More than one in three small charities restructured this year in a bid to cut down on costs, a major new study has revealed.
The finding forms part of the Small Charity Leaders Insight Report, published by not-for-profit consultant Pilotlight.
According to the paper, the smallest charities are expecting to “help more people, build business relationships and address diversity issues” in 2020.
In total, three in four (77 per cent) small charities are optimistic that a higher proportion of the public will benefit from their services in 2020 compared to 2019, while 85 per cent believe their income will “remain stable or rise”.
Meanwhile, over a third (37 per cent) of charities have pre-emptively restructured their business to adapt to future challenges.
This includes renegotiating with suppliers, relocating, hiring new talent, changing management, slimming the size of its workforce and using technology to automate tasks.
Around a third (34 per cent) of those have also invested in leadership training to support their new business model.
Meanwhile, around half (48 per cent) of charity leaders have engaged in addressing “diversity deficits” among trustees, staff and volunteers, while a further 28 per cent plan to do the same in the future.
Commenting on the report, Gillian Murray, Chief Executive of Pilotlight, said: “It’s incredibly tough for small charity leaders to find the time to plan for long-term improvements whilst dealing with day-to-day frontline challenges but there’s lots of evidence that doing so can transform a charity’s fortunes.”
Co-author Philippa Charles added: “The resilience of small charity leaders is remarkable and should be celebrated. Smaller charities tell us they struggle to find the time and money to invest in long-term strategy but they also fear the risks of failing to do so.”