The benefits of cross-charity collaboration
Charities across the UK do a fantastic job providing vital support and services to those in need. But times are tough. A combination of the cost-of-living crisis and increased demand for services has put a strain on many.
We’d argue that it’s never been more important for charities to consider collaborating to achieve their mission, reduce costs, and multiply the impact they have across the sector.
Read on to find out why.
How can charities collaborate?
There are loads of ways charities can work together. For example:
Sharing knowledge, skills, and information can help you solve problems and increase impact.
Sharing office space, facilities, and/or equipment can reduce costs.
Running joint fundraising events can help you reach a wider pool of donors.
Establishing new programmes/services can help you better serve beneficiaries.
Joint training sessions can help you establish best practice and explore better ways of working in your niche.
Teaming up to campaign for change will enable you to speak with greater authority.
Case Studies
Now we’ve identified some of the ways charities can cross collaborate, let’s see how organisations have put it into action.
One Cancer Voice
When it comes to campaigning, there’s strength in numbers. Take One Cancer Voice. In 2021, over 50 cancer charities including Breast Cancer Now, Cancer Research UK and Teenage Cancer Trust formed a coalition to campaign for the NHS and UK government to tackle the backlog of cancer cases as a result of the COVID pandemic.
As a collective, they released a statement setting out a plan of action, and urged ‘our 4 nation governments and the NHS to make it a reality’.
The lobbying resulted in a commitment from the government to provide ‘hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the SR21 period to ensure a bigger and better trained NHS workforce”.
British Red Cross & FareShare
Back in 2020, the British Red Cross and UK food charity, FareShare, came together in a bid to keep the country fed during the pandemic. Combining FareShare’s food redistribution network with resources and volunteers from the Red Cross, the partnership enabled the delivery of 2 million meals a week to those at risk of hunger, (up from 1m million before lockdown).
Brainathlon
In 2021, Brain Research UK, Brain Tumour Research and Epilepsy Research UK launched a collaborative fundraising campaign in a bid to make up for the income shortfall caused by the pandemic.
The charities asked their supporters to take part in Brainathlon - a virtual fundraising challenge that required participants to run 15 miles, walk 10 miles and climb 1.2 miles (or 2, 500 stairs) whilst raising money for three neuro research charities.
The campaign raised a much needed £61,000, which was distributed equally between the three causes.
Wrapping up
If these examples have convinced you of the power of collaboration, there’s lots of advice and guidance on NCVO’s website.
Don’t forget, if you’re a fundraiser looking for a new role, or a charity on the hunt for a fundraising professional to join your team, we can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 today!