Charities Run Out of Money — Just When They Need it Most

David Strudley, Acorns' chief executive, explains why it is now having to make 14 staff redundant: "In the course of about six weeks before Christmas corporate and private donations just dried up. It was like suddenly going over a cliff. It was so quick and so fast.

"We did some fundraising over Christmas which provided, but it hasn't cured the problem. What we've found is that the number of donations hasn't declined, but the amount of money coming in has. We now need to make about £1.5m in savings, so we're having to let a few people go which is heartbreaking.