Small Charity Week: Celebrating the Small but Mighty

This Small Charity Week, we’re celebrating the organisations that quietly hold London together every single day.

London is a city of extremes – extraordinary wealth alongside deep and growing inequality. In many communities, public services are stretched thin, and in some cases no longer able to meet rising need. As a result, it is often small charities that step in to fill the gaps.

These organisations are deeply rooted in the communities they serve. They are trusted, local, and responsive – often run by people who live in the same areas and understand the challenges first-hand.

They create spaces where people feel seen and supported. They bring neighbours together, support young people, stand beside families in crisis, tackle loneliness, and provide essential help with housing, mental health, education, and more.

They are not an “add-on” to the system in many places, they are the system people rely on. Yet despite this, many small charities are operating under significant pressure.

Funding is limited, demand continues to rise, and teams are often stretched far beyond capacity. Staff and volunteers are constantly balancing urgent need with long-term planning, often with very few resources.

And still, they show up.

They adapt. They innovate. They listen. They respond. They keep services running in the face of constant challenge.

At Link UP London, we’re privileged to work alongside hundreds of these organisations connecting them to the skills they need through Skilled Volunteering to be able to do their work better, reach more people and make a bigger impact in their communities. Every day we see the commitment, creativity, and determination that powers London’s small charity sector.

We also see the difference the right support can make, when charities have access to professional skills and expertise to solve their organisational challenges, they can spend less time firefighting and more time focusing on their communities.

So this Small Charity Week, let’s celebrate the small but mighty charities working at the heart of London’s communities. Their budgets may be small, but their impact reaches across the city.

And if you’ve got skills sitting idle that could help one – get in touch. We’d love to put them to work.