Small Charities Week: The Small Charities We’re Cheering On
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Small Charities Week runs from 22 to 29 June 2026. It marks the work of organisations that hold communities together, often on tight budgets and with small teams. This year the campaign, coordinated by NCVO with Big Give and Global’s Make Some Noise, again offers match funding so public donations to selected charities go twice as far.
We work with charities every day. So this week matters to us. We wanted to use it to point at a few organisations whose work we admire, some on our doorstep in Wales, some operating across the UK and beyond.
Why small charities do so much with so little
Small charities sit close to the people they serve. They spot a need and act on it without waiting for a committee three counties away to sign off. That closeness is their strength.
It also brings pressure. A charity, regardless of whether they have two or twenty-five, still has to file accounts, track restricted funds, report to funders, and stay on the right side of the Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI. The admin does not shrink just because the team is small. That is the quiet challenge behind the headline work, and it is the reason so many small charities run on goodwill and long hours.
The five below are just a small selection of the amazing charities we work with.
Local: charities making a difference in Wales
Barry YMCA
Founded in 1890, Barry YMCA has served the Vale of Glamorgan for well over a century. Its work covers youth provision, childcare, sport and fitness, and personal development. It also hosts the community radio station Bro Radio and a day unit for adults with additional needs. The gymnastics club has become a real success story, with several young members selected to represent Team Wales. A self-supporting charity rooted in its town, it is a good example of breadth delivered on local foundations.
Find out more: ymcabarry.org.uk
Cadog’s Corner
Based in Cadoxton, Barry, Cadog’s Corner tackles social isolation and food poverty through a pay-as-you-feel model. Its shop, café and laundry make daily life more affordable and give people a reason to gather. The charity runs the flagship Big Bocs Bwyd, a community food project that redistributes surplus food and has since been adapted by schools across other local authorities. In 2025 it took on its first salaried coordinator, a milestone for a charity that has grown from volunteers since 2014, and were finalists in the Charity of the Year Bro Radio award that we sponsored earlier this month.
Find out more: cadogscorner.co.uk
The Awen Project
The Awen Project, based near Barry, supports a different model of education. It builds small, free-to-attend learning communities where young people are treated as active participants and follow their own interests rather than a fixed timetable. Founded in 2019, it works with families to run democratic learning settings for children who do not thrive in mainstream school. For parents looking for a genuine alternative, it offers something rare.
Find out more: theawenproject.com
National: charities working across the UK and beyond
Tangled Feet
Tangled Feet is a physical theatre ensemble and a charity, formed in 2003 and based in Luton. It makes original, image-led performances in theatres and in unexpected public places: car parks, shopping centres, playgrounds. Alongside the productions, it runs a participation and drama therapy programme that reaches thousands of young people each year, including recent work made with children in the care system. It became an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation in 2018.
Find out more: tangledfeet.com
Action Syria
Action Syria, formerly the Hands Up Foundation, funds health and education for Syrian communities inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. The charity began in 2012 with four friends raising money around a kitchen table. Today it funds schooling for Syrian refugee children, supports primary healthcare, and delivers prosthetics to amputees in north-west Syria. As Syria enters a new phase after the fall of the Assad regime, the charity is focused on helping communities rebuild.
Find out more: actionsyria.org.uk
Why this work matters to us
Why this work matters to us
In early June, our director Andy was a guest at the 15th birthday celebration for Orchestras for All, held in the Speaker’s House at the Palace of Westminster and hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. We have worked with the charity since 2017, and we are proud to call them a client.
Orchestras for All breaks down the barriers that keep young people out of music: cost, distance, disability, confidence. Its National Orchestra for All brings together around 100 young musicians from across the UK, many of whom would never otherwise play in an ensemble. The evening included performances from some of the young people the charity supports.
Watching that work up close is a reminder of what sits behind the spreadsheets. Every set of accounts we prepare represents people like those musicians: a child who found their feet, a family who got support, a community that held together. That is why charity finance is never just numbers to us.
How Enaid supports charities
We are an ICAEW registered firm, and charities and third sector organisations are all we do. We work with clients across Wales, England, Scotland and internationally, handling day-to-day bookkeeping, year-end accounts and independent examinations, Xero and CRM systems, consultancy and training.
Because we specialise, we understand the things general accountants often miss: restricted and unrestricted funds, SORP reporting, the expectations of funders. We aim to become an extended part of your team rather than a once-a-year supplier.
Get in touch
Small Charities Week is a moment to celebrate the sector. If you lead or support a small charity and want your finances in safe, specialist hands, we would be glad to talk. No pressure, just a conversation about what you need.
