The English Folk Dance and Song Society (Registered Charity number 305999), along with so many other arts, cultural and heritage organisations, is facing exceptionally uncertain times.
We have lost nearly all of our expected income from what would have been a busy programme of gigs celebrating the 90th birthday of Cecil Sharp House in June 2020.
Our everyday charitable work is hugely subsidised by hiring out Cecil Sharp House when it is not being used for folk activities. Nearly all of this expected income for 2020/21 has also been lost.
Suddenly, our planned break-even budget is projected to become a giant loss by April 2021. And this is assuming that many events will be running again from January.
The recent announcement of £1.5billion rescue funding to the cultural sector is greatly welcomed but we do not know the details as yet and we may find we are not eligible for funding. While we are hopeful of support from this new funding, we still predict being in a much-weakened financial position when we are finally able to resume in full, having had to draw down nearly all of our free reserves to meet our losses. We would not then be able to do the work that we know people want and need, and for which the English Folk Dance and Song Society exists.
A donation of any amount will help enormously to see the English Folk Dance and Song Society through this crisis, and continue to support and deliver folk arts activities into the future.
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