The latest research suggests that nearly ten percent of small charities are likely to have to close their doors, however only a small fraction are cooperating with other charities in order to pool resources and deliver services. Small charities lack the resources to keep their doors open because they face an increase in workload combined with declining funding. The research suggests that 66 per cent of the charities polled said they collaborated with other small charities however the vast majority of organisations really mean networking rather than a meaningful partnership.
More effective when partnering with other organisations
The Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI), the organisation which runs the Small Charity Week has issued a report titled “Collaboration: more than the sum of the parts” as part of the week’s Policy Day events. The week has the purpose of raising the profile of many smaller charities by holding events across the UK. According to the research, small charities are more effective and spend less money delivering services when they collaborate with other organisations. One particular organisation that has befitted from collaboration is LGBT Consortium which has a national membership of 275 and has made use of collaboration to pool resources. The organisation was established in 1998 and grew organically out of its own community.
Paul Roberts OBE, CEO at LGBT Consortium explained: “Just this week, one of our larger members closed – the second so far this year – emphasising that more than ever, we need to collaborate to support each other.
By sharing resources and combining efforts when applying for funding, we are able to pool best practice and coordinate shared learning. Small charities are expected to know a lot of things on a lot of topics, but we can’t be experts in everything. Developing partnerships to learn more about individual issues enables us to better talk on behalf of our members.
Money in the charity sector is scare but we believe there is a need for the community and specialist service that LGBT Consortium provides – it offers a voice to a community that otherwise might not be heard.”
Pauline Broomhead, CEO at the FSI commented, “The results from the research indicate, quite strongly, that small charities don’t collaborate enough in any meaningful way. This is a real loss for the sector as 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 organisations, like LGBT Consortium, can set the wheels in motion.
If we don’t collaborate, genuinely start to share our knowledge and learning with each other, we will miss out on a vital opportunity, waste time on superficial partnerships that don’t add any real and lasting value to the support and services we deliver.”
