Tag Archives: Fundraising

How can innovative organisations produce evidence of their impact?

This article was first published by the Society of Impact Assessment Analysts ‘If something isn’t working, do something else’, goes the saying. Though it sounds obvious, we often don’t follow this advice. Many of the social and environmental issues we’ve … Continue reading

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What the gov’t should do about the charity tax row

Part 1: Try to regain some credibility in this debate 1. Make HMRC release the relevant donor data Whatever the rights & wrongs in the debate, sentiment is inflamed by the fact that the charity sector can’t even size the … Continue reading

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Why I don’t back the Give It Back George campaign

Charities are furious about the government’s proposal to give them less money via the tax system. Well, they would be, wouldn’t they? Hence they’re campaigning frantically to block the proposal. But people interested in effectiveness and impact – and who … Continue reading

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The government’s raid on giving makes no sense

The UK government recently announced that it would cap tax relief on charitable giving. The surprise move has met a furious response, and makes no sense whichever way it’s intended. It’s a shame, because the charitable world has plenty of … Continue reading

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Understanding impact. What would have happened anyway?

Article first published by the Society of Impact Assessment Analysts In understanding a charity’s impact, we seek to identify the difference which the charity has made in the world. That is, what has happened which would not otherwise have happened. … Continue reading

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Three golden rules of effective charitable giving

This article first appeared in The Ecologist. Many of us support charities which work on some of the biggest environmental issues of our time. But which are the good ones, and how can we really help? Caroline Fiennes, author of … Continue reading

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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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