# Funding issues biggest cause of skills gaps in small charities says FSI

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/03/16/funding_issues-biggest-cause-skills-gaps-small-charities-says-fsi/
- Published: 2017-03-16T08:30:30+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Lack of funding for training and development is the biggest cause of skills gaps
in small charities, research from the FSI has shown.**

61% of 530 people surveyed in [the FSI](http://www.thefsi.org/)’s [_Small Charity Sector Skills Survey_](http://www.thefsi.org/policyresearch/skills-survey-201617/)
said this was the primary cause for skills gaps in their charities, followed by 
lack of time for employees to attend training, which was cited by 58%.

Skills areas identified as having the poorest performance ratings in the survey 
included: fundraising, specifically raising funds from major donors (67%), online(
66%) and businesses (64%), and engaging and working with businesses or companies(
identified by 55%), strategic use of IT (49%), and impact reporting (48%).

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The survey also looked at the impact of skills gaps, identifying the biggest issues
as: an increased workload for colleagues (59%), increased time to deliver work (
46%) and decreased ability to take on new work (43%).

Within fundraising, major donor fundraising (67%), online fundraising (66%) and 
corporate fundraising (64%) were the top three categories in need of most upskilling
by small charities.

Fundraisers were cited as the most challenging vacancy to recruit for, according
to 28% of small charities surveyed, while salary (identified by 36%) was the most
commonly cited barrier to filling vacancies.

The FSI’s recommendations include:

 * Government and other public funders should take the lead by demonstrating long-
   term commitment to [affordable skills development](https://blog.curriculosolutions.com/job-related-skills-how-to-ace-that-job-application)
   and capacity building.
 * Umbrella support bodies should invest in delivering high quality and easily accessible
   learning opportunities tailored to a diverse audience of learners.
 * Trustees should understand the benefit and make a commitment to funding the development
   of skills within their organisations
 * Trustees and senior staff should actively seek out opportunities to collaborate
   with one another, which would contribute to ensuring their long-term sustainability.

 * **[Full programme for Small Charity Week 2019 announced](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/05/21/full-programme-for-small-charity-week-2019-announced/)**(
   21 May 2019)
 * **[How can small charities find their fundraising edge?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/05/24/how-can-small-charities-find-their-fundraising-edge/)**(
   24 May 2019)
 * **[The FSI wins Lifelong Learning Centre Award at SQA Star Awards](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/11/25/the-fsi-wins-lifelong-learning-centre-award-at-sqa-star-awards/)**(
   25 November 2019)