The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) has today welcomed the focus on the themes of “social impact investing” and “tax, trade and transparency” of this year’s G8 summit, and urged attendees to use the event to make progress in breaking down barriers to long-term responsible investment.
Malcolm Hayday, founding chief executive of Charity Bank, has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for “services to charities and Social Enterprise.” Hayday, who left the bank after 10 years in 2012, was one of the pioneers of social finance. He joined the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in 1993 to explore the possibility of loan finance as a new resource for the charity sector.
Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude today has announced new commitments on open data that will give citizens detailed information on the operations of charities and companies. For the first time, information about how charities earn and spend their money will be available in an open data format. When turned into applications by technology developers, this will help citizens to make more informed decisions about the causes they consider supporting.
At the Social Value Conference yesterday, the Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd announced the appointment of Chris White, MP for Warwick and Leamington, as the first official Social Value Ambassador. The conference, organised by Social Enterprise West Midlands in Birmingham, heard how Chris White will be working closely with Local Authorities and the voluntary sector to raise awareness of the Public Services (Social Value) Act, which came into force earlier this year and received cross-party support.
Social Enterprise UK has responded positively to the news that Chris White MP has been named Social Value Ambassador. Social Enterprise UK chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, Peter Holbrook, said: “This is a very welcome move. Chris has been an extraordinary champion for social value. He navigated the Public Services (Social Value) Act through parliament with commitment and a real desire to revolutionise public sector commissioning practices. The Act is already being embedded by public sector commissioners and councils in England and Wales who want to use their spending power to create lasting social change in villages, towns and cities.
Confirmation that the Assad regime has been using chemical weapons against its own citizens must prompt Western intervention in Syria, analysts from think-tank Henry Jackson Society (HJS) have said. Tonight an internal memo from US and European officials has confirmed that ‘the intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year’.
A scheme to mentor and rehabilitate prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months has reduced re-conviction rates, figures published today show. The pilot, being run at Peterborough prison by Social Finance with support from a number of voluntary organisations, has helped prisoners who would previously have had no support. It provides them with help as they prepare for release and then to access the services they need, including housing, employment, financial services and substance abuse services once they are out of prison.
The second annual Insight in Fundraising Awards took place last night in London. Charities and their data insight partners came together to celebrate excellence in insight driven fundraising, with RNIB, UNICEF UK, Comic Relief, Cancer Research UK, and RNLI amongst those winning awards for their work.
NAVCA chief Joe Irvin has today led a delegation of NAVCA members to give evidence to the Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector. In his evidence Irvin cited gagging clauses in the work programme as one of the worst example of charities independence being wilfully attacked. The Panel is made up of senior charity experts and was established by the Baring Foundation because of continued concerns about charities’ independence.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of voters do not want councillors to cut funding to charities by more than they cut other services, according to a survey released today. The survey, released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) which promotes charitable giving and provides financial services and social finance to not-for-profit organisations, follows research which found that as many as half of all local councils have cut funding to charities by a greater proportion than the overall cuts to their budget.
The Charity Commission is calling on charities to take part in a new review project looking at strategy development and review in charities. The project, launched jointly by the Commission and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), will involve 25 volunteer charities, each of which will receive a pro-bono strategy review from an ICAEW member. All charities registered with the Charity Commission and with incomes of less than £5m are eligible to take part.
The Charities Property Fund, managed by Cordea Savills, has acquired a portfolio of car showrooms for £17.4 million, let on long leases with annual fixed rental increases and options to extend for a further 20 years, meaning the Fund has now passed the £500 million milestone: with £510 million under management. The acquisition price reflects a 7.2% yield after the costs of acquisition. The Fund has also passed the £500 million milestone and is now fully invested with £510 million under management.
Charity fundraising regulator, the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB), has today published its annual complaints report, revealing a total 33,744 fundraising complaints reported to UK charities in 2012, and shows a 93% increase on doorstep fundraising complaints from 2011.The FRSB Complaints Report 2013 presents an overview of complaints received by 1,068 charities with fundraising programmes that deliver £4.16 billion in voluntary income annually.
Andrew Holt looks at the potential great rotation and eventual bounce in equities
In association with with Sarasin & Partners
Robert Boddington plots the lost decade and predicts equities will ultimately make good progress
In association with Sarasin & Partners
What is the role of charities? Are they unique? Or do charities increasingly ape what other organisations can do just as well? Hugh Wilson investigates
Andrew Holt chaired a thought provoking discussion on a much discussed, but often misunderstood, issue of cloud computing. Sponsored by Eduserv
Cloud Computing provides a quick way of accessing computing services and resources cost effectively...
Joe Lepper looks at 2013 charity investment opportunities and notes charities are set to face some tough decisions in 2013 on how the get the most out of their money
Diverse leadership in the sector is driving greater professionalism and innovation, finds Hugh Wilson
With morale in the sector at its lowest ebb, Duncan Jefferies asks what makes an effective leader and how charities can attract and develop the best management talent in the current environment
Target return funds are about being in the right assets at the right time, and being out of assets when they are not performing. Philip Smith weighs up the evidence for charities to take the plunge and Malcolm Herring shows how a targeted return approach seeks to achieve real returns on a consistent basis
Much hope and expectation is on corporates to fill the substantial gap left by government funding cuts and a fall in fundraising revenue. Peter Davy looks at how charities should be dealing with corporates to help fill a vast hole in charity finances
Those hoping to solve the problem of arts funding through private sector sponsorship suffered a further blow in November: Sherlock Holmes thinks it impossible.....
Criticised as vapid and a big fat lie, David Cameron’s vision of the Big Society faces critics from all sides. But for all that criticism, the Big Society does offer the sector opportunities it should embrace, finds Peter Davy
Andrew Holt investigates the vital and often unique work taken on by faith charities, the
part they play in the Big Society, and how they will survive in a testing environment
Faith-based charities form a significant part of the charitable sector, with 30,115 charities in England and Wales focusing on religious activities,equating to a shared income of £6.643 billion....
