Small Charities Coalition

What Small Charities Coalition does

Small Charities Coalition (SCC) was a UK-registered non-profit company limited by guarantee (registered charity 1122297, company number 06462220), founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, that provided support services to small and newly formed charitable organisations across the United Kingdom. Its service portfolio comprised a HelpDesk offering practical advice on governance, funding, and operations; a Charity Set Up Tool hosted at charitysetup.org.uk; a one-to-one Mentoring Programme matching small charity leaders with experienced volunteer mentors; members-only resources, toolkits and partner discounts; training events and webinars; funding opportunity signposting; and regular email bulletins. Technology consisted entirely of third-party platforms: WIX for website hosting, Salesforce for membership CRM, Mailchimp for email communications, and Eventbrite for event management — SCC built no proprietary technology. The organisation operated a free membership model, deriving revenue primarily from trust and foundation grants (including Lloyds Bank Foundation and Tudor Trust), supplemented by select paid events.

Name

Small Charities Coalition

Legal name

Small Charities Coalition

Website

https://smallcharities.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Small Charities Coalition was a UK non-profit (founded 2008, closed March 2022) that provided a HelpDesk, mentoring programme, Charity Set Up Tool, training events, and funding guidance to thousands of small charities across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Support Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

Keywords

• Charity support services
• Nonprofit mentoring
• Charity training
• Small charity advisory
• Third sector support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: SCC operated as a membership organization serving small charities. While specific membership fees were not publicly disclosed, the organization relied heavily on grant funding from trusts and foundations.
2. Trust and Foundation Grants: Primary funding came from trusts and foundations including Lloyds Bank Foundation and Tudor Trust. The organization received COVID-related funding in the year to March 2021.
3. Event Revenue: Some events required payment, with payment details collected for paid events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Small Charities Coalition provided free advice, guidance, training, and mentoring services to small charitable organisations across the UK. Its core offerings were a HelpDesk offering practical advice on governance, funding, operations and compliance, a one-to-one Mentoring Programme matching small charity leaders with experienced volunteer mentors, and a Charity Set Up Tool for new charity registrations, complemented by members-only resources, events and training, funding guidance, and regular newsletters.

Product overview

Small Charities Coalition (SCC) offered a suite of support services for small UK charities, not a software product. The core offering consisted of a HelpDesk providing practical advice, a one-to-one Mentoring Programme pairing charity leaders with experienced volunteers, a Charity Set Up Tool (charitysetup.org.uk) for new registrations, plus members-only Resources and Discounts, Events and Training, and Funding Advice. Services were delivered via a website, email communications (Mailchimp), and events (Eventbrite). The SCC closed on 31 March 2022, with the HelpDesk transferred to a partnership between NCVO and the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Small Charities HelpDesk: The primary support service providing advice, guidance and support for small charities, which was transferred to NCVO and FSI partnership after SCC's closure.
• Charity Set Up Tool
• SCC Mentoring Programme

Products and services

• HelpDesk A free advice and guidance service providing answers to queries from small charities on topics such as governance, funding, operations, and compliance, delivered via email and phone.
• Charity Set Up Tool An online self-serve tool at charitysetup.org.uk that helps individuals and groups register and set up new charitable organisations in the UK.
• Mentoring Programme A free one-to-one mentoring programme matching small charity leaders with experienced volunteer mentors to help address specific challenges or support professional development, supervised for up to six months.
• Resources and Member Discounts A members-only area providing downloadable resources, toolkits, templates, and access to partner discounts and offers tailored to small charities.
• Events and Training Training events, workshops, webinars, and networking opportunities for small charity staff and volunteers, often delivered in partnership with specialist organisations and booked via Eventbrite.
• Funding Advice and Guidance Information, signposting, and support to help small charities identify and apply for funding opportunities, including curated listings of grants from various trusts and foundations.
• Newsletters and Communications Regular email bulletins, monthly digests, and sector updates delivered to members and supporters via Mailchimp.

Quantifiable outcome

• 600% increase in demand for services during pandemic (for one member charity)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and operational.

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2022Following SCC's closure, NCVO partnered with FSI to take over the SCC HelpDesk and associated services. Amy Walton (SCC's Charity Advice and Mentoring Manager) joined NCVO's Practical Support team. NCVO and FSI formed a new partnership to continue providing dedicated support for small charities.
• FSI (Foundation for Social Improvement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2022Following SCC's closure, FSI partnered with NCVO to take over the SCC HelpDesk and services. FSI has provided a free advice hub for small charities for over 15 years and will work to expand this offer alongside NCVO.
• Iona Lawrence (Stewarding Loss)supportingOthersIndependent consultant who supported the 2-month evaluation and legacy process, co-founder of Stewarding Loss project dedicated to better endings in civil society.
• EventbriteoperationalTechnology or IntegrationThird-party service used to enable event bookings and programmes.
• MailchimpoperationalTechnology or IntegrationThird-party email marketing platform used for newsletters and member communications.
• SalesforceoperationalTechnology or IntegrationCRM system used to manage membership data.
• WIXoperationalTechnology or IntegrationWebsite hosting platform (ISO 27018 compliant for handling PII in public cloud).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• Pro Bono Economics: UK charity connecting economists with small charities for pro bono support. Comparable as a small-charity support intermediary that channels professional expertise into the small-charity segment, similar to SCC's mentoring model.

Direct peers

• Reach Volunteering: UK charity that connects charity leaders and trustees with skilled volunteers and pro bono support. Directly comparable to SCC's mentoring and trustee-matching value proposition for small charities.
• Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI): UK charity that has provided a free advice hub for small charities for over 15 years. Closely comparable to SCC's HelpDesk offering and is now the joint legacy partner running the SCC HelpDesk alongside NCVO.
• Getting on Board: UK charity focused on improving governance in the voluntary sector by placing trustees on boards. Comparable to SCC's governance and board support services targeted at small charities.
• Pilotlight: UK charity pairing senior business professionals with small charity leaders for mentoring. Highly comparable to SCC's one-to-one Mentoring Programme, which matched small charity leaders with experienced volunteer mentors.

Regional players

• SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations): National umbrella body for Scotland's voluntary sector, mirroring NCVO's role in Scotland. Comparable as a charity-support organization but operating in a different UK geography to SCC's England-and-Wales focus.
• WCVA (Wales Council for Voluntary Action): National umbrella body for Wales' voluntary sector. Comparable to SCC in mission (supporting small charities with advice, training, funding guidance) but serving a different UK nation.

Broad incumbents

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): The UK umbrella body for the voluntary sector. Directly comparable to SCC as a charity-support organization, and is the entity that took over SCC's HelpDesk and Charity Advice services after closure, absorbing key staff.
• ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations): UK membership body for charity chief executives. Comparable to SCC as a membership and support organization for voluntary sector leaders, though skewed toward larger charities.
• Charity Finance Group (CFG): UK membership body supporting charity finance professionals. Comparable to SCC in supporting a defined function within the small charity sector (funding/finance advice), although serving a more specialist audience.

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sccoalition
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC99UxJni_p_XAq5ZZ6VM7ug
• Facebookfacebook.com/smallcharities
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/small-charities-coalition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Small Charities Coalition