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 »
Monthly Archives: March 2010
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 »
MP ‘sees nothing but a fudge’ on phasing out of cheques
If charities thought cheques being phased out by 2018 was a foregone conclusion, they might have to think again. The Payments Council proposed the move last year and has been consulting charities and sector umbrella bodies, as well as small businesses and other groups. Many, including Citizen’s Advice and the Institute of Fundraising, had come… Read more »
Many charities don’t realise how bad their pension problems really are
A few recent stories highlight the impact of the wider pensions crisis on the charity sector. The combined pensions deficit of the 20 largest charities is around £720m, according to a study by Alexander Forbes. And last week, two pensions specialists who advised charities in the Scottish Voluntary Sector Pensions Scheme – a multi-employer scheme… Read more »
Fire and brimstone missing at Unite’s mass meeting for charity workers
The mass meeting last night of charity sector workers organised by Unite showcased a side of the Labour Party rarely seen these days. Labour MPs initially outnumbered charity workers in committee room 11 of the Palace of Westminster, as delegates battled with hordes of tourists and schoolchildren to get through security. The MPs declared themselves… Read more »
The mauling of Dame Suzi Leather
Dame Suzi Leather’s membership of the Labour Party has never been a disqualification for her to be chair of the Charity Commission. But it has created an opening for the piranhas of the Daily Mail and other right wing organs to sink their teeth into her. They have attacked her on a political level, suggesting… Read more »