UK charity shops now total over 11,000, research shows

There are over 11,000 charity shops in the UK, the Charity Retail Association has revealed, after completing the task of compiling a list of every known shop in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Association’s latest figures show there are 11,249 charity shops operating in the UK. The country-by-country break down is as follows: England: 9437 Scotland: 963 Wales: 549 Northern Ireland: 300 According to the Charity Retail Association, it carried out the research to help its public affairs objectives, which include campaigning on issues such as charity shop volunteering, Retail Gift Aid, rate relief for charity shops, plus promoting charity shops as environmental beacons and community hubs in British society. More than 8,700 charity shops in the UK are members of the Charity Retail Association – around 77 per cent of the sector – with the target to raise this on an annual basis part of the Association’s three-year strategic plan published in 2017. Robin Osterley, Charity Retail Association CEO, said: “Our research team have done a great job in producing the most comprehensive and reliable set of statistics available anywhere on UK charity shops. We are determined to fulfil our strategic plan goal of being a trusted and respected repository of information about the sector and its performance.”  

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2njV2jJ