Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth has called for more collaboration in the sector so charities can maximise their support.

Such partnerships should involve charities working together and also with other sectors, including businesses.

Speaking at the Charity Times annual conference this week he said he had “underlying confidence in this sector’s collective power” adding, “just as no home is built by a single pair of hands, no lasting social change comes from isolated efforts”.

During his speech he gave examples of how charity sector collaboration is already helping to improve people’s lives.

This includes reference to the Felix Project that provided 33m meals last year through its network of 1,264 community organisations and schools.

It is already expanding its collaboration work by launching its Multibank in London. This is part of a network of ‘Multibanks’ launched by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Amazon to donate foods to families impacted by poverty.

Another example of collaboration involving charities that Holdsworth gave in his speech, is in his home city of Liverpool. He says that since he grew up there in the 1980s it has been transformed through collaboration involving “combination of philanthropic investments, national and local government investment, alongside renewed community action notably in the arts, culture and tourism which acted as catalysts for wider renewal”.

“Each individual project mattered, but what made for game-changing transformation was the cumulative impact of collaborative and complementary efforts from a number of actors. And that is true across the sector today,” he said.

“Take for example, Fareshare. Working collaboratively, supporting other charities in their network, they’ve helped distribute 92% more food over the last year, and made their budgets go 78% further.”

Also, in Liverpool he praised collaborative working that has saved the city’s baby hospice Zoe’s Place. Local business leaders, politicians, other charities, regional media and the Commission were involved in it being able to continue operating as a new charity following challenges in moving to a new premise after the lease on its current premises was due to run out.

Shelter’s collaboration with clothing brand Lucy and Yak to set up donation boxes in its stores and encourage customers to donate clothing is another that is praised by Holdsworth.

“Shelter has responded to competition facing charity shops with the rise of preloved selling platforms in an agile and innovative way,” he said.

“Through this partnership, they’ve added a funding stream to their ‘bow’ and potentially reached new supporters.

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