This has been a year of both clarity and contradiction.

Across the voluntary sector, especially among small and medium-sized charities, a shared truth has surfaced: the work has never been more needed, more complex or more undervalued.

Rising need, shrinking resources and deepening societal divides have pushed local organisations into a new era - not defined by crisis, but by exposed fault lines. 2025 has shown us the limitations of old assumptions: about partnership, funding, capacity and the very role of charities in civic life.