pandemic, resulting in new highs of sickness rates. No matter what, it’s crucial that charities act swiftly to identify the reasons for sick leave, and - if they need to - act.”

Legacy option is increasingly raised for wills

Solicitors and professional will-writers are playing an increasingly important role in charitable will-writing, with almost three-quarters (73%) always or sometimes raising the option of leaving charitable bequests in wills to their clients.  Now almost a quarter (24%) of wills handled by UK legal advisers include a donation to charity, showing steady growth and long term change over the past decade from 16% in 2014. 

Graph showing the average proportion of wills made through solicitors and will-writers that include a charitable gift. 

These findings come from the 2023 Savanta Will-writing Tracking Study commissioned by Remember A Charity, a consortium of UK charities working to promote charitable gifts in wills amongst the British public.  According to a separate report, Legacy Foresight 2023, from analysts Legacy Foresight, gifts in wills are the largest single source of voluntary income for charities in the UK, raising £3.85 billion annually.

According to the Savanta study, over a third (36%) of all solicitors and will-writers say they always raise the option of a charitable legacy with relevant clients, while less than one in 10 (9%) say they never do so. Of those who don’t always raise the issue, more than one quarter (26%) say the most prominent reason is because they do not want to influence their client’s decision. 

Lucinda Frostick, director at Remember A Charity, says: “When it comes to growing legacy giving, engagement and support from across the will-writing community is crucial. This benchmarking study charts a continual rise in the proportion of wills made through solicitors and will-writers who include a charitable gift and that’s so important for charities that rely on legacy income. These donations may not arrive for some years yet, but they will fund vital services and charities’ core costs for generations to follow.” 

When asked about the most common barriers to legacy giving for clients, solicitors and will-writers believe the most common reasons are that they want to leave their full estate to their family (83%), that they have difficulty choosing which charity/charities to support (38%) or that it may cause/lead to dispute (38%). 

Three-quarters of the firms in the study (77%) have acted or assisted in the administration of estates that include a legacy to charity. Over half (56%) of those said they found charities easy to deal with. Only 13% indicated said they didn’t find charities easy to work with and the top cited reason (22%) for that was that they communicate too often.  

Charity shop sales continue to soar

Charity shops continue to be a shopping destination of choice for many people particularly for financial reasons (including value for money), the latest data from the Charity Retail Association shows.

Charity shops are now working to keep up with customer demand after seeing a 15.1% growth in like-for-like store income in January-March 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.

A 12.4% increase in the average number of transactions per day has helped to boost sales, as people look to refresh their wardrobes.

The Charity Retail Association says that as a result of this growth, charity shops are looking at investing in the future - opening new or bigger stores, extending their opening hours, improving their online offer, and focusing on training and recruitment campaigns.

Recruiting and retaining volunteers and staff is more important than ever for the charity retail sector, and although the sector has seen an increase in volunteer levels over the past year, 33% of respondents still reported volunteer shortages in the survey, and 38% reported staffing challenges as a problem they’re facing.

In the survey 82.2% of all like-for-like in-store income came from donated goods, and 67% of respondents sold online.

Six charities win governance awards

The winners of the UK Charity Governance Awards 2023 have been announced by the Clothworkers’ Company in a live ceremony at Drapers’ Hall in London. The six winning charities each took home a prize of a £5,000 unrestricted grant. The big winners on the night were Merton Centre for Independent Living, Women in Prison, MQ Mental Health Research, Carers in Bedfordshire, Edinburgh School Uniform Bank and Depden Care Farm.

The award for “Board Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” was given to joint winners Merton Centre for Independent Living and Women in Prison. Merton Centre for Independent Living, a charity run by disabled people for disabled people, impressed the judges with its proactive approach to recruiting, training and maintaining a board that fairly represents its beneficiaries in the local community it serves.

Women in Prison was also given this award due to its commitment to embed equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the organisation, starting at board level. The national charity embarked on a cultural shift to attract, train and maintain more women with lived experience of the criminal justice system to serve as trustees. This welcoming, understanding and supportive culture is now reflected throughout all of the charity’s operations.

