There was a sense of unity at the Protest the Pope march in London on Saturday, which is no mean feat considering there were around 10,000 individuals, many of them defined by different beliefs, lifestyles, religions and creeds. I arrived by Tube, slightly concerned about getting myself arrested (never a good thing for a first… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
Local authorities still failing to serve effectively as charity trustees
This week has brought another example of just how bad local authorities are at serving as trustees of charities. In Shetland, island councillors have buried their heads firmly in the sand and refused to reform the board of a £200m charitable trust where they make up 21 of 23 trustees, despite being told to do… Read more »
‘Micro-volunteering’ highlights positive impact of technology on voluntary sector
It’s easy to become jaded by the endless stream of technological advances we see practically every day. But one piece of technology I recently became aware of that made me sit up and take notice is an app which allows people to donate just a few valuable minutes of their time to charities in a… Read more »
Volunteers were the heroes of the London tube strike: London Zoo could do better
I was very impressed by the work of volunteers during the tube strike in London yesterday. I set off on my morning commute expecting chaos. But at both Victoria and Earl’s Court stations, there were plenty of cheery, easy-to-find, orange vest-clad Transport for London volunteers advising travellers how to reach their destinations. I didn’t have to wait… Read more »
Groundbreaking, impactful initiatives deliver transformative outcomes. Or do they?
What do the following have in common: a senior member of staff at a leading children’s charity, charity accounting systems and a website for disabled people? The answer is that all three were described as “innovative” in the last three weeks. The word has become a charity cliché, according to the US’s Chronicle of Philanthropy…. Read more »
Purple armbands will not revolutionise chugging, but they might make a small difference
This week, the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association launches a 12-week armband trial to improve the image of face-to-face fundraising. Thirty teams of chuggers are to be headed by team leaders wearing purple armbands with the words “team leader” written on them. The PFRA hopes the scheme will improve teams’ relationships with council officials, town centre… Read more »
It’s hard to see through the fog surrounding the future of the National Lottery
One of the most vexing issues on the voluntary sector landscape right now is the future of the National Lottery. The government wants to reduce the amount of good causes money awarded by the Big Lottery Fund from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. Considering that the BLF has given £3.6bn to mainly charitable… Read more »
Charities should make it clearer that chuggers are getting paid
The Newsnight programme about chugging last week found nothing whatsoever to surprise anyone in the charity sector. All of it was pretty common knowledge, easy to turn up, much as we might expect. But it did raise a valid point: the general public don’t like chuggers much. Mick Aldridge, chief executive of the Public Fundraising… Read more »
The government talks local but acts national. How do charities make sense of this?
Two stories I have worked on this year have generated considerable feeling. One is the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged into Age UK and its subsequent attempts to persuade local Age Concerns to become ‘brand partners’. The other is the decision by the Alzheimer’s Society to merge local branches into a new regional structure…. Read more »
Was the Charity Commission right not to publicise the findings of its investigation into the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative?
The long-awaited verdicts from the Charity Commission on the last two of the charities it investigated over political activity during the pre-election period are out. Both the employment charity Tomorrow’s People, which was probed over the appearance of its chief executive in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto, and the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative, which… Read more »