Francis Davis, a policy adviser on the big society, has published a paper called The Diamond Dividend in which he estimates that £4bn more could be raised for charity if people gave one per cent of their income. Only £4bn? He is no doubt wise to be restrained in his estimates, but a back-of-the-envelope calculation… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Nick Hurd
Civil society sounds grandiose, but what is it?
So off we go with the name game once more. A couple of years ago the Conservatives said the Office of the Third Sector would be renamed the Office of Civil Society to denote the increased importance they wanted to give it. Then they said there had been a rethink and money was too tight… Read more »
Nick Hurd claimed to be serious at his first meet-and-greet, but mutterings were audible
Earlier this week I went to the first meet-and-greet by Nick Hurd with the sector since his appointment as the new charities minister. It wasn’t exactly at the coalface: it was a small gathering of around 50 senior charity staff at a smart central London hotel. But it was a good debut for Hurd. He charmed… Read more »
Tories hint at tax breaks for social investment
In the run-up to the election there have been lots of promises from political parties about what they will do to improve the lot of social enterprises. This week Nick Hurd, shadow charities minister, suggested the Conservatives were thinking of using tax breaks to boost the social investment market. If this is the case, it… Read more »
Smith, Hurd and Willott were given an easy ride at the volunteering hustings
At university we had hustings to help students decide which of their peers they should elect to represent them on their college’s governing body. They were heated events. We crammed a hundred or so people into a small room, gave the candidates a good grilling and scrutinised every word they said, throwing back difficult questions… Read more »
Funding the Future conference: policy was thin on the ground as Nick Hurd recycled his jokes
Shadow charities minister Nick Hurd announced to delegates at the Funding the Future conference yesterday that he was going to tell them something they might know already. “There’s going to be a general election soon.” It was not the first time he’d made the joke. He said it last week at an Institute of Fundraising conference,… Read more »