Small charities, (more) big opportunities

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​Broader experience

Small charities don’t have the luxury of hiring different people for every different job, so your job title may just be the start of what you do. With fewer people on board, it’s all hands on deck, so a fundraiser, for example, will probably work across multiple revenue streams, and may get involved in marketing, managing events and many more areas of the charity’s work.

Will you be busy? Yes. Will you curse yourself for volunteering to do far too many things at once? Also yes. Will you ever be bored? Impossible. When would you find the time?

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Greater autonomy and responsibility

If you’re a digital team of one, guess who’s making the decisions on digital strategy?

If you’re used to your brilliant ideas having to pass through five layers of people for approval, each finding new and creative ways to ruin it with 'helpful suggestions', you’ll find the speed and simplicity of decision-making both liberating and exhilarating…

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Greater exposure

…which can sometimes be a little scary, as there’s nowhere to hide if it all goes horribly wrong. But the upside - unlike larger organisations where your achievements can often blur into those of the wider team – is that whatever you do will be recognised, giving you full credit where it’s due.

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Flexibility and speed

In the nautical world, as we learned last year when everyone’s internet shopping got stuck in the Suez Canal, larger vessels find it harder to change course, and the same is true of most organisations.

​With fewer people in a smaller area, small charities can often be more agile and respond more quickly when things change – in the same way a squirrel can scamper up a tree at the first sign of trouble, but when you try it as an elephant, it tends not to end quite so well.

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Being close to the action

Working at the head office of a major charity can sometimes feel half a world away from the people you’re trying to help, which is often because it is.

In a small charity however, you’re more likely to have direct contact with beneficiaries and supporters, getting to see the difference you’re making first-hand.

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The atmosphere

‘We’re like one big happy family!’ say all kinds of alarming organisations. But if they're anything like actual families, it can only be so big before you start getting factions and tribes, meeting up with smiles all round at Christmas while secretly plotting each other’s demise. Or at least, a sustained programme of ‘not being very helpful to’.

But whether it’s just the numbers, proximity, or the camaraderie of pitching in together to get things done, small charities do seem particularly good at fostering a genuinely friendly environment.