Small Charity Leaders And Trustees: Five Things To Remember

Running a small charity is not easy, but passion and support are important. Passion can create opportunities, raise awareness and increase support from others. However, when a group come together with the passion to affect change, they do not always understand the true magnitude of the challenge ahead. This can lead to dwindling support and for people’s passion to fade.

This short piece is for Trustees and those leading charities who maybe just starting out or who may be experiencing dwindling support or passion in their cause. Using my experience of being both an employee and a Trustee of small charities, here are five things I feel trustees and charity leaders should remember

#1 Writing a simple plan can help you keep focused

I know it sounds like a basic thing to remember, but you will be surprised how many good willed groups I have come across that have no idea what they plan to do to start realising their vision. Passion is a great motivator but many funders will want to see some sort of plan and budget, especially if the organisation does not have a documented track record such as first year accounts.

#2 It doesn’t have to be perfect all the time

This is something I learnt early on. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying stop having a keen eye for detail or stop making the effort to showcase your organisation’s work. However, this can be done in a simple way without you having to stay up to the early hours of the morning, the night before an event or report deadline. Most of the time, the best results come from a simple action.

#3 Buy-in from staff and trustees will make it easier

Not every decision is going to be liked by everyone involved in the organisation. However, giving them the time to express their concerns and the opportunity to talk it through can really help build the case. You may not be able to get everyone on board but having taken the time to listen, you may be able to determine the barriers to future decisions.

#4 Volunteers are a great asset, use them

I have heard many reasons over the years why tasks and duties can not be done by volunteers. Most of the time, people are just not able to let go or delegate due to lack of faith or resource management. Using volunteers can build your organisation’s skill base, increase access to knowledge and provide more hands on deck. If you still have concerns, make sure you have a policy and easy to follow procedures in place to help manage volunteers. These will make the process easier.

#5 Always evaluate but be sensible about it

It is a known fact that charities are great at having a positive impact on society. But they are also known to be bad at documenting that impact. If you haven’t already, whenever you start a new activity or service, take the time to plan your evaluation path. Start with your outcomes (the change you hope to make) and work back to your outputs (what you plan to do). This will help you map out the proposed change and give you a good understanding of how to evaluate. Working this way will make your project easier to monitor and you won’t annoy your beneficiaries with constant feedback requests.

There you have it, make a plan, keep it simple, get buy-in, use volunteers and evaluate your impact. The five things to remember when running your small charity. Continuing to develop these areas will help to maintain both passion and support for your cause. There is a world of resources out there to help small charities be more effective as they do more for those they serve. Have a look at National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Directory of Social Change (DSC) for some useful tools.

If you feel your charity could use some one to one support or you need help with a project, Positive Community Finance Ltd offers a range of support options for small charities. Check our website service pages or contact us using the green button above to arrange a phone call.

We are always happy to talk things through, so get in touch!