By Andrew Holt

It has come to NCVO's attention that the Government plans to announce today that it is pulling the £750,000 funding for a Campaigning Research Programme to help small charities campaign and advocate for change.

Their efforts were to be monitored as part of research on how small organisations can campaign effectively and how best they can be supported.

Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: "I am appalled at the decision to withdraw this funding.

"Charities play a critical role in campaigning and advocating for change. Without them, the voices of marginalised people can often go unheard.

"Making this decision at such a late stage has resulted in a complete waste of public funds and time for all involved."

Home     More News


Other stories you may find of interest:

Election campaigning gave third sector a strong voice, but challenges to their influence remain
The Third Sector Research Centre has released new research analysing the role of the sector in the 2010 general election and the success of their voices in shaping the new political landscape. It notes 2010 could be seen as a watershed election for the sector. Voluntary, community and social enterprise groups and issues experienced a high political profile and all the major political parties shared a positive interpretation of their role in society. However, the apparently broad consensus about the value of the sector masked key differences in how its role was viewed.

Donations should keep pace with inflation says report
Charities should encourage people to increase donations to ensure they keep pace with inflation, according to research published today. The research by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) investigates long-term trends in charitable giving. The report shows how charities could be missing out on extra earnings by failing to prompt people who make donations by direct debit or payroll giving to increase their donations each year to keep up with inflation. Donations that stay at the same level are unlikely to keep up with the pace of inflation and lose value. For example, a £10 donation made in 2000 was worth 8.46 in real terms by 2008, losing 15 per cent of its value.

Report: Big Society will not be big everywhere
The potential impact of the local authority cuts to the voluntary sector in Yorkshire has been revealed in the latest third sector trend surveys. Along with the threat to 26,000 voluntary sector jobs, the research has revealed how important public sector investment is to the health of charities and voluntary organisations.




Aug/Sept cover story: The EU and civil society

The European Union is one of the largest donors to civil society in the world, but also accused of not truly engaging with sector organisations. Peter Davy investigates the EU/sector relationship


Current struggles over the Eurozone debt crisis have done little to endear the EU to British voters, it seems. Two polls in July had half the population saying they would vote to leave were a referendum held. In the survey by pollsters AngusReid, only a third thought EU membership had been positive for the country...

December/January 2012 Cover Feature: The Good Leader

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

This website is a part of Perspective Publishing Limited, registered in England No 2876166.