Charities ‘must plan for crisis'

Charities are being warned they must plan for a crisis as they are as susceptible to bad press as private sector organisations.

It does not matter how good you are, something bad can and will happen, says Kirsty Lee of Amazon PR.

She points out that working with vulnerable people, or on sensitive issues such as mental health, relationships or homelessness, means charities are in many ways more vulnerable to difficult situations.

And this can have a huge reputational impact and affect their ability to operate or raise funds, she warns.

A celebrity patron going off-message, missing funds or allegations against staff or volunteers are deeply distressing to families, service users and employees.

But they can also do damage to an organisation's reputation, Lee says, and with 24-hour news outlets and online forums that damage can now happen quicker than ever.

Charities are told that the only way to tackle this is to act instantly and that can only be done if plans have already been put in place.

Lee says if charities can respond quickly, they will show they are in control, open and committed.  But if they get it wrong it could take months or years to recover - if they manage it at all.