The Invest to Give innovation fund will give small and medium-sized charities the capacity to test any new fundraising ideas, on the condition that an agreed proportion of monies raised from successful projects would be re-invested in the fund. Consultancy support will also be given where required.

The fund is just one of the measures within the A Generous Society programme, which aims to develop a culture of giving throughout the whole of England.

Speaking at Action Planning’s Funding the Future conference, Charles Clarke acknowledged that the British public are already very generous, but that if giving is really to become embedded in our culture, it needs to be instilled in society in every given way.

An extra £9 million has been committed to the scheme, which will be used to fund key voluntary and community groups that support charitable giving; provide support for charities through training events; work with corporates to build private sector engagement with the implementation of the Russell Commission; and work with the Giving Forum to consider the potential benefits of a future national celebration of giving, such as a Year of Giving.

Schools are also to form a major part of the scheme. A network of Charity Accounts for secondary schools is to be introduced, which will provide balances of £500 for students to run their very own charities, and citizenship curriculum materials will be extended to primary schools.

In addition, a Centre of Excellence for charitable giving is to be commissioned, which will include a major programme of research and development.

“The role and contribution of the voluntary and community sector is immense, important and too often undervalued,” said Clarke. “The government has tried to raise standards in a variety of ways – through Compact and Compact Plus. Now we are looking for ways in which we can encourage people to give more, both financially and in terms of time.”

“My invitation to you is to find further ways in which we can improve the extent to which people give,” he added. “My own view is that we need to work harder to market the achievements of the sector and show the public how it innovates, how it deals with those hard to reach groups, and reacts quickly to changing circumstances - in order to get across the fact that the money spent results in a positive end.”

For more information on the A Generous Society strategy visit http://communities.homeoffice.gov.uk