What would you say if I told you that there are thousands of charity employees out there who could boost by 20 per cent the amount given to them by their employer, without changing job or incurring any risk at all, but are choosing not to? You might doubt it, but it’s true. They’re the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
London Marathon needs a human face
Many Third Sector readers will be familiar with the terrain covered by the Dispatches programme on the London Marathon at the weekend: the intense feelings of unfairness among some charities about the Gold Bond system of allocating places for runners; the deep reluctance of the marathon’s leaders to talk openly about its organisation and finances;… Read more »
David Cameron’s National Citizen Service is likely to interest only middle class and motivated teens
Volunteering was at the top of the political agenda for a brief moment yesterday, when David Cameron used his first major press conference since the beginning of the general election campaign to announce his party’s plans for a National Citizen Service scheme. Under his system, 16-year-olds would be encouraged to spend the summer after they leave… Read more »
Because It’s Good is rather good for charities looking for digital media tips
Should charities tackle malicious groups created by Facebook users? How do online mentors keep professional boundaries in place? And are elaborate email templates worth the effort? Such digital media quandaries are tackled in a series of articles on Because It’s Good, a newish community blog that functions as an online salon for charity digital media… Read more »
Another scalp for Joanna Lumley
It might well be that some former Gurkhas have exercised their right to come to Britain and arrived with unrealistic expectations about housing and subsistence; it might well be that, in Nepal, unscrupulous fixers and middlemen have been exploiting the credulity of some former soldiers. These are all matters that need to be examined and… Read more »
Gravity could make virtual chugging a reality
Gravity is a new social networking site that could prove extremely useful for charity campaigning and fundraising. A number of charities and sector organisations, such as Whizz-Kidz and UK Fundraising, are already there. The site allows users to start conversations on any subject, and to “orbit worlds” and one another based around their interests, rather… Read more »
Charities could face tax bills that cancel out their relief
How much tax does the charity sector pay? It’s not meant to pay any, in theory. But in practice it pays a lot, it turns out, according to a very informal survey I carried out last week. Having spoken to a few charities’ finance directors, it appears many operational charities pay around a tenth of… Read more »
Charities’ public image on runners’ online forums is extremely low
A contributor to an online running forum I frequent recently told the tale of someone who’d secured a place in the London Marathon through a gold bond owned by a well-known charity, then pulled out because of injury. But she was being chased by the charity for the full amount she’d agreed to raise. The… Read more »
Digitial media: put someone senior in charge
News online doesn’t just travel fast – it’s live. Twitter and other social media mean stories are published and read as they happen, which presents charities with a problem if they want to react quickly to events. When news of the earthquake in Haiti broke on January 12, the American Red Cross didn’t hang around;… Read more »
Six-hour Tory love-in at the Acevo summit
How many ways can you say I love you? That was the dilemma facing members of the shadow Cabinet when they turned out in force yesterday to cosy up to a hundred or so charity delegates at the Conservative Party third sector summit. Chief executives body Acevo is staging summits with the three main political… Read more »