The difference you make
The impact of a considered gift – whether via a grant, sponsorship or workplace scheme, restricted or unrestricted donation – is hugely significant to ARC.
Structured giving ensures our services can continue and expand.
Funding also provides opportunities to develop long-lasting relationships with likeminded, compassionate organisations, and raise awareness of the complexities of the antenatal screening process and its consequences across the charitable sector and workplaces.
Why support ARC?
ARC is the UK’s only charity to provide impartial information and advice for expectant parents and healthcare professionals throughout the complex antenatal screening process. Our core mission is to ensure that all parents and parents can access information and support, and we support all parents’ decision-making, whether it be to continue with or, sadly, terminate a much-wanted pregnancy.
Our work is not publicly funded, and so we are almost entirely dependant on the kindness of our parents, professional members and compassionate funders and corporate partners.
How recent grants and partnerships have made all the difference:
- With the National Lottery Community Fund, ARC’s ‘Making Connections’ programme is focussed on increase our parenting and professional reach UK-wide, and improving the services we offer to those facing, or bereaved after ending, a pregnancy following a diagnosis of foetal anomaly.
- With the Mary Homfray Trust, ARC is enhancing its parent and professional services in Wales .
- With clinical partners like Diagnostic Ultrasound Services and the Beard Mill Trust, ARC is ensuring that patients have access to the support and information services that we provide, should a patient receive a worrying result or diagnosis during a consultation.
See our full current supporter list. We are so grateful for this ongoing support.
Did you know?
£500 provides one hospital unit with 250 ARC handbooks: for parents and professionals coping with the implications of a prenatal diagnosis. These highly-valued booklets include information on ‘Ending a pregnancy after prenatal diagnosis’, ‘Supporting you throughout your pregnancy’ and ‘Help for Fathers’, amongst others.
£1,500 provides three bespoke online training sessions: entitled Supporting Parents through Antenatal Screening and Diagnosis, these workshops are designed to help healthcare professionals provide the highest quality care in challenging circumstances.
£5,500 is the monthly cost to run our parent helpline: our expert staff answer calls and emails, providing a tailored advice and support service to over 6,000 people every year.
Spotlight on our services during the pandemic
All our parent and professional beneficiaries, as well as our capacity to run our services, have been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.Sustained financial support means that ARC can support parents and healthcare professionals through the antenatal screening process, particularly as our services have been significantly stretched since March 2020. We detail exactly how donations make a difference on individual pages; you may also like to read our Annual Review 2020 – 2021, which has a special pandemic focus and includes testimonies from our parent and professionals helped by ARC.
It is clear that the numbers of anxious or isolated people using our services has risen since March 2020 – in particular:
Our helpline engaged with
8,540
contacts by phone & email, a 27% increase on 2019-20
573
families benefitted from our specialist bereavement supportservices
Our upgraded online forum provided
4,000
bereaved parents with a safe space to share experiences
As a result, in 2021 – 2022 we urgently need funding to increase core capacity as well as expanding our reach to under-represented regions across the UK. Our 2021 – 2022 funding priorities also include:
- Improving equity through our resources: providing translations of our publications and developing material specifically for LGBTQI+ families and younger parents.
- Extending our helpline cover: permanently offering out of hours and weekend cover to give working parents, and couples calling together, more opportunities to access support.
- Relaunching our face-to-face engagement: for both parents to meet in small groups, and healthcare professionals undertaking ‘Sensitive Communications’ training.
If you are interested in becoming a funding partner, we would love to hear from you. Please contact our Fundraising Development Officer, Katy at Katy@arc-uk.org.