MQ Mental Health Research won the new category, “From Systemic Challenge to Meaningful Change”. Judges were impressed by the way MQ, the UK’s only national charity dedicated to mental health research, navigated the seismic shift in the mental health landscape during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Bold and decisive moves to broker coalitions involving leading figures and set out a roadmap of research priorities for the sector have led to MQ being recognised as a thought leader and trusted partner in mental health. In turn, 2022 was the charity’s most successful ever year of fundraising.

Carers in Bedfordshire took home the “Transforming with Digital” award in recognition of the success of its digital transformation plan. After redeveloping the website, automating its registration service and streamlining its data reporting process, the charity has achieved a number of successes – registrations have increased by 60%; staff can now spend 33% more time on frontline services; and public engagement with the website has almost trebled.

Edinburgh School Uniform Bank impressed judges to win the “Improving Impact in Small Charities (0-3 paid staff)” award. When a bad weather incident highlighted that the uniform bank was not reaching those most in need, quickly enough with the most appropriate items, the board took swift action. Building on the success of a coat drive and “shoe shop”, the board developed a new strategy to deliver uniforms, including footwear and outerwear, instantly to over 2,000 of Edinburgh’s disadvantaged school pupils. This ensures that clothing and uniforms are not a barrier to students accessing education and participating in school activities.

The “Improving Impact in Small Charities (4-30 paid staff)” award was won by Depden Care Farm, where adults with additional needs can take part in work and learning programmes in areas such as animal husbandry and horticulture. After a period of significant growth, the charity reached a plateau – the board realised changes were needed.

Since introducing a 3-year plan rooted in research and involving changes to operational procedures, training and fundraising to improve accessibility, the charity has significantly improved its impact – around 50% of beneficiaries progress to working on the contract team. Of those people managing their mental health or mild autism, approximately 75% go on to employment or volunteering.

Deepak Nambisan, trustee of the Clothworkers’ Foundation and who chaired the awards, says: “This year, we’ve been struck by the impressive showing from the country’s smallest charities – more than half of all nominees are charities with fewer than 30 employees. This is a shining example of how trustees with foresight, imagination and an authentic connection to their beneficiaries can overcome barriers and achieve great things.”

Each winner received a £5,000 cash prize (as an unrestricted grant), with all runners-up receiving a prize of £1,000. All the winners and shortlisted charities were also rewarded with a paid one-year membership of the Association of Chairs for their board, and a complementary place on a Cause4 Trustee Leadership Programme for a new member of their board.

Safety foundation puts nearly £2m into global projects

Global safety charity Lloyd’s Register Foundation has announced a number of new projects it is funding to put the findings of its World Risk Poll into action. The poll is a global study of perceptions and experiences of risk to people’s safety.The eight projects, which are a mix of secondary research and practical interventions, represent a combined investment of almost £2 million into utilising the poll data to tackle the safety issues which it highlights. The projects are:

PROMOTING PUBLIC SKILLS FOR SAFETY AROUND THE WORLD. Researchers from the University of Southern California will work closely with inter-governmental and NGO partners including the UN Foundation, World Bank, Save the Children and the Waterkeeper Alliance to inform international development programmes and improve people’s risk understanding, disaster preparedness and resilience.

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION. Utilising World Risk Poll data, this project led by ICLEI Africa – Local Governments for Sustainability will support select African cities in reducing disaster risk and building climate change resilience, by developing bespoke solutions packages for project cities.

SUPPORTING URBAN COMMUNITY CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN EAST AFRICA. Climate change company Resurgence will integrate the World Risk Poll data into its DARAJA inclusive early warning service to support climate-stressed communities in three cities in the region.

IMPROVING HOUSEHOLD PREPAREDNESS IN MULTI-HAZZARD CONTEXTS. Researchers from Cardiff University and King’s College London will use the poll data to inform an exploration of the factors contributing to existing high levels of household preparedness in the face of natural hazards, and to develop and disseminate tools to improve it in contexts with multiple inter-related hazards.

