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Charity Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit puts resources online

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Charity Commission Logo

The Charity Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit, which closes at the end of this month, has made a range of resources for faith-based charities available online.

The unit was set up in October 2007 with a £1.2m grant from the Communities and Local Government department. It worked primarily with Muslim charities and encouraged them to register with the commission. The grant ran out at the end of April.

The resources include guidance on how to register as a faith-based charity, along with case studies of mosques to demonstrate good governance. These will join guidance that is already available on the commission website.

Posted in Faith, Governance, Religion, Research Reports, Resources | No Comments »

RNLI given best ever score in global reputation poll

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

RNLI lifeboat

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators assessed the reputations of 154 organisations

The RNLI has been awarded the highest ever score in a global study that measures the reputations of large corporate organisations.

The rescue charity was one of 10 well-known voluntary sector organisations, including the RSPCA, British Red Cross and Cancer Research UK, that were examined in the UK segment of the study, which attempted to gauge how well respected organisations are.

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators commissioned the survey, which assessed the reputations of 154 UK-based organisations in areas including innovation, leadership and performance. At least 100 people were consulted for each group included in the study, which is also carried out in 33 other countries.

The RNLI averaged 95.1 per cent in the seven areas, compared with the global average of 64.2 per cent. The average for the 10 charities included in the study was 86.7 per cent.

Louise Thomson, head of policy at ICSA, said this was the first time charities had been included in the poll, which has been running for five years.

“Unsurprisingly, charitable bodies came out on top when compared with other types of organisations, with the reputational score for the top charity recording the highest ever measured by the researchers.”

Paul Boissier, chief executive of the RNLI, said: “We work tremendously hard on our reputation and standing in the public eye.”

Posted in Governance, Media, Performance | No Comments »

Trustees Week

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

The first annual Trustees Week is to take place 25th to 31st October, organised by the Charity Commission, in partnership with Charity Trustee Networks, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Reach Volunteering, Getting on Board and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. Other voluntary organisations are encouraged to organise related events and activities. News release at http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/RSS/News/pr_trustees_week.aspx, or go to the dedicated website at http://www.trusteesweek.org.uk. Do note that the latter uses Blogger, which may make it rather slow in some web browsers.

Posted in Charity Commission, Governance, Media, Trustees | No Comments »

Improving access to websites

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Guidance on search engine optimisation (SEO), otherwise known as making websites easier to find, has been produced for charities by the Internet Advertising Bureau, the trade body for digital marketing. The ‘Search Toolkit for Charities and Public Sector’ includes an Oxfam case study and can be found via For access to the toolkit click here. (From Third Sector, http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1023411/)

Posted in Accessability, Governance, IT, Media | No Comments »

Trusteeship 2010: An update for charity trustees

Friday, August 27th, 2010

New Philanthropy Capital has published ‘Trusteeship 2010: An update for charity trustees’. This builds on ‘Board matters’, a review of charity trusteeship produced in May 2009 but can be read on its own for a review of developments since then and useful resources for trustees. Registration required to download.

Posted in Governance, Legal Updates, Trustees | No Comments »

Government enlists voluntary sector chiefs to red tape taskforce

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Lord Hodgson

Regulatory burden on charities and enterprises will be examined

The Office for Civil Society has launched the Big Society Deregulation Taskforce to examine how red tape and bureaucracy can be reduced for charities and community organisations.

It will be run jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which also wants to cut the administrative burden on small enterprises.

The taskforce – a key election pledge by the Conservatives – will be chaired by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, president of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. He was the Tory spokesman during debates about the Charities Act 2006.

Other members include Andrew Hind, chief executive of the Charity Commission until the end of this month, and Lynne Berry, chief executive of WRVS.

Sir Graham Melmoth, chair of the NCVO until November, David Tyler, chief executive of the umbrella body Community Matters, and David Thompson, chair of Marston’s brewery, will also be on the taskforce.

Nick Hurd, the Minister for Civil Society, told Third Sector that the move was part of a wider attempt to rethink the state’s attitude towards risk, which was generating too much regulation. Vetting and barring and health and safety rules were also under review.

He said the taskforce would look at bureaucracy on Gift Aid with the Gift Aid Forum, an existing joint Whitehall-sector body.

