Small charities are the grassroots of civil society, says Pauline Broomhead.
With Small Charity Week 2014 around the corner I’ve been thinking more and more about the important place small charities have, not only at the centre but in the hearts of their communities.
I am sure we all know a small charity near where we live, work or play and we know that the world we live in is a much safer and healthier place for their presence and their work.
That’s why this Small Charity Week (16-21 June) we need to celebrate their very existence. Against all of the odds and some pretty tough times, small charities are still there, still giving service and still making our world better for all of us.
During this Small Charity week the FSI will release research entitled The Relationship between Small Charities and Public Sector Involvement: the Missing Pieces. The research tells a story of a small charity sector on the cusp of change, facing many challenges as it renegotiates the way it interacts with the State.
The relationship between civil society and the state is a measure of the political and social health of the UK. We need to know: is civil society flourishing? Does it have the support and space to grow? Does the Government respond to the concerns raised by the organisations that represent it?
Small charities are the grassroots of civil society and over the last eight years small charities have been hit by the financial recession, increasing demand for services, falling or at best flat-lining revenues, the transition between grant funding and commissioned contracts (in some cases payment by results) and importantly the changing structure of the environment they work in.
Cuts in government contracts and the changing way in which funding is accessed are not the only issues that small charities are grappling with at this time. The small charity sector must address its continuing ability to remain independent of the state and small charities must remain focused on their own mission and values. An independent small charity sector does not mean that small charities cannot compete to deliver public services; it means that small charities must be wary of public sector contracts that tie them to activities and outcomes that are not completely in alignment with their mission.
The critical question for small charity leaders is how to build strong, resilient and sustainable organisations that are able to manage complex relationships with the public sector, the private sector and other civil society organisations. A key factor in the small charity sector’s ability to deliver services to those in society who are the most vulnerable will be their ability to act autonomously in the best interests of those, or the causes they seek to serve.
As we move forward we, must not forget that not only do people we all know need small charities but that small charities need us too. We must start to look locally at the smaller charities working in our communities and give them support both financially and through volunteering. We must insist that our local MP’s and Commissioners champion the use of small charities to deliver appropriate public services.
However, small charities have to play a part too. They must measure the value they add to their local economy, demonstrate the impact their services have to their beneficiaries. They must work co-operatively, collaboratively and in partnership with each other to increase their capacity and sustainability. And they need to start shouting very, very loud.
If small charities remain hidden from the eyes and ears of local people they will not survive. So I urge small charities to use the platform of Small Charity Week 2014 to shamelessly blow their own trumpet and to indulgently pat themselves on the back and encourage everyone else to do so too.
I hear it said often but it’s true: small charities are the glue that hold society together and we all need to do our bit to ensure that society as we know it never becomes unstuck.
As Small Charity Week opens on Monday with six days of free events and activities we want to thank all of our partners and sponsors for supporting us to make this week possible for small charities.
