Celebrating Small Charity Week: Why Small Charities Matter More Than Ever

trish9645
24 hours ago
3 min read

Every June, the UK comes together to celebrate Small Charity Week, a dedicated time to recognise, support, and uplift the work of small charities across the country. These organisations may be "small" in size, but their impact on communities, lives, and causes is nothing short of remarkable.

🏡 What is Small Charity Week?

Small Charity Week is an annual campaign that highlights the invaluable role of small charities in society. Founded by the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI), the week is filled with events, training, fundraising drives, and awareness campaigns. It’s designed to:

Raise awareness of the work small charities do.
Provide resources and skills to help charities thrive.
Inspire public support through donations and volunteering.
Give charities a platform to be heard by policymakers and funders.

🌍 Why Small Charities Matter

There are around 165,000 registered charities in the UK, and the majority are small, with incomes of under £1 million per year. Many are grassroots organisations embedded in their local communities, tackling:

Food poverty
Homelessness
Youth programmes
Mental health support
Environmental protection
Refugee and asylum seeker assistance
Local arts and culture

Often run by small teams or dedicated volunteers, these organisations step in where larger bodies can’t—or won’t. They work quietly, persistently, and with extraordinary compassion.

💡 The Challenges They Face

While their work is vital, small charities face significant hurdles:

Funding gaps: Competition for grants and donations is fierce.
Limited resources: Small teams must juggle fundraising, operations, and service delivery.
Visibility issues: They often struggle to cut through the noise in a crowded charity sector.

Small Charity Week is a rare chance for these organisations to gain the attention they deserve.

Annual Turnover of Small and Micro Charities in the UK

📌 Definitions (as used by the Charity Commission for England and Wales):

Micro Charities → Annual income under £10,000
Small Charities → Annual income between £10,000 and £100,000
Medium Charities → £100,000 to £1 million
Large/ Major Charities → £1 million and above

📊 Scale and Turnover

Small & Micro Charities make up ~80-85% of all registered charities.
Annual turnover:
- Micro Charities (under £10k income): ~35-40% of all charities
- Small Charities (£10k–£100k income): ~40-45% of all charities

Despite this dominance in numbers, their total financial footprint is small relative to the whole sector:

Combined, small and micro charities control about 5–6% of the total sector income.

💷 Overall Charity Sector Income (UK)

Total UK voluntary sector income (2023-24) → Approximately £90–100 billion per year.
Small and micro charities combined income → Around £5–6 billion of that total.
Major charities (income >£10 million each) → Though they make up only ~1–2% of charities by number, they control ~80% of total sector income.

⚠️ Funding Disparity

Small & micro charities = majority of organisations
But they receive <10% of the sector’s total income.
Large charities dominate public donations, government grants, and contracts.
- Example: The top 1,000 charities take in roughly half of all voluntary donations in the UK.
Grant applications & government funding → Larger charities have more resources to successfully bid for and win funding, often leaving smaller ones struggling.

📎 Why This Matters

Small charities tend to provide high-impact, hyper-local services—reaching vulnerable groups that large organisations sometimes miss.
Despite their critical role, they often lack access to stable funding streams.
This is one reason Small Charity Week and similar campaigns work to increase awareness of this funding imbalance.

📈 Why Businesses Should Support Small Charities

Supporting small charities isn’t just good for communities—it’s good for business. Partnering with local organisations builds:

Stronger community relationships
Positive brand reputation
Employee engagement through meaningful volunteering opportunities
Social impact credentials aligned with ESG and CSR policies

💬 Final Thoughts

Small charities might operate on limited budgets, but they produce limitless hope and impact. Small Charity Week is a time to stop, recognise, and support these everyday heroes.

This June, whether you’re an individual or part of a business, consider: What small charity could use your help? Because when we support small charities, we build stronger, more compassionate communities for everyone.