Breaking Point: The Mental health crisis in small organisation leadership
This report, produced by Fair Collective in partnership with NCVO and funded by The Talent Fund, presents research on the mental health of leaders in small social purpose organisations in England. Conducted between August and October 2024, it focuses on leaders of charities, social enterprises, and not-for profits with incomes under £1 million.
This report highlights some of the unique challenges faced by small organisation leaders, which stem from organisational capacity, financial and governance models, and leaders’ personal relationships with their organisation’s cause.
Its an interesting, and depressing read. From our experience of meeting such leaders it feels like an accurate reflection of the landscape. As funders its our responsibility to think how our funding and processes don’t make a bad situation worse.
Key findings:
- Small organisation leaders are struggling – small organisations account for 97% of charity closures in the last 10 years.
- Small organisation salaries are shrinking – they are disproportionately feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
- Leaders of small organisations are feeling the pressure – 20% of the respondents said their experience as a leader had a severe impact on their mental health.
- 67% said they had no budget to support the mental health of themselves or their teams.
- Only 29% said they felt well supported in their role.
Contributing factors include:
- Board relationships – some leaders identified boards or individual trustees as a major contributor of stress.
- Team relationships – many leaders felt they put their team’s needs ahead of their own.
- Small teams – leaders end up having multi-faceted role, including areas which are technical, and they have had limited training.
- Financial sustainability – leaders often feel solely responsible for bringing in funds which people rely on.