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Attitudes of the wealthy
Friday, May 11th, 2012
“Futurewealth 2012″ is a new research report with some useful breakdowns about the attitudes of people making major gifts. It’s unashamed in seeing donating as a consumer behaviour – something akin to buying a nice watch, or a car. In general, it’s a very odd piece of research (few reports open with the line “the wealthy are being let down”), but worth a look if major donor fundraising is on your list. READ MORE (pdf)
Generation Z is pessimistic
Friday, May 11th, 2012
JWT have published research into the attitudes of 8 – 17 year olds. What’s unsurprising is how they use technology. They’re always connected, always chatting, dedicated to Facebook and attached to their mobiles. What’s surprising is how pessimistic they are (slide 22). Across a range of measures, only small numbers (10-15%) think things will get better over the next six months. READ MORE
Government mutual launches
Friday, May 11th, 2012
The service that runs the Civil Service Pension Scheme (myCSP) has become the first “Whitehall mutual” and is looking for new customers. It’s an experiment in employee ownership. Staff will share 25% of the equity, the government will own 35% and private sector pensions outsourcer Equiniti will own 40%. It’s an example of the hybrid models forming in the gaps between public, private and charitable provision, but at this stage the “public service mutual” still feels like an answer in search of a question. READ MORE
Consultation on Small Donations
Friday, May 11th, 2012
The Small Donations Bill was the main piece of charitably-focussed legislation in the Queen’s Speech and is currently out for consultation. The aim is to help small cash donors to small charities get tax relief, because Gift Aid is an administrative burden. In practice, it looks like a roundabout way of giving £1,250 to every rugby club and church hall in the country. Encouraging take-up whilst avoiding fraud will be a difficult line to walk. READ MORE
Lessons worth sharing
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
TED, the Californian technology and innovation conference, has always had an open approach. This has spawned 4000 TEDx events and seen their online videos transcribed by 7,500 volunteers into over 80 languages. TED-Ed is their new platform for creating lessons and lesson plans by remixing (or ‘flipping’) their videos. They seem to be well ahead of universities here, blurring the boundaries of formal and informal education. READ MORE
On selling a charity
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
The College of Law was established as a charity in 1962 to improve legal education. It has a Royal Charter and the power to award degrees. Last week, it sold its main activity to a private equity firm, using the £200m proceeds to endow a new foundation that will award scholarships to legal students. The Charity Commission and HE authorities have said they are happy. This is an important precedent and a very real example of how the distinction between public, private and civil society are increasingly unclear. READ MORE
Innovation in Giving 2
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
The next round of grants for NESTA’s Innovation in Giving Fund is open. For this round, they are looking to give up away up to £1.5m to about 10 “established” charities to encourage new models of philanthropy that might deliver at scale. Their models are ideas like the National Trust’s Landshare programme. Applications close on 9th May. READ MORE
Making “national strategy”
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
The Public Adminstration Select Committee published a second report on “National Strategy” this week. Reported as another dig at a wobbly government, it is actually a thoughtful study into what it is for a government or a nation to have a strategy. Their conclusions are that the UK does not have a strategy, and would do better if it did. Some of the submitted evidence to the committee is especially good. It’s interesting for anyone thinking about how governments make decisions. READ MORE
Lessons of Make Poverty History
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
It was reported this week that there will be a big joint campaign to coincide with the UK taking the chair of the G8 next year. With a focus on hunger, it will bring together development and environment campaigners with other civil society groups. Making big coalitions work is difficult but important work. In 2006, Firetail wrote the official end of campaign evaluation for ‘Make Poverty History’. Circumstances have changed a lot since then, but many of the lessons from that campaign still apply. The evaluation is available for download here. READ MORE
Social investment – Scope take the plunge
Friday, April 20th, 2012
Scope has become one of the first charities to take a serious step into social finance with the launch of a £20m bond. They are pitching it as a straightforward commercial bond (with a reduced coupon and some impact reporting), secured on their retail and fundraising income. It’s important for social finance that products like this are successful. They prove that there is demand among investors for ethical debt and help build trust in charities as reliable organisations. READ MORE