Three years ago we wrote about a Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales report on the disproportionate value that small charities bring to society; that they can do things, reach people and solve problems that larger organisations can’t.

Recently Lloyds Bank Foundation have published a new report called The Value of Small in a Big Crisis, exploring how smaller charities responded during the first 6 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, building on and testing the hypotheses from the original Value of Small report.

This new report finds that:

• Smaller charities have demonstrated tremendous energy, flexibility and professionalism in their response to the crisis and have continuously adapted their provision as needs and context have changed. Smaller charities “showed up and the stuck around” in contrast to many parts of the public sector who were slow to react and then moved on.

• Smaller charities found multiple ways to maintain human contact and were distinctive in providing support for 5 main groups/communities: disadvantaged neighbourhoods, communities of faith or ethnicity, people experiencing poor mental health and people seeking asylum - groups whose needs were often less well served by mainstream services.

• Smaller charities created value for a wide range of stakeholders from individuals through communities to the wider economy, all at minimal additional cost to the public purse.

• Smaller charities now face three main challenges as a result of the pandemic: changing beneficiary needs, strains on financial and human resources and sustaining relationships with clients, volunteers and key partners developed before and during the pandemic.

It’s great to see such a robust investigation and analysis of the impacts of the pandemic on smaller charities and it’s reassuring for us to see much of what we have witnessed in supporting our clients validated independently. The report is well worth a read.

As a small consultancy business we continue to specialise in supporting small and medium sized charities to grow, make more impact and stay safe and legal. We never cease to be astounded by the amazing people who run smaller charities. Their dedication to making a difference is inspirational. They are the lifeblood of civil society in the UK and worldwide and the reason we do what we do.

If you'd like to know more about how we can help smaller charities achieve even more for their communities and beneficiaries please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk to arrange a free initial telephone conversation.