The UK’s Best Small Children’s Charities, Vetted
Some of the UK’s most effective children’s charities are ones you may not have heard of.
We find them, we assess their impact, and we make it simple for you to support 16 charities with a single donation.
When it comes to working with children and young people, bigger doesn’t mean better.
According to the Charity Commission, the largest 5% of charities receive 88% of all charity income*. This imbalance reflects the uneven distribution of funds, brand recognition and marketing, rather than the quality of the work on the ground.
Smaller charities are often overlooked despite doing the most precise, evidence-based, community-rooted work.
This is a systemic problem. And it’s the problem Raise Your Hands was built to solve.
Donate today
One donation. 16 wonderful small charities.
16 ways to change young lives.
For over a decade we’ve built a portfolio of 16 small UK children’s charities — every one of them rigorously vetted, every one of them doing extraordinary work with children and young people. Your donation is shared equally between them.
How it works
- We find them
We actively seek out the small charities doing the most effective, evidence-based work with children and young people across the UK. Most of them don’t appear in any Google search you’d ever run. That’s exactly the point. - We vet them
Every charity on the platform has passed our rigorous five-stage assessment — covering impact, leadership, governance, financial management, and safeguarding. Then we review each of them, in detail, every year. - You support them all
One donation distributed equally across every charity in the portfolio. No conditions. Just unrestricted funding going to organisations that know exactly how to put it to work. Crucially, 100% of your gift goes to them, as we fundraise for our running costs separately.
The charities each donation supports
For companies
Whether you want to explore company giving and fundraising, or build a structured corporate partnership including volunteering and reporting, Raise Your Hands can help.
We work with companies of every size, across every sector.
Finance firm?
We have a dedicated programme built specifically for the working culture, reporting needs, and ESG expectations of the finance sector.
Other ways to get involved
Fundraise for us
Run, cycle, bake, quiz — whatever you’re up for, we’ll cheer you on and give you everything you need to get started.
Leave a gift in your will
A gift in your will helps small charities keep changing young lives for years to come.
We can walk you through it.
Keep in touch
Sign up for occasional updates on the charities you’re supporting, the impact you’re helping create, and how to get involved.
*Charity Commission for England and Wales, “Charities by income band”, 2026.