A statement from the OCS said the taskforce’s subjects might include responsibilities of trustees, employment law and contractual arrangements when civil society organisations provide public services.

Hurd said the fit and proper persons test, under which HM Revenue & Customs can deny tax relief to charities if it thinks their staff untrustworthy, would remain a matter for the Treasury.

Posted in Big Society, Charity Commission, Civil Society / Third Sector, Community & Voluntary Sector, Governance, Social & Voluntary | No Comments »

One in three charities have no reserves

Friday, August 13th, 2010

New figures from NCVO Research team suggest that one in three operating charities have no funding in reserve, and the median reserve level for those in receipt of state funding is only one month’s worth of expenditure.

The assets and reserves figures (reported in the Financial Times) suggest that drastic cuts could threaten the survival of many organisations providing vital services. (You need to register on the FT site to read the article)

Their research also shows wide variation in reserve levels for different types of voluntary organisation. While housing associations typically hold nearly 20 months’ (19.9) worth of expenditure in reserve, at the other end of the scale this level falls to 4.5 months for employment and training organisations and only 1.4 months for playgroups and nurseries.

Commenting on the findings, Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of NCVO, said:

“These figures show how vulnerable many community and voluntary organisations will be in the testing and unpredictable times ahead. Without a financial safety net, vital services for local people and communities will be at risk. “This really demonstrates the need for public sector funders to work with voluntary and community organisations where cuts are necessary, to make sure they are properly planned and implemented. As the recession has driven up the need for many frontline services, it is critical that the sector retains its capacity for supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society.”

They are now examining options for taking this work forward, including in-depth qualitative research and collating case studies. For practical advice and tools to help you through the challenges ahead, please visit their Coping with Cuts pages. Click here for more information

Posted in Finance, Funding, Governance | No Comments »

Introduction to Quality Standards for the Third Sector

Friday, August 13th, 2010

A second, updated edition of ‘First steps in quality’ from Charities Evaluation Services provides a “plain English” introduction to quality standards and the potential benefits of being a quality organisation. It compares the most popular quality standards and kitemarks in the sector and helps with choosing the right one. Go to the CES publications page click here or click here to download (pdf format, 180KB).

Posted in Governance, Performance, Resources | No Comments »

Cutting red tape for charities

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Cross-departmental taskforce will seek to cut red tape for charities

Office for Civil Society will work with business department on cutting excess regulation, Nick Hurd tells the Commons

A cross-departmental government taskforce is being established to look into ways of cutting bureaucracy for small charities.

Nick Hurd, the civil society minister, yesterday told Parliament that his department would work with the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills to find ways of reducing regulatory requirements.

“We are committed to clearing the thicket of bureaucracy that too often gets in the way of doing good,” said Hurd.

Speaking at Cabinet Office questions, Hurd said he was due to meet Andrew Hind and Dame Suzi Leather, chief executive and chair respectively of the Charity Commission, next week to discuss the subject.

“The government are committed to making it easier for people to set up and run charities and to reduce the amount of regulation, monitoring and reporting that has been imposed on the sector,” he said.

Hurd also confirmed that the government planned to review the criminal records and vetting and barring regime, saying a number of voluntary organisations had expressed frustration about the existing system.

Posted in Community & Voluntary Sector, Governance, Government, Red Tape | No Comments »

Charity Commission updates risk guidance

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Publication outlines risks for trustees

The Charity Commission has issued updated guidance setting out the risks charities face in carrying out fundraising activities.

Charities and Fundraising outlines the governance, financial, legal, operational and reputational risks trustees should be aware of and advises them to compile written risk-management plans.

The guidance, which was last updated in April 2008 and has been rewritten, also explains how the self-regulation of fundraising fits with the commission’s regulation of charity law. It provides information on self-regulatory bodies such as the Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Standards Board as well as codes of fundraising practice.

Rosie Chapman, executive director of policy and effectiveness at the commission, said: “Fundraising is a key source of income for many charities. To ensure continued donations and public trust and confidence in their work, it is important that trustees are aware of both their legal responsibilities and good practice when carrying out fundraising activities.”

Posted in Charity Commission, Governance, Information | No Comments »

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