Why local charities are so important

There are currently 223,479 registered charities in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland under the Charity Commission. Of those in England and Wales, around 65% are small charities with an annual income of less than £50,000.  

According to the most recent findings by Small Charities Data, over three quarters of small charities operate locally. With a cost-of-living crisis and government cuts to essential local and national services, small charities are more important within their communities than ever before. But crises and cuts also mean that small charities are facing greater pressures on their funding, resources, staff, and volunteers.  

The pressures of working for a small charity 

Working for a small charity is highly rewarding as your impact can be more visible as you’re able to see the tangible difference you’re making. But working for a small charity often comes with stress and pressures. Below are some of the most common pressures of working for a small charity. 

Staff take on multiple roles 

In small charities, where budgets are tight and headcounts are low, staff often take on more than one role. For example, someone might be responsible for both communications and fundraising or the CEO may also be the person responsible for finance. This can lead to added stress and even burnout if not managed properly.  

Limited or no budget for innovation and digital technology 

Digital technology can help charities to be more efficient, streamlined, and effective. But it comes at a cost. Asking for investment in technology when it could be spent directly on delivering services can be difficult to justify to trustees.  

This is why many small charities still rely on spreadsheets as constituent relationship management systems even though adopting a purpose-built digital platform could be much more effective for achieving the charity’s intended impact. 

Greater scrutiny of local charities 

Every charity, big or small, has overheads and whilst the public mostly accepts this, there is always pressure to ensure that the majority of funds raised go directly to the cause. For local charities this pressure may be felt even more acutely as their beneficiaries live and work in the community in which they operate.  

The positive aspects of working for a small charity 

Although there is a lot of pressure working for a small charity, there are also a lot of benefits. One is a great sense of pride and satisfaction knowing that your charity is an essential part of the community.   

Local charities are often deeply embedded in their communities and have a unique understanding of the specific needs within them. These may be issues such as poverty, homelessness, a lack of green spaces, food insecurity, or not enough safe spaces for young people to socialise outside of school.  

Here are four reasons why local charities are so important to their communities and to society.  

Tailored support 

Unlike large charities that tend to focus on national or international issues, small charities are often deeply embedded within their communities and are hyper-local. Most, if not all, staff and volunteers live within the community themselves, so they understand the needs of the community and the gaps which exist.  

This means that they can provide culturally relevant and tailored services which provide direct impact to their beneficiaries. 

Filling gaps in services 

When a crisis occurs that should go through a traditional system, but delays or budget constraints hinder immediate intervention, local charities step up and act as a safety net. 

This could mean setting up food banks or multibanks around the community to address food insecurity or poverty, supporting people who are rough sleeping to find a warm bed for the night, or helping refugees access the practical information they need to navigate the system and integrate into society. 

Fostering community spirit 

Many small charities rely on volunteers to help deliver their services. These could be community outreach volunteers who visit with people in their homes, food bank volunteers who help package food parcels, or volunteers who help run free sports clubs for children.  

By bringing together people in the community to help their neighbours, they foster a sense of real community spirit and a shared sense of local pride.  

Economic and social value 

According to NCVO’s UK Civil Society Almanac 2024, the voluntary sector is worth around £69.1 billion – but if you include its social impact, the sector’s contribution to the economy is nearly three times as much. This equates to around £200 billion.  

Local charities provide social value in their communities by improving people’s quality of life and wellbeing, bringing positive changes to the environment, addressing inequality, and fostering community cohesion.