From a survey carried out by the charities commission, more than 50% of charities were affected by the economic impact in the last few years. Some charities tried to reduce their costs by cutting down on telephone costs, printing and stationery, sending more emails and reducing postage, merging with other charities, drawing from their reserves and increased on fundraising activities among others. Many charities are optimistic that they would be able to recover at a slower pace than expected.