From 23 – 28 June, we’re taking part in the UK’s biggest celebration of small charities – Small Charity Week.

This week of action is a nationwide campaign, coordinated by NCVO and partners, that celebrates and empowers small charities across the UK – helping them thrive and tackle the challenges they face.

Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing inspiring stories from across our patch, showcasing the support we can offer small charities and encouraging the charities we work with to shout about the amazing impact they have in local communities.

Small Charity Week Shout Out

One of our goals during the week is to help small charities shout about the work they do. That’s where our Small Charity Week Shout Out comes in! Throughout the week, we’ll be asking five questions designed to help small charities tell their stories:

• What drives your charity?
• Why is small beautiful?
• Your top tip for small charities?
• Your proudest moment?
• One wish to help your charity thrive?

To get the ball rolling…

This year, to kick things off, we chatted to two small charities in Malton and Norton.

Next Steps Mental Health Resource Centre supports people with mental health problems and wellbeing issues across Ryedale. Their drop-in centre, activities and outreach groups in Kirkbymoorside/Pickering also help combat isolation and loneliness.

Their answers provided a real insight into their drive and commitment to make a real difference to people’s lives.

• Driving passion: Empowering others and being part of a passionate team of volunteers who go above and beyond makes a meaningful difference.
• Small is beautiful because: Knowing everyone’s names and recognising all the volunteers across rural Ryedale creates a meaningful impact, fostering a true sense of worth and connection.
• Top tip for success: Always remain positive, always thank the staff and volunteers for their hard work and dedication, appreciate everyone as individuals, and dream big!
• Proudest moment: For 25 years, we have uplifted those in need across Ryedale. Winning the Queen’s Award for volunteering and having our own hub is incredible; however, our most profound achievement is the unwavering dedication of our volunteers and the countless years they have devoted to supporting our mission. They embody our greatest pride.
• One wish: the chance to extend our existing Hub to unite various charities under one roof, prioritising the best interests of our community. This would be a vibrant community space where collaboration thrives, enabling us to achieve great things together. We would have an open-door policy to ensure that everyone feels welcome and free from stigma. Job done! (If only it was that easy!). Second wish – a nice legacy!

The Library of Things provides a place where local people can borrow things – like a library, but for normal household items. They have a range of DIY and cleaning equipment from carpet cleaners to hedge trimmers and even a smart TV projector with surround sound for movie nights or Powerpoint presentations.

Their answers showed how much volunteers give to small charities and just how focused and determined they are to support  each other and the local community.

• Driving passion: Helping people to save money, learn new skills, and reduce clutter while saving the planet!
• Small is beautiful because: Small depends on the community and the charity owning the charity and this means we are able to respond quickly to the vision.
• Top tips for success: An energetic, committed team of equals. In our case, also having someone like Lindsay with limitless energy and a garage!
• Proudest moment: Now lending out 4 items a week x 2 per month, rather than only lending twice a month. It’s taken 2 years, but we’re pretty proud.
• One wish: Cheap, affordable secure accessible storage space!

How to get involved

If you’d like to join in our Small Charity Week Shout Out, follow us on Facebook and Linkedin, and look out for our Shout Out posts. Then simply share one or more posts with your answer(s) and we’ll share too to help celebrate your story!

The week also offers a great opportunity to share some behind-the-scenes footage or photos of your hardworking team. Or perhaps you’d rather showcase members of the community you support.

Here are some ideas for content you can share during the week:

• Photo or video of a staff member explaining what they do and how they help your community
• Photo or video of a staff member / end user explaining why they love your organisation
• Photo or video of a volunteer explaining why they started volunteering with you
• Images of community members taking part in your services
• Statistics about the impact your charity has. For example, how many people you helped last year.

However you choose to share your story, please make sure you tag us and include #SmallCharityWeek. We’ll re-share your story and help get the message out there!

Blog: Measuring the big impact that small charities have

In this blog for Small Charity Week, our Head of VCSE Support, Carole Roberts, delves into the tricky topic of impact measurement.

She talks about responding to the frequent requests for help from small charities trying to grapple with this challenge. As a starter for ten, she suggests several useful questions that can be asked routinely to offer you real insight into the difference you are making.

Read the blog

In case you missed it: Our ode to small charities

Small Charity Week is a campaign we really care about. So much so that our Leadership Development and Training Manager, Mike Hickman, put pen to paper and produced a poem in tribute to the amazing contribution that small charities make.

Community First Yorkshire help for small charities

We want small charities to flourish and continue to provide the vital services that are essential to thriving communities. We offer free, bespoke advice to small charities in North Yorkshire. If you want to get in touch please fill in our enquiry form or email info@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk.

Below you can find some of our resources that small charities use the most.