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Leathersellers’ Review 2024–2025
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Above, left to right: The Mill: Junior Art Club; a volunteer outside the main entrance; scrabble group
s households try to manage rising bills, it’s natural to assume that they would have less time and resources to help others, with their family’s needs taking priority. This view is supported by the 2024 Community Life Survey, which found that regular formal volunteering declined from 23% in 2019–2020 to 16% in 2023–2024. In contrast to this, the British charities supported by The Leathersellers’ Foundation’s Small Grants Programme continue to attract and retain positive and thriving volunteer teams. The Small Grants Programme provides one-off grants of up to £5,000 to charities based anywhere in the United Kingdom. In 2024 the programme supported 45 grassroots organisations addressing an evidenced need in their community. Those set to benefit range from people needing debt advice in Milton Keynes and women affected by the sex industry in Nottingham, to children with disabilities in Scotland. Despite the diversity of approaches and activities, the majority of grant recipients have something fundamental in common: their volunteer teams are flourishing.
Leathersellers’ grant holder The Mill is more than a community centre, it’s ‘Walthamstow’s living room’, a place where people can feel part of their community. The Mill welcomes over 1,000 people through their doors every month, helping to tackle isolation and loneliness. With just five part-time staff members, The Mill depends on around 80 regular volunteers to deliver their range of community services. It’s estimated these volunteers contributed 14,000 hours to The Mill in 2023–2024. “I love The Mill. Such a special place with new and exciting things going on. Never the same, but everyone is pleased to be here!” Sharon Goldman started volunteering at The Mill’s reception in 2022 and is now their Chair of Trustees. “The Mill simply couldn’t run without volunteers,” she says. “Our reception is fully staffed by a pool of volunteers. Volunteers provide our core offer – they’re the ones running the sewing group, the knitting group. They’re the ones building relationships with the people who come along to The Mill.” Grant recipient The Mazi Project in Bristol maintains a similar sized volunteer team of 80, which dedicates its time to providing good, fresh food and cooking education to 16 to
25-year-olds, including care leavers, young people seeking asylum, young people with experience of homelessness and survivors of domestic violence. Since March 2021 the charity has directly supported over 400 vulnerable young people in Bristol, delivered over 125,000 nutritious meals, and guided 13 young people toward careers in the food industry. Bucking the trend of declining volunteer numbers In a recent article, Reach Volunteering CEO Janet Thorne noted “a profound shift in how and why people volunteer,” noting “a surge in grassroots, volunteer-led initiatives.” This is certainly true of applicants to the Small Grants Programme, where in 2024 the large majority were led by and for their community, often starting out as, or continuing to be, volunteer led. Stacey Lamb, Leathersellers’ Head of Charity Grants, says, “The ability of small charities to recruit and maintain consistent volunteer teams when national numbers are in decline is a testament to the community that they create. To deliver their level of sustained service through volunteers relies on more than a sense of responsibility – the charities have succeeded in establishing a mutual benefit. For their volunteers, giving their time is part of their life, and the way that they are supported to contribute brings them joy and satisfaction.”
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