# Small charities should collaborate to stay afloat says FSI

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/06/15/small-charities-collaborate-stay-afloat-says-fsi/
- Published: 2016-06-15T08:31:05+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**One in ten small UK charities see closure as likely, yet less than 10 per cent
are collaborating with other charities to pool resources and deliver services according
to figures from [The Foundation for Social Improvement](http://www.thefsi.org) (
FSI), the charity behind [Small Charity Week](http://smallcharityweek.com/), which
is taking place this week.**

 

The findings are revealed in_ Collaboration: more than the sum of the parts_, a 
report launched by the FSI today in the House of Lords as part of the week’s Policy
Day events.

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The report shows that declining funds (26%) combined with a rise in workload (32%)
means small charities lack the fundamental resources to stay open, yet despite 66
per cent of respondents claiming to collaborate with other small charities, the 
report shows that 90 per cent of these are referring to purely networking and not
a meaningful partnership, such as a merger (3%) or a joint venture (6%).

 

It suggests that the key to unlocking the solutions to the social problems today
may depend on better collaboration, with the research showing that through collaboration,
small charities can deliver more services whilst spending less time delivering them.
Eighty nine per cent of those who report to be in a strategic alliance spend less
time or an equal amount of time working to deliver the proportion of services covered,
according to the FSI.

 

Pauline Broomhead, CEO at the FSI said:

 

> “The results from the research indicate, quite strongly, that small charities 
> don’t collaborate enough in any meaningful way. This is a real loss for the sector
> as there is no doubt that small charities are extremely good at coming up with
> solutions to some of the most serious social problems facing the world today. 
> In isolation, they may be too small to take a great idea or a great solution to
> a wider beneficiary audience but partnering up with another organisation can set
> the wheels in motion.”

 * **[Small Charity Week sees over 2,000 charities take part](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/07/04/small-charity-week-sees-2000-charities-take-part/)**(
   4 July 2016)
 * **[Small Charity Index reveals rise in demand for services](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/07/20/small-charity-index-reveals-rise-demand-services/)**(
   20 July 2016)
 * **[How to build strategic corporate relationships](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/10/07/building-strategic-corporate-relationships/)**(
   7 October 2016)

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