First ever Local Charities Day celebrates their role in the community
The majority of the public value the contribution small, local charities make to their communities, research has shown.
In fact, they are so popular that people want them to play an even greater role.
Polling was conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) to mark the UK’s first ever Local Charities Day.
The aim of the event, on Friday, 16 December, is to put small local charities and community groups into the spotlight, helping them thrive and demonstrate the great work they do in their areas.
CAF’s research of public perceptions reveals significant support for local charities and an appetite for them to play a bigger part in local communities.
The polling, carried out by YouGov, revealed that 64% of people agreed that local charities made a significant contribution to their community.
When asked about how important a role local charities play in British society on a scale of 1-10 (where 1 is not at all important and 10 is essential) the mean score was 7.7.
More than one in four people (27%) said they would give to small charities, while 12% said they would regularly volunteer for such organisations.
The research also revealed an appetite for the work of local charities to be supported by the public sector, with 56% of people wanting to see local charities receive more support from local authorities and 51% from central government.
Many local charities work closely with government – local, devolved and central – to receive funding or deliver services using their experience and expertise to make a difference.
However, the research suggests that people believe local charities could do more to demonstrate their impact, with fewer than two in five (39%) believing that local charities were currently doing a good job of this.
John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: “Local charities are at the heart of the UK’s social fabric and there is no doubt their work makes the country a better place. It is good to see the government recognising and celebrating that by introducing a Local Charities Day.
“Of course, the hard work of these thousands of organisations up and down the country is something that should be celebrated all year round. As government looks to devolve greater powers to local areas, both local and central government should embrace the huge amount of expertise and experience that local charities can offer to develop a stronger Britain.”
