1.4  Key points from Section 1

In this section, you have covered the following:

• All registered charities must show a public benefit; they are subject to laws, regulated by relevant bodies and overseen by boards of trustees; and are all voluntary in some way – that is, people give up their time through volunteering (bringing a wide range of skills and expertise to the sector) or they give up their money to further the cause.

• There are over 166,000 registered charities in the UK employing over 880,000 people and involving over 11.9 million regular volunteers (with around two-fifths of the population volunteering on a less regular basis). But the voluntary sector is much larger than this, with an estimated 900,000 organisations working to make a social difference that cannot be accurately counted at this time. With an income of £47.8 billion and outgoings of £46.5 billion it is engaged in a huge variety of work in many fields, but does face a range of challenges today. The voluntary sector is predominantly made up of small organisations, with some of the few big charities becoming very large.

• Values such as compassion, creativity or respect drive people's behaviour, guide organisations and unite the voluntary sector. It is worth considering the fit of your own values with those of voluntary organisations that you are interested in.