单项选择题

Charities are facing a multi-billion pound black hole in their finances as companies withdraw sponsorship and individuals cancel standing orders as the economic downturn bites, according to an authoritative study published today. A survey of 362 charities by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Finance Directors" Group reveals that charity incomes are expected to fall in real terms and costs to rise. PwC estimates that the deficit could reach ￡2.3bn next year as the UK heads towards recession. The forecast is the clearest sign yet of the crisis facing the charitable sector as a result of the credit crisis and has been met with warnings that charity services—often aimed at helping victims of financial hardship—will be curtailed, and some may even collapse.
The squeeze has already seen the value of corporate donations fall. The British Red Cross was forced to cancel its winter gala ball beside the Thames this month as it could not find a corporate sponsor for an event which usually raises ￡500,000. Shelter, the housing charity, lost ￡400,000 in the space of six weeks this autumn when corporate sponsors, including the nationalised mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, cancelled donations. Charity chief executives will now press ministers further to release a ￡500m emergency fund to help see them through the slump.
After a decade of strong growth in revenues, the value of legacies and wills—which account for a third of the income of UK charities—has also plunged, and the charities" investment income has collapsed in line with the stock markets. According to the survey, the only growth looks set to come from charity shops, as bargain hunters turn to second hand goods. Even that is threatened by a lack of goods to sell, as some would-be donors try to raise extra cash by selling their stuff online.
"In all aspects the recession is upon us and the economic climate is looking gloomy," said Keith Hickey, chief executive of the Charity Finance Directors" Group. "The one certainty is that our beneficiaries will need us more than ever. We must respond to this demand by ensuring that our charities are strongly led and able to ensure that we make the maximum possible use of resources."
The crisis has come at a difficult time for Shelter, which offers advice on mortgage problems, homelessness, keeping warm and coping with rent payment. Overall, however, the British Red Cross believes its income will grow modestly next year, largely from monthly direct donations gathered through face-to-face fundraising. "It is going to be tough, but it is not all doom and gloom," said the spokesman of the Red Cross. "We are watching our individual donations closely and there is no detectable change." The current funding crisis is mainly caused by ______