The difference between local and national charities: Where is your money going?

The charity sector can be very confusing. A charity may be doing something similar to another one, but they are operating separately due to more specialisation or being area specific. In recent years some large charities have merged to give them a greater strength in service delivery. 

There is an issue where there is a national charity and local charity with a similar name who appear to be doing similar things. The assumption is that they are all the same charity. However, the national and local charity are independent charities. The local charity has its own registration and has to raise its own funds. The following scenario occurs throughout the country. An individual who started volunteering for a local charity, can’t wait to tell her network. She talks about the great work that is being done and how they’re helping people in their local community. Her network is very impressed, and someone mentions that he is already making regular donations to the charity and is pleased he is supporting this work locally. She then asked him if he is giving to the local charity or the national one. His response is surely it is one and the same. No this is not the case she replies. The national charity does vital work but is often working at an influencer level and maybe on one or two specific projects. They may provide support to the local charities, but they do not deliver services on a local basis. Hence, the new volunteer’s friend’s donations are not supporting local services.  

As a local charity they all constituted locally, designed to be able to respond to local needs, in a more agile way, far quicker, and with more relevance than a huge national charity. This means they have their own board of trustees, and are charged with setting their own budgets, generating their own income, and managing their own charity operations through the various challenges that businesses experience each day, week, month and year. If that funding is not forthcoming, then service delivery may need to be reduced or ultimately there will be no service to support in that area at the detriment of the people that they try to help. A number of well-known charities operate in this way. Age UK, Mind, Samaritans, Community Foundations, RSPCA and Wildlife trusts are some examples of such charities. They all use the brand name but will usually have their own area in which they operated including their own name within the title. 

Why is this an issue? If funders/ donors DO NOT support their local charities, they will ultimately cease operating, and the local beneficiaries will have nowhere to turn for help. Please support your local charities and remember they are separate to the national charity. They are NOT huge charities with loads of money. Remember to clearly identify the charity when writing your will.  If you don’t show the charity name in full the legacy will go to the national charity and the local charity may never receive the legacy as intended by the deceased. 

In conclusion, when you are making a donation or planning a legacy please do your research and make sure you are supporting the charity you want to help.

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