FROM PERCEPTIONS TO SAVING LIVES: DESIGNING MULTI-HAZARD EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS. Business network Resilience First, in collaboration with the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure and University College London, will conduct secondary analysis of the World Risk Poll data to identify the socio-economic and other factors influencing people's trust in sources of information about disasters, as well as their levels of individual and household preparedness.

ANALYSING RISK PERCEPTION AND PREPAREDENESS TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE DISASTER RISK COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES. Researchers from the University of Leeds will integrate the poll findings with data on vulnerabilities, governance and long term climate projections to identify predictors of disaster risk perception and preparedness, and develop context-appropriate early warning and risk communication strategies.

NAVIGATING GLOBAL RISKS THROUGH CULTURAL LENSES. Researchers from the University of Exeter will use the poll data to explore the influence of “cultural tightness” (adherence to social norms) on people’s risk perceptions in relation to environmental, financial and health-related threats.

MAPPING AND COMMUNICATING CLIMATE RISK PERCEPTIONS AT THE SUB-NATIONAL LEVEL. The 2035 Initiative (developing policy roadmaps to help stabilise climate change by 2035)at the University of California Santa Barbara will integrate the poll data on perceptions of climate change threat into an interactive data tool to develop the first global map of climate opinion at a sub-national level.

Sarah Cumbers, director of evidence and insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, says: “We can’t wait to see the knowledge, networks and impact generated by these projects – impact that we ultimately hope to see replicated, developed and scaled-up through our global partnerships for change.

“Going forwards, we remain on the lookout for innovative organisations and projects that can make further use of the whole World Risk Poll dataset to improve global safety in the face of a range of current risks as diverse as climate change-related severe weather and the pitfalls of artificial intelligence, and including workplace risks such as violence and harassment.” Lloyd’s Register Foundation is making further funding available on an ongoing basis for organisations who can use the World Risk Poll data for further research and practical interventions to improve safety."

Fresh start for domestic abuse charity

A domestic abuse charity championing survivors and their needs in the Vale of Glamorgan has a new name and a new five-year strategy, as part of its ongoing commitment to break the cycle of domestic violence and abuse in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The charity, formerly known as Atal y Fro, will now be called Vale Domestic Abuse Services (DAS). The new strategy coincides with the charity’s 30th anniversary and aligns itself with the Welsh Government National Strategy on Violence Against Women, the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, and the Cardiff and Vale Regional Strategy too.

Vale Domestic Abuse Services is looking to the future with the aim of inspiring people to speak up, responding to those in crisis more effectively, continuing to help rebuild the lives of families affected by domestic abuse and reinforcing the message that life can be different with the right support in place.

Vicky Friis, chief executive officer at Vale DAS, says: “Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence has changed dramatically over the last decade - there’s been an increase in awareness, legislation and commitment to making our communities safer for survivors, but there is still much to be done.

“Becoming Vale Domestic Abuse Services will bring clarity to what we are here to do. It will help us to reach more survivors, raise awareness of the issues and continue to support survivors to be safe and gain the justice they deserve.”

Neurodiversity gets outdoor advertising boost

Implementing the aims of the ADF Foundation, the neurodiversity charity, has been given a big boost by the completion of Clear Channel UK’s “Different minds, better outcomes” neurodiversity initiative as part of the out of home (outdoor) advertising and infrastructure company’s ongoing partnership with the foundation.

Around 20% of the UK’s population is neurodiverse, and as Ben Hope of Clear Channel UK explains: “The unique nature of out of home as a public medium, reaching 97% of the UK population, means we have a collective responsibility to ensure it’s as accessible as possible to all, through our operations and outputs, that includes the advertising.”

“Different minds, better outcomes” involved hundreds of Clear Channel digital screens nationwide featuring ads from advertisers that were produced or adapted to be more neurodivergent-friendly. Advertisers used a range of techniques to be more inclusive – including simplifying artworks, increasing colour contrast, using fonts without capitalisations or serifs to make them more dyslexia-friendly or using CamelCase (a way to separate the words in a phrase by making the first letter of each word capitalised) in hashtags to make them easier to read. 

