It was three years ago that the campaign really got under way to establish a new bank holiday in the autumn to celebrate the contribution made to society by the voluntary sector. The proposal was supported by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, other sector bodies, individual trade unions and the TUC. Brendan Barber, TUC… Read more »
Monthly Archives: November 2010
We survived the Homeless Hacks challenge…
On Friday night, my fellow reporter Sophie Hudson and I slept rough in Spitalfields Market. No, it wasn’t because times are tough in the journalism business these days. It was a fundraising event held by the charity Action for Brazil’s Children. We managed to smash our fundraising target of £150 each: so far we have… Read more »
Homeless Hacks fundraising challenge Day Four
We did it! Yesterday Kaye and I smashed through the £300 fundraising target and managed to raise £335 – and that’s without counting any of the Gift Aid. I would not necessarily say this is down to any particular genius on our part. Echoing what I wrote yesterday, I think it has been largely down… Read more »
Homeless Hacks fundraising challenge Day Three
So, Kaye and I did well with our fundraising yesterday. We’ve managed to raise £265 in two days. In fact, with the Gift Aid, we have already broken through our £300 target. We’re both lucky to be surrounded by a group of very generous friends and family, who have been incredible with their support. But… Read more »
Ditching a bad piece of law
In last week’s New Statesman, the magazine’s political editor, Mehdi Hasan, coined the ideal phrase for one of the least pleasant tendencies of the last government. He wrote that the former immigration minister Phil Woolas, stripped of his parliamentary seat after an electoral court found that he told race-related lies about his Lib Dem opponent,… Read more »
Homeless Hacks fundraising challenge Day Two
Day two of the Homeless Hacks fundraising challenge, and things are proving difficult. I’ve created the Virgin Money Giving fundraising page – the charity we’re supporting, Action for Brazil’s Children, asked us specifically to use the Virgin site, not Justgiving (I wonder how many other charities do this?) But the site is driving me mad. Parts of… Read more »
Sleeping rough for charity – a good idea?
Every now and again, it helps to look at things from a different perspective. By covering the fundraising patch at Third Sector, both my fellow reporter, Sophie Hudson, and I have grappled with the arguments for and against various forms of fundraising, the complex regulations that surround raising cash and the various fundraising strategies that… Read more »
Tory minister praises Labour council shock…
After a 28 per cent cut to the budget for local authorities was announced in the comprehensive spending review, David Cameron warned councils across the country not to cut funding for the voluntary sector first. His concern, he has said on several occasions, is that some local authorities will “pull up the drawbridge” and protect… Read more »
‘Compulsory volunteering’ should be embraced by the voluntary sector
Many volunteering charities will, no doubt, recoil in horror at the prospect of compulsory community-based voluntary work for unemployed people. The idea is part of the work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith’s plan for welfare reform that will be announced in more detail this week. Under the plans, some jobseekers would be told to carry… Read more »
Corporates: charities want decorating with cash instead of paint
There was a very loud groan from a room full of fundraisers at a recent conference when they were asked whether any corporates had offered to paint some walls for them recently. They rolled their eyes as they grumbled that they didn’t have any walls left to paint, explaining that this was one of the… Read more »