East London Cares is no longer operational – this website is for information only
Legacy

Announcing the closure of The Cares Family charities

Please note: this post is 11 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

The Board of Trustees is deeply sad to share that The Cares Family charities will cease operating immediately, due to insolvency. We know this news is sudden and will come as a shock.

We’re fiercely proud of the work of our charities in tackling loneliness and isolation across London, Manchester and Liverpool, and in supporting others across the UK to make a similar difference in their own communities.

The sad reality is that, like many charities, we’re in a desperately difficult fundraising environment. While support for tackling isolation increased during the pandemic, in the current economic climate this has fallen away significantly, with many pressing issues competing for the limited support available.

Unfortunately, many of the greatest strengths of the Cares Family—our advocacy for issues that have long been underappreciated, and our model of investing almost all funding straight into running programmes and projects for the communities we serve—have made it even harder to survive. We simply don’t have the flexibility to significantly reduce our costs without making it impossible to deliver against our commitments.

In recent weeks we've extensively explored all options, with expert financial and legal advice, and have come to the conclusion that there’s no viable path for the charities that would enable them to continue their work.

This is a very sad day for our staff, the communities we serve, and the many partners we’ve worked with along the way. We’re doing all we can to ensure older and younger neighbours are aware of other sources of support. The Board will also explore ways to empower other organisations and community leaders who are interested in building on all that we’ve learned together. We’re deeply proud of the work of The Cares Family charities, and hope that the legacy of our work will show in the seeds of connection and community power that we have sown.