Tag Archives: charity

No money? Here’s how you can still make a difference to charity in a recession

This article first appeared in the Daily Mail Online. In a recession, more people turn to charities for support, precisely when donations are harder for charities to find. But there are tricks we can all use to make our donations … Continue reading

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Improving your fundraising hit-rate

This article first appeared on The Guardian’s Voluntary Sector Network.  Do you play the National Lottery? Why ever not, given that you could win a few million pounds which I dare say you’d find pretty handy? Probably because the odds … Continue reading

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Should You Donate to Sport Relief?

This article first appeared in Huffington Post This weekend, Sport Relief is running masses of activities this weekend to raise money for charity. But not all charities are the same. So is Sport Relief a good one?  Yes. Before we get into … Continue reading

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Application and reporting processes keep 3m children out of school

Avoidable waste from foundations’ reporting processes is ~£100m every year, enough to fund the whole of Barnardo’s or the British Red Cross. Another ~£150-250m is wasted in reporting to public sector funders, plus there’s plenty of avoidable waste in application … Continue reading

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WaterAid: what are you thinking of?

Millions of Thames Water customers have this week received leaflets from WaterAid containing this: WaterAid should know better. This graph perpetuates the dangerous lie that charities’ spending on governance and fundraising is somehow separate from ‘work on charitable objectives’. They’re not: … Continue reading

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Who’s not applying themselves? Donors need to know

Writing and publishing a book which should improve charitable giving I figured made me a social entrepreneur. I needed money – all that editing and design doesn’t come cheap – so I approached UnLtd, the fund for social entrepreneurs set … Continue reading

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The popular fetish of the small

The Economist this week has an article and data showing the folly of the popular affection for small companies. It shows that productivity* per employee is markedly higher in large companies than small ones for two reasons: employees in large … Continue reading

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It Ain’t What You Give, It’s The Way That You Give It

It Ain’t What You Give, It’s The Way That You Give It: launches March 27th 2012 ‘The Freakonomics of the charity world – but with better cartoons’ – Martin Houghton-Brown, Chief Executive, Missing People ‘Great advice: inspiring, entertaining and much-needed’ – James … Continue reading

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Government fund scores new low for charitable funding

Forty three failures for every success. Is the government’s Social Action Fund – which ostensibly helps charities – trying to challenge the National Lottery for startling low probabilities? It would be funny if only it weren’t tragic and irresponsible. And … Continue reading

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What if etiquette and impact collide?

Perhaps it’s an occupational hazard. A friend or acquaintance asks for some advice or help with their charity. I’d like to help that friend… but the work or structure of the charity raises the alarm in my head. On one … Continue reading

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