Why small UK charities are under threat (and how tech can help)

The third sector in the UK comprises around half a million organisations. Around 95% of these are small, and often volunteer-run, charities, and 62% of England & Wales charities reported an income of under £100,000 in 2024.

Small organisations make up the vast majority of our sector. They play a vital and irreplaceable role – acting as first responders and filling gaps in statutory provisions. They understand and are trusted by their communities, and research has shown that they respond faster and remain engaged for longer than larger organisations.

But they’re struggling. Charity Excellence's latest report covers the small charity crisis, exploring why they’re at risk and what can be done to give small charities the support they really need.

“Charities with income below £500,000 are far more likely to operate at a deficit, while larger charities are more likely to report surpluses. Smaller charities tend to operate on the narrowest financial margins, making them more exposed to inflationary pressures and financial instability. They are also less likely to receive government funding than larger charities.”

– Charity Excellence

This week, we’re discussing the role that digital can play and how the Scottish Tech Army and the Tech for Good ecosystem beyond it can help small charities that are struggling. Let’s dive in.

Digital is finally on the radar 📡

Digital is well and truly on the radar. Last year, in CAF’s 2025 UK Charity Insights Report, ‘making the most of technology’ came up for the first time as a key operational challenge faced by charity leaders. These leaders know that, when implemented well, technology can help them operate more effectively and save valuable time and resources. The 2025 Charity Digital Skills Report corroborates this: it found that digital is now a medium or high priority for 74% of charities.

In light of this, digital expertise is quickly becoming a must-have skill for organisations of all sizes in the third sector. And yet only 44% of charities actually have a formalised digital strategy in place, with many relying on ad-hoc usage rather than long-term planning.

98% can’t access the help they need 🚫

According to Charity Excellence’s report, 72% of small charities state that access to the right expertise would have a major, transformative impact on their survival. Despite this, only 2% said they can easily find the help they need.

There’s clearly a need for a better understanding of the impact small charities have, and a funding infrastructure that accounts for this. But there’s also a need for better visibility on and access to support that exists outside of this funding infrastructure. Volunteer support, for example, could be a lifeline for an organisation that simply doesn’t know where or how to access it.

AI could play an important role here, too. Many small charities are stuck in a low-confidence experimentation stage with it, whilst larger charities that can afford to are commissioning major AI systems. This useful technology – which gives organisations the power to do more with less budget and headcount – needs to be in the hands of the many, not the few. As the third sector gets to grips with AI, building cross-sector, open-source tooling will be crucial if we’re to keep small charities in the loop with it.

The call to action ⚠️

Small charities don't need more high-level "national strategy" documents or toolkits. They need help with automating their back offices, securing their data and streamlining their reporting so their tiny teams can spend 100% of their energy on the front line, where they’re needed most.

Local and specialist support that can help them with these needs needs to be visible and easy to access. That’s where we can help.

If you’re a small charity in the UK looking for tech help, you can request support from the Scottish Tech Army and our skilled volunteers will work with you to build a solution for free. Visit our website for more information, or fill out this form and tell us what the problem is.

Alternatively, if you want to volunteer, you can find out more about that here. And if you’re part of a corporation that’s wondering how to contribute to the Tech for Good ecosystem, check out or follow Tech for Good Alliance.