In 2002, Iain Duncan Smith, then leader of the Conservative Party, visited the Easterhouse estate – one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas – where he saw the power of community work.
Two years later, Duncan Smith, who said he had “frequently encountered significant social breakdown and dysfunctionality across the country”, set up the think tank Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
In his words, the CSJ would work “to improve the quality of life of the worst off in Britain” by developing “new, innovative poverty-fighting solutions to the social challenges facing Britain, working closely with voluntary sector groups, charities and community entrepreneurs”.
In 2021, the think tank established the CSJ Foundation to work with small frontline voluntary organisations, bring their work to the attention of Westminster policymakers and provide a platform for philanthropists to support them.
Recently registered as a charity, the foundation also supports other foundations to operate efficiently by providing their back office infrastructure.
Directing money to smaller charities
Nathan Gamester, managing director of the CSJ Foundation, says community-based organisations deserve more recognition for solving many social problems.
“Often, these smaller frontline organisations have a lot of the solutions,” he says.
“There are small organisations that are successfully getting people off the streets from sleeping rough and into accommodation or work. From a policy perspective, we feel there’s a lot to be learned from that.
“If something’s working at a local level, could it, for example, be scaled up to work at a national level, and therefore have real relevance with the national policy conversation?”
Gamester and others at the CSJ Foundation originally thought that its work on philanthropy would be “a side hustle”. However, they found that it has taken off over the past four years.
On its website, the foundation reported that it has helped direct nearly £25m to grassroots charities, and Gamester predicts that it could direct between £10m and £12m this year.
He describes the foundation’s network of organisations it supports, called the CSJ Alliance, as its “eyes and ears across the UK”, with their insights feeding into CSJ’s policy work.
“Small charities are crying out for funding.
“It’s difficult at the moment to access funding, particularly private philanthropy, and so the charities love the opportunity to connect with donors.
“On the other hand, the philanthropists love it because they often have a pot of money, family foundation or something like that.
“Many of the people we work with have made their money in London in business, but come from Gateshead, Oldham, Newcastle, wherever, and want to give back to smaller organisations near where they grew up or lived.”
‘Funding imbalance’ in the sector
Gamester says that the CSJ Foundation is filling a gap and doing something different to other organisations.
While community foundations tend to act as place-based funders, the CSJ Foundation distributes London money out into the regions, he says.
“About 90% of our philanthropic giving is directed outside of London.
“When you look at the statistics around philanthropic giving, you realise that that’s the opposite of what normally happens. London receives by far more philanthropic giving than any other region.”
In its Underfunded and Overlooked report, published in May 2024, the CSJ Foundation analysed Charity Commission data to conclude that 85% of all charitable income in England and Wales goes to the 4% largest registered charities.
Gamester says this means that the smaller charities “are left to fight over a very slim slice of the pie”.
“Despite that, it’s smaller charities that are often doing some of the most vital work in communities.
“We very purposely and unapologetically focus our firepower [on supporting] smaller charities. Often, smaller charities don’t have fundraisers, teams to fill out long application forms for grantmaking organisations and so on.
“If we’re able to find the best and fund them, then we’re helping, in our small way, address that funding imbalance that exists within the sector.”
Philanthropic tools lacking
Gamester says that there is a lack of infrastructure for wealthy people who wish to donate to smaller organisations.
“There isn’t, for example, a centralised, publicly available mapping database or tool where you can say: ‘I’m interested in Hackney, Gateshead or Norwich. What charitable organisations are available there?’
“Tools are lacking; there should be more. In our Supercharging Philanthropy report, we made some recommendations, for example, for the Charity Commission. The commission sits on all of this data, but it’s not being used to maximum effect.”
He says there is an opportunity for the CSJ Foundation to find and help these individuals who wish to donate more funding to organisations and causes that need it.
“We know, for example, that in the coming 10-15 years, there’ll be a huge transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.
“The boomer generation, who have done very well, set up family foundations and all the rest of it, will be passing that wealth onto their children. That presents a big opportunity. We already work with a lot of family foundations that are either going through or planning for that process.
“All of a sudden, you might have not only a big transfer of wealth and an increase in available philanthropic funding, but also a new cohort of givers. That’s a huge opportunity to tap into, and we’re looking forward to engaging with that.”
‘We don’t champion philanthropy well in the UK’
Gamester says more should be done in the UK to boost philanthropic giving.
CSJ’s Supercharging Philanthropy report, published in March 2025, warns that “without clear leadership from government about the power, purpose and potential of philanthropy, charitable giving is in danger of tailing off”.
It suggests the government commit to £3.27bn of match funding “to galvanise philanthropists to bring public spend and private investment together to turn the tide on achieving social projects that serve the five national missions”.
Explaining the reason for this proposal, Gamester says if a philanthropist wanted to give £1m and knew that it would then become £2m, it might entice them to give more.
“All the research shows that match funding has a bigger multiplier effect than just a one-to-one match.
“It can be a win-win. The government can fund some of its own priorities and initiatives, and it doesn’t have to be new projects.”
For example, he says there are philanthropists who would be willing to fund support for ex-prisoners trying to get back into work and to prevent reoffending.
“Coming together in a match-fund project for something like that should be a no-brainer. Yet, UK governments, for the most part, haven’t managed to do that.”
Gamester says there should be “a national philanthropy champion” – who would not necessarily be a government minister – and regional versions of the role, with specific targets.
These champions, he says, could work with government to encourage other philanthropists and lift the profile of philanthropy publicly.
“One of the things we don’t do well in this country is champion philanthropy. We’re a little bit nervous and reluctant to talk about philanthropy because that’s talking about wealth, and we don’t like that.”
‘We need to bang the drum for the little guys’
Looking ahead, Gamester says his organisation has a responsibility to be diligent with the funding it directs.
“Every penny that goes into the charities we support is a penny not going to another charity, so we feel the responsibility of making sure we do that due diligence well.”
He says there is more the CSJ Foundation can do to get small charities’ voices heard nationally.
“You talk to any of the charities we work with, and what you find is that they’re, in many ways, the backbone of their local community.
“They’re the ones providing help to single mums, scooping up families and kids who are falling outside of school and all that sort of thing.
“We want to make sure that we’re raising their profile and supporting them.”
When the government or media want to talk to the sector, they tend to approach big charities that have relations and press departments, says Gamester, and the CSJ Foundation tries to address this.
“We see it as our real challenge to make sure we’re banging the drum for the little guys as much as we can.”
