The vital importance of small charities is something we’ve written about many times over the years. We’re evangelical about the critical role small charities play and there have been countless surveys and studies to back this up.

Small charities are more flexible, more trusted and often more innovative. They fill the gaps left by shrinking state services and do so with enthusiasm and compassion.

Support tailored to the specific needs of small charities has declined significantly over the years and there are very few signs this trend will reverse in the foreseeable future. Funding for local infrastructure charities has declined and many such organisations no longer provide any free infrastructure support. The Small Charities Coalition closed in 2022 and the Foundation for Social Improvement closed in 2023. Since then the mantle has been taken up by the NCVO but there is no getting away from the fact that finding tailored support for small social sector organisations is harder than ever.

Small Charity Week 2024 (24-28 June) aims to spotlight the importance and role of small charities and help them find the support they need. It’s a great initiative but one that should be maintained with a similar intensity all year round. Blink and you would be forgiven for missing it.

There are some signs of progress. For example, the Resilience Programme, funded by Clarion Futures, Places Foundation and the Fusion21 Foundation provides free consultancy support and core cost grants to small charity and social enterprise partners of housing associations across England. We are proud to be the provider of consultancy services through this programme and to be supporting its future development.

We’re also pleased to be supporting Youth investment Fund grantees, through the YIF Central Support programme, which offers free consultancy support to these small and medium-sized not for profit organisations.

While we accept that such support will always be needed, it seems to us, however, that the biggest difference “the system” could make to help small charities would be to simplify the legal and regulatory framework in which they operate.

The higgledy-piggledy nature of charity law and regulation is, frankly, a nightmare that we all need to wake up from. The complexity and perverse, counter-intuitive nature of the regime stifles legitimate and well-intended social action and puts good people doing good things for others at risk in ways that they are often completely oblivious to.

It’s long past time for review and simplification.

Meanwhile, if your organisation is struggling to navigate this complexity we and our network of trusted associates can help. To find out more about the support and training we offer, please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk to arrange free initial discussion.