Nearly a quarter of charities are unsure they can sustain existing services this year due funding shortfalls.A survey of more than 100 charities, published at a conference on Thursday, found that only 27 per cent received multiannual funding. Many said they were experiencing a funding gap as rising costs exceeded the level of money they received from the State.The Wheel, the national association of charities, which carried out the survey, said the absence of multiannual funding left most “reliant on short-term arrangements that undermine long-term planning”.The organisation’s director of policy and advocacy, Dónall Geoghegan, said the survey highlighted the financial strain across charities, social enterprises and community groups. He said many of these delivered essential public services.“These are not abstract figures. Behind each of these organisations is a team of people, staff, volunteers and trustees, wondering whether they can keep the doors open this year. That should alarm anyone who relies on these services, and that includes the State.” He told The Irish Times the concerns of the charities related mainly to statutory funding rather than revenue generated from public fundraising.The Wheel said staffing remained a critical challenge. It said 38 per cent of organisations said they unable to recruit or retain staff, largely due to uncompetitive pay. It said that while some organisations said they have received additional funding on foot of Workplace Relations Commission agreements to increase salaries, such arrangements did not apply in the case of almost half of those who responded to the survey.The Wheel said administrative pressures were also intensifying. It said almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of organisations reported an increase in compliance and reporting requirements over the past year, with many required to submit the same data to multiple State bodies such as the Charities Regulator, the Companies Registration Office and the HSE. It said 33 per cent of those who took part in the survey maintained they lacked the capacity or funding to meet these obligations. It said the survey found the priorities for the sector were the introduction of multiannual funding, the provision of State resources to meet non-pay costs and cover the cost of compliance as well as the streamlining of regulatory and funding-related compliance requirements.Geoghegan said: “The sector is being stretched to its limits. The Wheel is calling for multiannual funding, better alignment between State contracts and actual costs, and streamlined reporting requirements.“Without meaningful reform to how the sector is funded and supported, we risk undermining the very organisations that communities across Ireland rely on every day,”