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Small NFP Support was established in 2026 as small unregistered unincorporated charity (annual income far below £5000) following the winding up of the CIO Small Charity Support. Its charitable objects are "The promotion of the voluntary sector for the benefit of the public by providing management, governance and other support to small charities and voluntary organisations."
Small NFP Support continues to support many of the activities of Small Charity Support, but with a greater focus on supporting the financial management of small charities and other small NfPs. And, like Small Charity Support, all Small NFP Support's services are provided pro bono.
Small NFP Support's mission is to help the many "ordinary" volunteer trustees of small charities who are struggling to cope with unnecessarily complex and jargon-laden official guidelines and bureaucractic regulations. 
They struggle because most of the guidelines and regulations are tailored primarily for the tiny minority (<10%) of "larger" charities with "above average" annual incomes and run by teams of paid professional administrators.
Small NFP Support instead pragmatically defines "small" charities as ""primarily run 'hands-on' by their un-paid non-accountant trustees and other volunteers in their spare time - usually with minimal or no paid professional administrative and/or financial support staff"" - ie: the vast (75%) majority of charities which, typically, have annual incomes of less than £150,000 and meet round one of the trustee's coffee table rather than the charity's Boardroom.
Small NFP Support focuses exclusively on the needs of such small charities by:
- leaving out material which is not relevant to small charities;
- eliminating unnecessary jargon;
- explaining how to run a charity in "everyday English";
- showing how to manage small charity finances in a "common sense" way;
- helping trustees to manage common day-to-day problems in small charities;
- not charging commercial fees (in fact, most of the support is provided free).
Support for small charities
is provided in the following ways ways
Managing the Money Guidance
For many years Small Charity Support presented the case that the official guidance and reporting standards for charities was Not Fit for Purpose.
The "Gold (all the bells and whistles) Standard" -- Accruals accounting system (Charity Commission Guidance CC17) - based on the Financial Reporting Standard FRS-102 designed primarily for the commercial sector and the Charities SORP - is ridiculously (and inappropriately!) complicated for the vast majority (ca.80%) of small charities.
The Charity Commission and the Charity Finance Group are both on public record in 2021 as expressing a similar opinion - albeit put rather more "politely".
The "Alternative (wooden spoon) Standard" -- Receipts & Payments (R&P, or "Cash") accounting system for small non-company charities (Charity Commission Guidance CC16) is of rather uncertain justification.
It might have been because the Charities SORP (and, with it, the statutory requirement to use Accruals reporting) was instituted at a time when Parliament and/or its legislators were still sceptical of accruals reporting, preferring cash accounting instead.
Or because "Cash" accounting is an alternative for small unincorporated organisations to avoid the problems created when, under Accruals reporting, they are required to pay corporation and Value Added tax before they had actually received payment.
Either way (or both), "Cash"/R&P reporting is a ridiculous (and inappropriate) solution to a problem that most small charities - which are exempt from tax - don't have.by their customers. And even more so given that "Cash"/R&P reporting is widely disdained in the financial sector because of its tendency to distort reports when the Accrual date and the "Cash" date for a transaction fall in differentl financial reporting periods.
Small NFP Support is of the same opinion, and is taking over the ongoing pro bono support and development of the accounts spreadsheet created by one of Small Charity Support's trustees
Guidance Leaflets
Small NFP Support produces numerous (more than 40 at the last count) free-to-download-and-use guidance leaflets covering most of the issues encountered by the trustees of small charities.
The leaflets cover:
- The Responsibilities & Roles of small charity trustees
- Managing Trustees' (and other) meetings
- Programme/Business Planning
- Managing the Money Made Easy
- Example Policies & Procedures;
- Starting a Small Charity;
- Quiz Scoreboard (not a leaflet - just a bit of fun !).
The Helping Hand
Small Charity Support understands that all charities are unique. So it recognises that Guidance Leaflets alone can't cover all the issues & problems that will arise. Some issues will require "talking things through" to identify an appropriate solution.
If, having looked through Small Charity Support's guidance leaflets you have been unable to find the help you need, you are welcome to contact us to see what further help we might be able to provide.
Unfortunately Small NFP Support isn't able to provide an "any time" direct dial-in access" HelpLine. But where its Guidance Leaflets are insufficient to assist with a particular issue, Small NFP Support can also provide support through direct 1-1 communication, eg. via:
e-mail(s) 
; On-Line 
; telephone call(s) 
We often provide support "face-to-face" (these days primarily On-Line using Zoom, or similar). We find the direct "personal" approach is far more efficient than endlessly typing (and reading) long (and sometimes tedious) e-mail or text messages. On-line support is also more versatile than phone conversations because it makes sharing documents and other materials easy. It also means that several of the charity's Trustees, volunteers or staff can easily join in the discussions where appropriate - particularly useful when the issues being discussed are complicated or controvertial). (And it also eliminates - or at least minimises - travel expenses.)
At
Small NFP Support we believe in the wisdom of the Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu who said:
"A leader is best when people barely know he exists,
when his work is done, his aim fulfilled they will say: 'we did it ourselves'".
To request support, send an e-mail to:
What does it cost ?
The good news is that Small NFP Support's "Helping Hand" is provided free of charge by its volunteer(s). 
There are no expensive salaries or professional fees to pay. And we rarely have to cover out-of-pocket expenses (eg: the cost of travel or printing reports) and our core administration costs.
So you won’t be needing barrow-fulls of money.
And if you’re really short of cash (for example, if you’re a new charity or voluntary organisation that is just starting up, or an existing organisation that needs help because it has “fallen on hard times”) Small Charity Support may even be able to cover part of those out-of-pocket expenses itself.
So don’t worry.
On the rare occasions when out-of-pocket expenses might be necessary, we’ll always give you an estimate of what they are likely to be before you commit to anything.
It might be feared that the fact that Small Charity Support's resources are low-cost or free automatically means that they are of poor quality for those who can't afford better?
But only if you are a neo-liberal economist who believes that the cost of something is the only measure of its value !
Instead, why not look at what have other users said ?
Like its predecessor, Small Charity Support, Small NFP Support will maintain a "Users' Feedback" webpage of recent unsolicited comments from other small charities which have used Small NFP Support's materials and services.
Feel you’d like a helping hand ?.......
Why not contact us at:
with a brief description of what you want help with?
All enquiries are handled in complete confidentiality
(but, obviously, don't include any sensistive/personal information in your enquiry).
There’s no obligation,
and we’ll be glad to see what we can do for you.
Donating
Small NFP Support doesn't charge for its services.
But, of course, if you felt that you wanted to contribute to the work of Small NFP Support we do invite users of our services who are happy with the help they have received to make an appropriate donation if they are able. - a bit like a tip for good service at a restaurant, really.
That allows us to keep our overheads covered and to help out those who really do need it.
THANK YOU.