Overview
According to the latest figures available from the Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), there are more than 200,000 registered charities in England, Wales and Scotland. They range in size from the very biggest household names like Oxfam, the National Trust and the Red Cross, through numerous schools and colleges, hospitals and trade benevolent societies, to small regional funds, perhaps to support a sick child or the victims of a local disaster. Their total annual income is over £52 billion in England and Wales, and in excess of £10 billion in Scotland (although around half of registered charities exist on an income of less than £10,000). According to the latest figures available from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), together these charities employ 634,000 paid workers (approximately 235,000 of them part-time) and a further 13.2 million unpaid volunteers (volunteering at least once a month). In addition, an estimated 750,000 trustees take (unpaid) responsibility for governing individual charities.

Almost 90% of the resources in the sector are controlled by just 9,297 charities, which make up only 5.9% of the total number of charities. These charities, each with an annual (gross) income of more than £500,000, have their accounts professionally audited and are also required to provide information from their accounts in their annual returns.

Charitable giving
According to UK Giving 2010, a report published by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), more than half of all adults in the UK donated to charitable causes in 2009/10. The total amount given by individuals stands at £10.6 billion, which is a significant proportion of the UK economy and vital to the work of charities. The groups most likely to donate to charity are women aged 45–64 and people in managerial and professional occupations. The top four causes donors support are medical (32%) and children (25%), with overseas and hospitals tied for third place (24%), while high-level donors contribute disproportionately more to religious causes.

Lottery funding is a lifeline for some, but many charities do not have access to it. Advertising, direct mail, telephone appeals and commercial trading have opened new areas of employment as charities become businesses to an extent that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. Political pressure and lobbying at national or local level are undertaken as necessary, and there is sometimes a harder edge to campaigning than was usual in the past.

The lines between government responsibilities, local service providers and some charities have become blurred, with compacts, contracts and agreements worth billions of pounds between them. Indeed, it may be argued that charities now deliver much of the welfare state, with this leading to greater government interference and regulation as to how charities conduct their affairs.

Many charities struggle for funds, particularly given the large number of good causes competing for donations. Well-publicised disasters like the recent floods in Pakistan, African famine and the Haiti earthquake, as well as high-profile extravaganzas like Live Aid, Live 8 and Comic Relief Red Nose Day (which takes place every two years, alternating with Sports Relief) affect the nation’s ability or preparedness to support other causes.

The Charities Act
The Charities Act 2006 has underlined the requirement that all charities must exist for ‘public benefit’, and has given the Charity Commission a new objective: to promote understanding and awareness of this public benefit requirement. The Commission has stated that every charity will therefore have to demonstrate that it exists for public benefit. The four key principles of public benefit are:

1. there must be an identifiable benefit
2. the benefit must be to the public, or a justifiable section of the public
3. people on low incomes must be able to benefit
4. any private benefit must be incidental.

Other significant elements of the Act include new forms of Charitable Incorporated Organisations and Community Interest Companies, changes to the roles and operation of the Charity Commission, a new definition of religion, and new forms of reporting and accounts.

Charities and the Services
There are hundreds of Services-related charities. A number of Service people also become involved in the management of charities as part of their duties – acting as museum trustees, managing funds and running large fundraising occasions. Some Service people also wish to continue working for some higher cause when they leave, and a second career in charity management can help them to achieve this.

Service charities are largely staffed by ex-Forces people, although some posts that require specific expertise are filled from external sources. Position and appointment may be made on the basis of Service rank. While very senior officers are still recruited to head up non-Service charities on the basis of their leadership, organisational and administrative skills, many such charities now recruit people who can bring commercial experience to bear – and who may also be looking for a more uplifting use for their talents.

Employment with charities
It is important to distinguish between the paid employees of a charity and its volunteers. The former generally cannot be members of its governing council, while some of the latter may be on the council, and all will have a view on its activities.

Management roles
Charity management is not an easy job and often involves out-of-hours work. While it may be personally satisfying to serve a good cause and be motivated by something other than money, charities can be complex organisations with challenging ‘people issues’. Some large charities have management training schemes consisting of a series of placements in different parts of the organisation. There are courses for beginners, and others for people with some experience.

Other roles
Apart from general and financial management, those thinking of working for a charity might consider roles that involve:

• fundraising
• organising volunteers
• case working.

• direct marketing
• corporate fundraising
• working with high-level donors
• promoting legacies
• regional fundraising
• trading
• special events.

Many fundraising managers are graduates and mature people who have previously worked in relevant areas like marketing, PR or sales. Working in other charities or as a volunteer are also ways to enter the profession.

Volunteer organisers
Volunteer organisers recruit, train and manage unpaid volunteers. They interview, match candidates to vacancies, and organise training and ongoing support. They will probably supervise the volunteers in a particular geographical area, so the work involves administration, budgets, record keeping, report writing, applying for grants and organising fundraising. Some posts are part-time, depending on the size and location of the charity. Entrants are often mature people with experience in other fields. Experience as a volunteer, or of organising people, committee work or fundraising can be an advantage. There are courses and qualifications available in this specialism.

Case workers
Case workers help individuals and groups to find assistance and relief from their problem. They may be specially trained – like nurses or welfare workers – or lay people. They are often involved in assessing individuals’ needs and directing them to the appropriate source of help, which may be their own charity, another charity or state assistance. They will often become involved in counselling, and helping with tribunals and paperwork to assist in getting the right result, and will often need to understand complex laws and regulations. There are no set entry requirements except that some case workers may need to be professionally qualified. Training is often on-the-job, although some large charities run courses.

Salaries
Because of the very wide range of different charities that exist, as well as the current financial climate, it is quite difficult to give an accurate picture of average salaries, but the website www.CharityJOB.co.uk offers the following guidelines:

• fundraising assistant – £16,000–£22,500 (average £19,500)
• fundraising officer/executive – £19,000–£33,500 (average £25,000)
• fundraising manager – £24,000–£50,000 (average £33,000)
• director/head of fundraising (small/medium-sized organisation) – £34,000–£60,000 (average £43,500).