Small charities' failure to collaborate is creating a “lost opportunity” to solve social problems, the chief executive of the FSI has said, following new research published by her organisation.
Pauline Broomhead's comments follow research by FSI - a foundation set up by Emma Harrison of A4e to help small charities - that reveals only 19 per cent of small charities collaborate effectively together “to any meaningful degree”.
“This is a real loss for the sector,” Broomhead told Civil Society News. “There is no doubt that small charities are extremely good at coming up with solutions to some of the most serious social problems facing the world today. In isolation, they may be too small to take a great idea or a great solution to a wider beneficiary audience but partnering up with another organisation can set the wheels in motion.”
Broomhead said failure to share knowledge, risks time wasted on “superficial partnerships that don’t truly benefit the charity and don’t add any real and lasting value to the support and services we deliver”.
“Of course there are risks associated with collaboration,” she said. “However with effective planning, and setting clear roles and objectives from the beginning, the small charity sector can grow to provide more valuable services to more people.”
Instead, Broomhead urges small charities to “move on from networking” and focus on “building strategic alliances, working in formal partnerships and joint ventures and if it’s right for our beneficiaries, merging to ensure a sustainable future”.
Increasing demand
FSI’s Small Charity Index published yesterday reveals that demand for the services of small charites is increasing in the wake of public sector cuts. At the same time, finances of small charities remain unstable in light of a “public funding environment that has shifted towards one that favours competition commissioning and contract models", squeezing smaller charities out of the market.
In the current quarter, only 7 per cent of respondents reported income rises of above 10 per cent, while 20 per cent experienced a decrease. The Index reveals that the biggest fall in income for smaller charities, is statutory income – with a 6 per cent drop since June 2013.
Of the 316 respondents to the survey – and "several thousand" used in previous data references since 2013 – 47 per cent describe their services as being delivered within their local communities, bringing a “deeper understanding of their beneficiaries’ needs” and “allowing them to be more responsive”, according to the Index.
“Changes in the wider funding environment has meant many small charities are having to fill the gap left when statutory services close, and coupled with the impact of welfare reforms, this has resulted in an unprecedented increase in demand for their services – with 98 per cent of households reporting having used at least one charitable service in the last year,” the report states.
'Pushed to the limit'
Despite an increase in workload for small charities – 32 per cent of respondents said this was their greatest concern – staff motivation remains high, with just over three quarters of respondents – 76 per cent – reporting staff morale as "good to excellent" over the current quarter.
But the Index also warns that trustees are being “pushed to the limit” by increasing demand for services in a climate of static levels of income.
Despite this, good governance is improving with a greater number of small charities now holding reserves.
“The role of the charity trustee has never neem more complex,” the report warns. “It is therefore important that trustees are supported to have the skills and capabilities to lead their small charities through the complexities of working in the voluntary sector.
FSI is a membership charity that exists to support small charities. It currently has 4,500 members – consisting of small charities with an annual income of £1.5m and under.
Data for the 2016 Index was collected between 1st March 2016 and 22nd April 2016 – and refers to the period between 1st December 2015 to 29th February 2016.
