Mark Lyttleton is the founder of Percent for Good, a new charity launched to enable professionals to pledge a small percentage of their salary to support worthy causes and contribute to the improvement of society in the long term. This article will look at how, despite the huge exposure garnered by national and international organisations, opting to support a small charity can be incredibly impactful.
In June each year, the UK charity sector celebrates Small Charity Week, dedicating seven days to raising awareness of the essential work carried out by the country’s small charities. These organisations make an invaluable contribution to changing and saving the lives of millions of individuals, improving communities and furthering causes both within the UK and globally.
Often working locally, small charities are ideally positioned to build relationships throughout entire communities, helping underserved demographics to access the help that they need. Other small charity workers and volunteers work on the ground in some of the world’s poorest nations, embedded in communities that rely on their support and expertise just to survive.
Funded by The Lloyds Bank Foundation, The Value of Small is a groundbreaking report that reveals that smaller, local charities combine three defining features that set them apart from larger charities and public sector providers. Often serving as ‘first responders’ to people in crises, small charities plug gaps left by other organisations, providing safe, familiar places for service users to receive practical support or be connected with other local service providers thanks to the small charity’s extensive local networks.
Another key distinction between small charities and larger organisations lies in the ability of small charities to effectively create person-centred relationships with clients for longer. By maintaining an open-door approach and getting to grips with local issues, small charities are better placed to make quick decisions. Small charities also tend to reflect the diversity of local communities more closely through their volunteers and staff.
Another important differentiator between small and large charities lies in the small charity’s far-reaching, well-established networks, which essentially serve as the ‘glue’ holding local communities together. The Lloyds Bank Foundation’s research suggests that small charities help local communities to cope better with service fragmentation and funding cuts than larger bodies.
For individuals seeking to donate to charity, the sheer number of options available can be overwhelming. However, by focusing on smaller charities, donors can support small-scale operations acting with a laser-focus on impact. While larger charities tend to tackle a broader range of issues, smaller organisations tend to focus their resources on niche areas, enabling donors to more easily see the direct impact of their contribution. In addition, small charities are often more cost effective, typically with lower overheads, as they do not operate huge offices or complex administrative structures.
Just because a charity is small doesn’t mean it can’t make a live-changing or life-saving impact on people’s lives. Although the large multinational organisations grab more headlines, in reality, 97% of UK registered charities are defined as small, generating an income of less than £1 million according to Work for Good; 47% of these are micro charities, generating less than £10,000 annually. It is startling to note that despite accounting for the vast majority of UK charities, small charities receive just 20% of total charitable giving today.
Despite surviving on a shoestring budget, the game-changing work of small charities should not be underestimated. For small charities, raising income, support and awareness typically represent huge stumbling blocks, as they lack resources in terms of advertising revenue and human power to make magic happen. Nevertheless, small charities play an incredibly important role in society, providing essential services, support and jobs while simultaneously adding value to individuals, the community and the economy.
