Celebrating Small Charity Week

Pauline Broomhead, CBE, is founding CEO of the Foundation for Social Improvement (charity no. 1123384), the organisation behind Small Charity Week.

I’m so thrilled to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Small Charity Week this year and to see all the amazing initiatives during the week involving our partners, charities and friends, including NCVO.

The Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) started Small Charity Week 10 years ago, after identifying that there was no one day celebrating the amazing work of small charities and community groups across the UK. Making up around 97% of the sector, these small but mighty organisations are essential to a thriving society, and we felt it was important to celebrate and champion them with not just a day, but a week!

Since then, 13,555 charities have taken part, nearly half a million pounds has been raised, volunteers have given out 3,446 hours of advice, we’ve stirred up 8,356 messages of small charity love, 2,536 charities have engaged with policy makers and influencers, and the small charity love has reached over 4.5 million on social media!

This year’s Small Charity Week sees the return of many popular initiatives like Big Advice Day at City Hall, our Policy Day roundtable and reception in Westminster, Fundraising Day conference, resources and prizes, and the announcement of our Small Charity Big Impact Awards winners! There are also a range of events, competitions and resources being offered by partners across the country, including some exciting new announcements from NCVO.

Our top tips for NCVO members wanting to get involved

• Make some noise about your charity and win prizes on I Love Small Charities Day – ask your supporters to share why they love you!
• Look out for opportunities for free advice, chances to engage with local authorities, and celebration day events across the country on our events listing.
• Grab one of the last few spaces on our Fundraising Conference to learn from expert speakers, for just £25!
• Make the most of expert blogs, free resources and new research being launched during the Week – sign up to the mailing list to make sure you don’t miss out.
• Take this opportunity to raise awareness of your work and thank those that help you achieve it on Celebration Day, by running your own event or taking part in our online celebrations.

Finally, Small Charity Week, and in fact all of the sector’s work, is stronger if we work together, so we’re delighted about the FSI’s strategic partnership with NCVO and that infrastructure organisations are ever more aware of the importance of supporting smaller charities.

The invitation is open for anyone wanting to be part of Small Charity Week 2020 – let’s start talking and make the 11th year even bigger!