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| GORDON
BROWN SWITCHES ALLEGIANCE TO VOLUNTEERING |
19/02/04 |
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The
Chancellor has refused to be drawn on pleas to reaffirm his commitment to
encouraging donations, and called for the giving of more time to charity
instead.
Speaking at the annual NCVO Conference, Gordon Brown used his keynote address
to announce plans for encouraging more volunteering, especially among the
young - and to use the USA as a role model.
Vice chair of the NCVO, Jane Slowey, had opened the event by reminding the
audience that the Chancellor previously used this conference to announce
major Gift Aid changes, which has since earned the sector millions in extra
revenue.
But, on taking the stand, Gordon Brown was quick to quash hopes of a repeat
performance, saying: “Tempting as it is to respond to [the entreaties of
the sector], I will have to resist.”
However, having reaffirmed the governments’ commitment to the sector and
paid tribute to the “quiet revolution” that has seen it transform into a
sector “ready to rival market and state”, he went on to commit the government
to a similar level of help for bolstering volunteer numbers.
“I will not ignore your representations on incentives for giving money,”
he told delegates, “and indeed I know you will continue to make them to
me, but now is the moment also to do more to encourage the giving of time.”
Drawing inspiration from the US Freedom Corporations and Americorps, which
have boosted volunteer numbers in America, the Chancellor trailed plans
(which should see more detail in the forthcoming budget) for a youth led
programme that the government hopes will reinvigorate volunteering and take
advantage of what he called a “goodwill mountain just waiting to be tapped”.
The three strands of the programme will include:
- A national framework of community service for young people;
- An expansion of the scope of mentoring to enable older people contribute,
“using modern means of comunication to provide access to help advice, information
and guidance”; and
- Initiatives to encourage businesses to engage more in voluntary efforts.
All the initiatives, but particularly the last, were welcomed by NCVO chief
executive Stuart Etherington, who noted that research commissioned for this
year’s Voluntary Sector Almanac shows that, although the public thinks that
24% of the sector’s income comes from business, the real figure is just
4.3%
“Business is doing a pretty good promotion job,” he said, accusing the private
sector of tendancy to “talk much and deliver not very much”.
He also welcomed the Chancellor’s emphasis due to the reliance of smaller
charities on volunteers. This year’s Almanac, he noted, showed that, while
large charities were doing well from increasing government income and fundraising,
“small and medium organisations are struggling”.
The NCVO now plans to work with the sector to develop a system of support
for smaller charities to prevent the sector splitting in two.
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