Overview

  • In 2020, small charities were most likely to be ‘fully representative’ of the people their charities serve.
  • Small charities were most likely to report that they have directly involved service users in the design of services in the past three years, at over three quarters (77%) of small charities.
  • In 2020, over half (58%) of small charities had a service user on their board of trustees, the highest proportion compared to large or major charities (47% and 49% respectively).

How likely are small charities to be representative of the people their organisation serves?

  • In 2020, small charities were most likely to be fully representative of the people their organisations serve.

Do small charities have representation from minority groups on their boards?

  • Small charities were least likely to have no representation on their boards from people under 30 or from the LGBT community (82% and 85% respectively).
  • Under half of small charities had some representation on their boards from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic communities, people with a disability and people from religious communities.
  • Women make up over half of small charities’ boards in the majority (55%) of small charities.

What proportion of small charities have service users on their board?

  • In 2020, over half (58%) of small charities had a service user on their board of trustees, the highest proportion compared to large or major charities (47% and 49% respectively).
  • This is a 15% increase from 2017, meaning that small charities also made the greatest increase compared to large or major charities (1% and 5% respectively).

What approaches have small charities taken to engage service users?

  • In 2020, at least a half of small charities used various approaches to engage their services users in shaping their organisations’ activities.
  • They were most likely to report that they have directly involved service users in the design of services in the past 3 years, at over three quarters (77%) of small charities.
  • Between 2017 and 2020, the proportion of small charities using these approaches within the last three years has grown.

Where do small charities work with minority ethnic communities regionally?

  • In 2020, 36% of small charities in London work with minority ethnic communities, followed by 11% of small charities in the North West.
  • The lowest proportion of small charities working with minority ethnic communities is in the North East at 3%.

insights

Find out what small charities do

Explore data about what activities small charities do and where they work

Find out more
insights

The impact of Covid-19 on small charities

How has COVID-19 affected the needs and services of small charities? What challenges has COVID-19 posed?

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Further Reading

New Philanthropy Capital 2020 State of the Sector 2020: The condition of charities before the Covid-19 crisis

Locality 2016 Our Impact report 2016

Third Sector Trends Research (The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Durham University) 2020 Diversity and inclusion in organisational leadership: Evidence from Third Sector Trends 2020