Romilly Dennys is Head of Partnerships (Philanthropy) at the CSJ Foundation.
The Big Society would be celebrating its sweet 16th this year.
Instead, it barely took its first steps before being quietly consigned to the scrapheap of failed political slogans and pet projects.
Theresa May’s “Just about managing” – JAMs – and Boris Johnson’s “Levelling Up” have since joined the retirement club as successive leaders attempted to rebrand their answer to the same stubborn social challenges.
Sixteen years on, its chief architect Steve Hilton may have swapped the Big Society for Big Sur, and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton occupies the crimson backbenches of the House of Lords rather than the flat above No10 Downing Street. But the original diagnosis shows no sign of abating, now further fuelled by mass immigration, spiralling welfare spending and social unrest.
In a passionate defence of the Big Society in 2011, Cameron said: “there are too many parts of our society that are broken… we need a social recovery to mend the broken society. To me, that’s what the Big Society is all about.” Even his fiercest critics may concede that the diagnosis still holds true in 2026. The challenge is not identifying the issue, but building the long-term, credible solutions that actually make a difference.
At the CSJ Foundation, we work with an alliance of 1,000 small charities – the social entrepreneurs of our society – who day in, day out help solve the toughest problems in their communities. Two powerful examples include raising the alarm on school absence post lockdown and highlighting the once unknown issue of “cuckooing” or forced home invasion – now a criminal offence thanks to a relentless campaign from the CSJ, charities and Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
In the past week alone, 80 of these phenomenal grassroots charities gathered at one of our ‘Big Listen’ events in Newcastle to share innovative solutions to help NEETS escape worklessness, while alliance charity Lads Needs Dads featured in Sir Gareth’s Southgate’s BBC documentary on Britain’s lost boys.
Yet exceptional small charities rarely receive the recognition or support they deserve. They fight to secure funding as 88 per cent of all charitable funding goes to just five per cent of registered charities – the large, established household names with expensive PR firms and large fundraising teams. Many are left surviving hand-to-mouth as demand for their services soars. Worse still, overall UK charitable giving is falling behind amid a prolonged cost of living crisis.
CAF’s latest research ranked the UK 11 places lower than last year for the share of donors’ income that is given to good causes. Brits also send a relatively high share of donations overseas, with only around 24 per cent going to national or local charities compared with a global average of 45 per cent.
Nor can we expect small charities, however heroic, to mend our fraying society alone. It demands a nationwide partnership between government, grassroots organisations rooted in their local communities, and the missing link – philanthropists.
This government – specifically DCMS – has made some progress with a new place-based philanthropy strategy, but there is a clear opportunity for the party of Edmund Burke’s “Little Platoons” to step up.
Conservatives have been eager to champion startups, small businesses, AI firms and tech entrepreneurs, but philanthropists who want to give back to their local communities are often welcome behind closed doors yet rarely backed at the national level. Encouraging them to stay and invest in the UK cannot be a side note. It should be a core Conservative priority.
We know that Britain’s philanthropists stand ready to give – and to small, grassroots charities who reach those who need the greatest support. One idea – informed by 220 philanthropists in our latest ‘Supercharging Philanthropy’ report – is the creation of a new National Renewal Fund focused on addressing social breakdown, with £3.2 billion of seed funding drawn from government spend, utilising dormant funds, assets and unclaimed gift aid.
The funding should be delivered through the social impact investment vehicle and deploy a range of models including social bridging finance and social impact bonds, with a laser focus on tackling the most entrenched social challenges that stand in the way of social renewal.
Research shows that matched donations are, on average, around two and a half times higher than unmatched ones. The multiplier effect means that this seed funding could unlock more than £8bn in additional philanthropic investment – targeted directly at grassroot charities with a proven record of changing lives. In turn, they will scale and expand their reach to become a vital source of insight to national policy makers.
If the Conservatives truly want to build a strong society, they must make philanthropy a genuine priority. As Trade and Business Secretary, Kemi Badenoch made the case for Britain as a place to invest. As party leader she now has the chance to make Britain – and our exceptional small charities – the best place in the world to give.
For we don’t need a bigger society. We simply need a more giving one.