Let's Talk Fundraising: Small charities, big impacts and lessons from the frontline of fundraising

The latest episode of Let's Talk Fundraising puts small charities centre stage — covering everything from fundraising readiness and donor love to the shifting grants landscape and what the sector needs to do better. 

Small charities make up around 96% of the UK's voluntary sector. That is roughly 165,000 organisations, most of them run on limited budgets, small teams, and enormous amounts of dedication. Yet when we talk about fundraising, the conversation too often defaults to the big household names.

Episode 5 of Let's Talk Fundraising sets out to change that. Host Tim Beynon is joined by Rob Cope, executive director of membership and operations at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, alongside Emma-Louise Singh and Emma Low, co-directors of Nova Fundraising, a consultancy with small charities at its heart. The result is one of the most practically useful episodes of the series so far.

The landscape: tough, but not without opportunity

Emma-Louise, who has worked across large charities and small grassroots organisations before co-founding Nova, doesn't shy away from the difficulty of the current environment.

The grants climate is increasingly competitive. The cost of living has put pressure on individual giving. And for small charities, where one person may be wearing six different hats, every added challenge lands harder.

But the picture is not uniformly bleak. Legacy fundraising is one income stream widely expected to grow, and Rob, who spent time at Remember A Charity, is clear on the opportunity this represents for smaller organisations: "You only want gifts to be transformational. One gift as a percentage can absolutely change the organisation overnight."

Emma also points to the Charity Commission registering around 10,000 new charities in the past year alone, which signals continued public appetite for local, mission-driven action, even as the funding environment tightens.

Fundraising readiness: eight things to get right

One of the episode's most useful contributions is Nova's Fundraising Readiness Octagon, a framework Emma-Louise and Emma have developed from years of working with small charities at every stage of their journey.

The eight elements are:

1. getting the culture right for fundraising
2. integration (it is a whole-organisation activity, not one person's job)
3. intentionality (make a plan and stick to it)
4. accountability (track your progress)
5. showing impact (monitor and evaluate)
6. being a learning organisation
7. storytelling
8. donor love.

That last point is worth dwelling on. Small charities are often deeply trusted by their communities, but they can be reluctant to ask. As Emma-Louise puts it: "By not asking, you're potentially depriving people of that wonderful feeling." Giving, she argues, is a joy. And it is a small charity's job to offer people that opportunity, not to protect them from it.

The power of saying thank you

If there is one thing small charities do better than their larger counterparts, according to Emma-Louise, it is the quality of their donor acknowledgement.

"Thanking is not an admin task. It is one of the most important things you can do to grow your income."

She cites research from the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy suggesting that a well-executed thank-you can actually increase future donations.

She also shares two examples that illustrate what this looks like in practice: a bladder cancer charity that sent cheap beanies with pin badges to sponsored head-shavers, and a conservation charity that turned offcuts from volunteer clearing work into wooden key rings for donors. Neither cost much and both made people feel genuinely seen.

Capacity: working with what you have

Capacity came up repeatedly throughout the conversation, and for good reason. Many small charity fundraisers are sole practitioners, or chief executives picking up the fundraising alongside everything else.

Emma-Louise's advice is straightforward: "Fundraising is a relationship sport. It's about building relationships with funders, donors, because they invest in the organisation and they invest in the people behind them."

That means the fundraiser does not have to be the only relationship-holder. A programme worker, a trustee, a CEO, can all play a role. Nova's "hand-holding" service exists precisely for organisations that are not yet ready to hire a fundraiser but need support in the interim, and Emma-Louise notes that freelancers, virtual assistants, and apprenticeships are all routes worth considering.

The core message is intentionality: do not try to pursue every income stream at once. Look at where your cause naturally connects with supporters and focus your energy there.

Grants: quality over quantity

On trusts and grants, Emma is direct. "Grants aren't for the faint-hearted." The landscape has shifted significantly since COVID, with many grant-makers closing or tightening their criteria. Her advice is to be strategic: identify 10 to 15 funders who are genuinely well-matched to your work, rather than churning out large numbers of applications.

Collaboration is also increasingly valued by funders, and Emma encourages small charities to think about what they can offer through partnership that would make an application stand out. Your unique selling point matters. Be able to articulate it clearly, verbally as well as on paper.

Finding your community

The episode closes with a practical conversation about professional development and peer connection, something Rob acknowledges the CIOF is actively working to make more accessible for small charities.

Emma-Louise's advice is simple: "Find your tribe." Fundraisers are, she says, a naturally generous and collaborative group.

Whether that is through a CIOF regional group (which is, incidentally, how Emma-Louise and Emma met), Facebook fundraising communities, or Nova's own free Monday morning troubleshooting calls, there are places to go for support, even if they are not always obvious.

Rob also reminds listeners that CIOF membership is completely free for charities with a voluntary income of under £50,000. That includes access to training, resources, templates, a small charity content collection, and regional networks.

In the news

The episode also covers two significant sector developments. Claire Stanley, director of policy and communications at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, discusses the ICO's new guidance on soft opt-in for charitable direct marketing, welcoming the clarity but flagging concerns about the administrative complexity it introduces, particularly around CRM systems. As Claire puts it: "Compliance, supporter trust and fundraising effectiveness are intertwined."

Rob also announces that this year's Fundraising Convention will be its last in its current format, with the CIOF moving to two new one-day events from next year, alongside a year-round programme of in-person and virtual learning. The change reflects member feedback about the need for something more flexible and affordable.

Small Charity Week is the backdrop to this episode, and it is a fitting one. As Rob says in closing: "Small charities undoubtedly are the lifeblood of this sector." This conversation is a reminder of just how much knowledge, generosity, and practical wisdom exists within the small charity fundraising community, and how much there is to learn from it.