Almost two-thirds of small charities are having difficulties finding support, according to a new report.
Small Charity Crisis – Vital and Under Threat, published by the charity and online platform Charity Excellence, is based on sector research analysis and its own surveys of almost 240 respondents.
Charity Excellence said its research highlighted a “significant gap” between the support needed by charities with annual incomes of up to £500,000 and what they can realistically access.
It found that 64 per cent of respondents said finding support was “difficult or a struggle”, while just 2 per cent said they could easily find the help they need.
About 72 per cent of the sample said access to the right help would have a “real or major impact” on their organisation.
“The findings also show that national infrastructure support is of more limited practical value to most charities compared with local and specialist provision,” the report says.
“Qualitative responses consistently emphasise the importance of local infrastructure, peer and cause‑based networks, mentoring, trustee and governance support, fundraising help, templates, and access to tailored expert advice.
“Respondents noted that national infrastructure either does not feel accessible or does not meet their day‑to‑day needs, while local and specialist support is seen as more relevant, trusted and actionable.”
The survey findings point to a “clear structural need” for a network that prioritises making local and specialist support visible and easy to access, rather than relying on national provision alone.
The infrastructure bodies that have traditionally supported the majority of the sector have faced issues, with the Small Charities Coalition and the Foundation for Social Improvement among the organisations closing in recent years.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations earlier this year cut most of its practical support team, which ran its Small Charities Helpdesk.
Charity Excellence also published a report on AI which found there is a “significant gap” between charities’ use of AI and board oversight of such use.
Infrastructure charities reported that AI-only solutions would exclude many of the small charities they support, the report says.
“There is a real risk that the larger charities, which can access funding far more easily, will commission major AI systems, either only for their own use or which are only really effective for larger charities like themselves, which have the ability to fully use these,” Charity Excellence said.
“This would further exclude small charities and increase digital exclusion within the sector.
“There is also a risk of a more general widening gap: better‑resourced charities moving ahead with governed AI adoption while most (particularly small charities) remain stuck in low‑confidence experimentation.”
Charity Excellence said the sector needed highly accessible, useful technology in the hands of everyone with humans in the loop, not large-scale advanced technology.