Who helps?

Here's a simple equation to show you how charities help the people, animals or things they are set up to protect or support.

People who work for charities are either volunteers (who work for free) or paid employees (who are paid by the charity). There are three types of work in charities: fundraising, administration, and service provision.

Fundraisers raise money for the charity. They organise events and activities and they are also involved in advertising the charity's name and message.

Administrators are responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity. They make sure that all parts of a charity work efficiently.

Service providers are the people who do what the charity exists to do, or make sure that there are services to do this: help children in need; look after abandoned animals; protect the country's coastline.

Charities receive support from individuals (like you), from companies, from organisations that give grants (like other big charities, for example, the Wellcome Trust), and from government. Support comes in three main forms: money, time, or goods.

Money: People give money in all sorts of ways. Some people drop 50p in a collecting tin; others leave their house to a charity when they die.

Time: People and organisations give up time as volunteers to help charities, either by fundraising, working as administrators or providing a service.

Goods: Organisations, companies and people also give things to charities that they can use to support their cause. These "things" can be anything from computers to help the administration of a charity, to lorries that will take food to people who need it.

Who benefits from charities? First and foremost, the people, animals or things that the charity was set up to help.

There are those who benefit directly – the people, animals and things that the charity's help goes to.

Other people who benefit include the government and other organisations who know that sometimes, charities can help better than they can. And everyone else benefits, because when there are fewer people in need, it makes the world a better place for us all to live.