How Charities Can Do More With Less: Navigating the UK Nonprofit Sector

2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for the UK nonprofit sector.

From record demand at food banks to rising operational costs across disability, housing, and community services, charities are being pushed to their limits. With budgets tightening and needs growing, organisations are being asked to deliver more support, often with fewer resources.

In this climate, questions of sustainability, efficiency, and resilience are top of mind. So, how can charities adapt?

While there’s no single answer, a combination of smart operational strategies and digital transformation is helping organisations find a path forward. In this article, we explore the key challenges currently facing the UK nonprofit sector and how charities can do more with less.

A sector under pressure

Rising costs, tighter budgets

Many charities are seeing a significant increase in costs. Higher wages, elevated administrative overhead, and general inflation are squeezing already-stretched budgets. In a recent sector survey 87% of charities expressed concern about affording the sharp increase in Employer National Insurance (NI) and the National Minimum Wage. With limited options to increase income at the same pace, the pressure is on to streamline operations without compromising services. 

Increased demand for support

At the same time, demand for charitable services is growing - especially among vulnerable groups. 86% of UK charities report increased demand over the past year. Whether it’s food security, housing support, disability assistance, or mental health services, more people are turning to charities for help.

This creates a double challenge: how do you do more, often with less?

Smarter volunteer management

1. Collaborate and share resources

Partnerships across the sector are becoming increasingly valuable. From shared spaces and joint funding bids to collaborative service delivery, working together can reduce duplication and stretch limited funds further.

This is already happening across the UK:

• FareShare and Tesco have a longstanding partnership. They have built a powerful food distribution network delivering over 2 million meals per week, made possible through shared logistics, warehousing, and volunteer support.
  
  
• Neighbourly, a Bristol-based social impact platform, connects over 30,000 local charities with companies like Aldi, Lidl, and M&S. From food and product donations to employee volunteering, the platform has created highly efficient, shared models for community impact.
  
  
• In the animal welfare sector, RSPCA and PDSA co-deliver veterinary care through regional partnerships. PDSA offers subsidised services at RSPCA branches, reducing duplication of infrastructure while expanding access to care.

By working together, charities can share overhead and administrative duties, pool resources (volunteers, venues, or transport), and coordinate services for more seamless community support.

Tip: Start by identifying local or thematic partners with overlapping goals, and explore how joint efforts, no matter how small, could reduce pressure on your team while expanding your impact.

2. Prioritise data and impact measurement

As funding becomes more competitive, the ability to demonstrate impact with clear data is essential. Charities that invest in measuring outcomes, not just outputs, are better positioned to secure grants, win public trust, and make informed decisions.

Simple dashboards and reporting tools can help you:

• Monitor service delivery in real time
• Understand volunteer or beneficiary trends
• Make the case for new funding or partnerships

Tip: Start small by tracking a few key metrics and building reporting practices into your regular operations.

3. Digitise and streamline volunteer management

Volunteers are one of a charity’s most valuable assets - but managing them can drain precious time and resources. That’s where volunteer management software (VMS) like Rosterfy can make a transformational difference.

We support charities to unlock the full potential of their volunteer teams by digitising and streamlining every aspect of volunteer engagement.

Here’s how:

• Automate volunteer scheduling, onboarding, and communication
• Match volunteer skills to the right roles
• Track attendance and impact for reporting and compliance
• Scale programmes efficiently whether local or nationwide

By reducing admin and improving visibility, Rosterfy enables charities to focus staff energy where it’s needed most: on supporting communities.

Tip: If your volunteer programme still runs on spreadsheets or email threads, this is the time to explore purpose-built VMS.

The sector is adapting - you can too

The charity landscape is evolving rapidly. Those who thrive will be the ones who adapt, invest in efficiency, and engage their communities meaningfully. Whether it’s sharing resources, tracking impact, or digitising volunteer operations, there are tangible steps charities can take to build resilience. 

Rosterfy exists to support that transformation - helping charities modernise how they manage, engage, and grow their volunteer communities.

Ready to talk?

If your organisation is facing growing demand, looking to cut operational waste, planning to expand your volunteer network - then now is the time to explore how Rosterfy can help.

Book a discovery call to find out more.

Together, let’s build a stronger, more sustainable future for your charity and the communities you serve.