Small Charity Week runs from the 15th – 20th June, and is an opportunity to celebrate the important and vital work that small charities do in the UK. From keeping communities running to conserving habitats for rare animals, we really could not survive without them. They are the lifeblood of our communities and make a huge impact to society.
We’ve rounded up four of the best ways you can support small charities that mean the most to you.
1) Fundraise
There are so many ways to fundraise for your favourite charities, from challenge events to hosting a coffee morning. Here’s a great list of fundraising A -Z ideas from JustGiving to help give you some inspiration if you’re looking to do your own thing, however, don’t forget to also visit the charity’s own website to see what fundraising events, challenges and campaigns they already have that you can sign up for.
2) Raise awareness
Many small charities don’t have staff dedicated to communications and marketing to help promote the work of the charity. Instead of paid campaigns to get the word out about their wonderful work, smaller organisations really rely on their supporters to help them through word of mouth. Your contribution could be as simple as posting about the charity on social media, or mentioning the cause in conversation with friends. If you happen to be involved with a business or social group that could build the charity’s profile, which could be helpful too! If you’re planning something like a giveaway or bigger-scale publicity stunt, be sure to reach out to the charity beforehand, just to let them know and to see what materials they could provide you with.
3) Volunteer
Most small charities rely on volunteers to help them with a number of tasks, which could range from office-based volunteer roles to organising events to helping in the community – such as helping out at a food bank by putting food parcels together. Volunteer’s roles are often flexible and can work around your availability. Here’s a post we put together on four ways you can volunteer to help charities.
4) Donate
At the end of the day, all charities rely on donations to run their services, employ any paid staff and organise events. It’s great if you’re able to donate larger sums regularly, but we know that Direct Debit giving isn’t possible for everyone. That’s why we created Pledjar, an app that uses Open Banking technology to round your card transactions up to the nearest pound. You can then donate the pot of spare change to up to three charities of your choice, whilst remaining in complete control of your money. This allows donating to become a seamless part of your month, without having to worry about whether you have enough left in your account for a Direct Debit donation. We work with the Small Charities Coalition to make sure you’re able to support smaller causes, as well as bigger ones.
