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The Small Charitable Donations Bill should be index-linked

I wonder if it’s time for the charity sector to change tack with its lobbying on the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme.

The GASDS, and the Small Charitable Donations Bill that will bring it into existence, have been criticised because of the bureaucracy involved, particularly the need for a good Gift Aid record before you can take part, and the need to collect at least £1 in Gift Aid for every £2 raised under GASDS.

Social finance and winning contracts fit well together

This week, a Third Sector feature looks at how charities are creating new intermediaries to win government contracts – organisations focused on gaining business and becoming big, allowing local charities to win business while remaining relatively small, close to their beneficiaries, and focused on delivery.

One of the key issues highlighted was the need to get in place financial products which can support those organisations.

Now councils have doorstep fundraising in their sights

Doorstep fundraising seems to be the quieter, less boisterous, older sister of street fundraising.

While the so-called ‘chuggers’ who collect direct debit sign-ups in high streets have been getting into trouble with the media and now face fines for breaking fundraising rules, those doing house-to-house collections have been quietly getting on with it in the background.

Workfare presents a difficult PR question for the sector

The charity sector doesn’t seem to have much to say about the government’s new “workfare” scheme, announced last week, that will see 6,000 unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds required to work unpaid for 30 hours a week.

However, like it or not, it is the sector’s problem. The terms “voluntary organisation” and “charity” were being bandied about liberally by the government during the launch. They’re giving a pretty clear impression that they plan for many or most of these placements to be in the voluntary sector.

Did the Futurebuilders fund do any good?

The Social Investment Business revealed some interesting figures about Futurebuilders last week – chiefly, that it has £28m of unspent repayments sitting in its bank accounts, some of which has been there for at least five years.

Another revelation was that only another £85m or so is outstanding. For a fund originally billed as having £215m to lend, with mooted repayments of £400m, this is a bit of a comedown.

Is William Shawcross the right person for the commission job?

The proposed appointment of the writer and journalist William Shawcross as chair of the Charity Commission at least bodes well for a relatively short interregnum. John Wood, an existing board member, took over as interim chair of the regulator at the beginning of this month after the departure of Dame Suzi Leather. A starting date for Shawcross has not been given, and the proposal by the Cabinet Office to appoint him will be considered by the Public Administration Select Committee of MPs next week.

Why I’ve been put off donating to one major charity

I have been annoyed by a big-name charity after I gave it what was, by my standards, a pretty generous donation.

I made the donation in response to a high-profile campaign, and was quickly thanked by the charity. I thought that would be the end of it, and from my point of view that would be fine – I don’t expect the chief executive to come round to my house to thank me personally for my incredible generosity.

We need to maintain the momentum post-London 2012

Few people could deny being gripped and enthralled by the awesome sporting spectacle served up over the past fortnight. Following a seven-year build up, the Games finally came, London delivered and now the athletes and fans have returned home and the blaze of the Olympic flame has been extinguished.

Barring some admittedly not inconsiderable last minute teething problems regarding the provision of security staff, the games have been largely heralded a success both here and in the foreign press. The triumph of the games is in no doubt in part due to the immense effort and dedication exhibited by 70,000 games maker volunteers and a further 8,000 London Ambassadors.

There is a great deal of churn, turmoil and change going on in the sector

It feels as if the sector has taken a real beating in the last couple of weeks. It’s not so much a matter of big individual hits as of death by a thousand cuts.

Each day seemed to bring a new closure. The educational charity Red Kite, which works with ex-offenders, was sunk by the demands of payment by results. Sharp, another charity for ex-offenders based in Shrewsbury, was looking for a miracle after failing to win funding from trusts. Wiltshire Mind was unable to find the money for its core costs any more. London Civic Forum foundered, citing a lack of political support. Coastnet, which works in deprived coastal areas, went into administration. More than a quarter of charities polled in Norfolk said closure threatened.

Charity regulation is all over the place

Earlier this month, a National Audit Office report for the Public Administration Select Committee laid out the scope of the charity sector in the UK. It revealed, basically, that charity regulation is all over the place.

There are almost 350,000 charities in the UK, with a total income of more than £120bn. Less than half of these – around 163,000 charities, with a combined income of £55bn – are registered with the Charity Commission.

Of the rest, around 2,500 are housing associations and educational establishments. With a combined income of £62bn, these organisations make up most of the missing income.