All ads had been aligned to the advice from Clear Channel centred around designing “Powerful Posters” – those that are simple, striking and succinct.

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, says: “As a charity, we recognise just how important it is that our work and our message is accessible to all, including those who are neurodivergent, and that is why we are proud to have been part of this initiative.”

The initiative was part of the ADHD Foundation’s Neurodiversity Umbrella Project, which is a campaign that aims to change the perception of neurodiverse individuals and celebrate the many strengths that come from thinking differently. Every piece of content developed as part of the Clear Channel initiative included an umbrella symbol to identify that the content had been designed with neurodivergent individuals in mind. 

Employee skills for volunteering day

Full fibre broadband company Hyperoptic, which operates out of both the UK and Serbia, has committed to supporting The Prince’s Trust and SOS Children’s Villages in Serbia with a special Volunteer Day for its employees in both countries. The company is now one of the UK’s largest employers in Serbia. Hyperoptic was founded in the UK in 2011 by Dana Tobak and Serbian entrepreneur Boris Ivanovic.

Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of The Prince’s Trust, says: “Now is such an important time to bring on a patron like Hyperoptic, who are passionate about helping young people and have volunteers with highly valued digital, business and commercial skills that will bring real value to our young people. The Class of Covid – those who have already lived through one of the most turbulent times to be young – need this kind of support more than ever. And having Hyperoptic founder and CEO Dana Tobak as a mentor will be hugely inspiring, and sets a powerful example.”

Summer party for spinal cord injury charity

The Leasing Foundation’s first ever asset finance Summer Party raised £35,000 for its 2023 charity, Wings for Life.  The event, which was held at the Honourable Artillery Company in London, was attended by over 300 guests from the leasing industry.  It included a live DJ, a summer BBQ, unlimited drinks all night and a silent auction with a range of prizes, all donated by businesses within the sector. 

Nathan Mollett, chair of the Leasing Foundation, says: “It was great to see the asset finance community unite in support of a fantastic cause.  A massive thank you to everyone that supported and made the evening possible.  We have now raised almost £50,000 for Wings for Life which means more world-class scientific research and clinical trials can be funded in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injury.”

Social mobility partnership

Social mobility charity Villiers Park Educational Trust and digital transformation form SopraSteria have joined forces via the charity’s flagship Future Leaders Programme, which supports young people from areas with low participation in higher education, and typically high levels of deprivation, to develop the skills they need to thrive at university and in employment.  

As part of the partnership, Sopra Steria is supporting young people from Hastings & Bexhill, Norwich, Swindon and Tyneside through office visits, digital skills workshops and employability masterclasses.  

Charity wins rates relief case

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Nuffield Health to receive mandatory 80% rates relief in respect of its occupation of its members-only gym at Merton Abbey, dismissing the appeal brought by London Borough of Merton Council. The court was asked to decide whether, under section 43(5) and (6)(a) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, the charity was entitled to this relief from non-domestic rates on premises which are occupied by a charity and used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes.

Victoria Mahon de Palacios, partner at law firm Wedlake Bell, says: “Organisations that provide benefit to fee paying members only can be charitable provided a sufficient section of the public can access such benefits (known as the ‘public benefit’ requirement). This means ensuring that those with modest means are not excluded from benefit.  Fee-charging charities would usually meet this requirement if they make some allowances for those who would not otherwise be able to afford their membership fees (e.g. discounted memberships, certain free services etc).”  

She comments: “Nuffield Health fitness centres across the country will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief with today's judgment, in favour of Nuffield Health, given that the Supreme Court has decided that whether a charity meets the public benefit requirement under charity law for the purposes of relief from business rates is assessed against the activities of the charity as a whole and not whether each site where the charity operates meets the requirement. 

“The judgment will bring comfort to charities who operate at various premises. Had the judgement gone the other way, such charities would now be needing to carefully review whether each of their sites meet the public benefit requirement under charity law so as to continue claiming rates relief on charity grounds.”