Posted: April 14, 2014 | Author: gortoner | Filed under: blog post |

Tell us - why do you give?

Posted: March 10, 2014 | Author: gortoner | Filed under: blog post | Tags: charities, Charities Aid Foundation, charity |

The Charities Aid Foundation have published a new report entitled ‘Why We Give’. We surveyed over 700 of our customers to gain a better understanding of the reasons why people support charities.

One of the key findings was that 49 per cent of people think that society is too cynical about those who give, and nearly two thirds of respondents believe that those who give to charity need to be more vocal about the reasons why they give.

Most people pointed to their personal values, morality and ethics as their main motivation for giving, with three quarters giving because of a personal belief in a specific cause and 71 per cent motivated to give because of their faith.

Following the publication of this report, CAF has launched a social media campaign asking people to share the motivations behind their support for charitable causes and tell others about the charities that they support.

We want YOU to get involved by using #whywegive to explain your reasons for giving. We want to build a national picture explaining the motivation behind the British public’s generosity. To this end we will be collecting all of the messages on our Pinterest board. Make sure you check it out!

Explaining your reasons for giving won’t only help charities better understand why they receive support, but could also win you a £100 charity cheque to donate to a charity of your choice. What could be better?! The competition closes at the end of March, with the winner chosen at random, so make sure you get on Twitter immediately to be in with a shot of giving your favoured charity a much needed donation!

We are hoping that this will raise awareness for all of the great work that charities do and stimulate an online debate about why we give. We hope you join in

If you would like any further information about the ‘Why We Give’ campaign please do not hesitate to get in touch with Steve Clapperton, Campaigns Manager on .

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Rise In Charity Income Welcomed

There was good news for charities last week, with the announcement from the Charity Commission that the income of registered charities in England and Wales rose by almost £3bn in 2013, meaning that the total income of charities now surpasses £61bn.

This equates to an increase of more than 5 per cent from the previous year, which suggests that the return of growth to the economy is tallying with an improvement in charity fortunes.

However the income of the largest charities, classified by the Charity Commission as those who have income of more than £10m, saw a rise of more than 7%, which suggests that the growth in income is not equally spread across the whole of the charity sector.

As NCVO’s Karl Wilding told Civil Society, there could also be a slightly misleading picture being formed if there are a few new large organisations entering the register, which could account for the majority of the growth reported. He also warned that the headline figure cannot be used as a barometer for the whole sector if it is disproportionately skewed towards larger charities.

Whilst any boost in charity finances should be celebrated, there are still great concerns about the ability of charities to meet the problems posed by increasing demand for the services that they provide. This problem is particularly pronounced amongst smaller charities, and these figures suggest that more needs to be done to ease the burden they are dealing with.

The Back Britain’s Charities campaign has been calling on all people to do their bit to support charities across the country, and at party conference we were explaining that 9% of people are responsible for two thirds of all charitable activity. We need to do more to get more people engaged with giving.

Speaking of our conference activity, regular readers might remember our people power theme from Glasgow, Brighton and Manchester last year. Our stand was visited by the likes of Justine Miliband, and it looks like she might have passed on what she heard to her husband. Ed Miliband’s speech last week about public services included the idea of introducing greater people power to the public sector, so it looks like our message hit home!

Has the economic upturn changed the fortunes of your charity?

The Charity Finance Group, Pricewaterhouse Cooper and the Institute of Fundraising, have released their annual survey ‘Managing in a downturn’, the 7th since the economic crisis began in 2008.

The survey asks senior fundraisers and finance professionals how the recession has impacted upon the charity sector. With early signs that the economy is recovering this year, it will be interesting to see the results. In particular, it will be useful to benchmark this year’s results against the last couple of years when the sector was really struggling to see if the slight improvement in the economy has trickled down to the charity sector.

Over 400 charities responded to the survey last year, highlighting how they are responding to both a cut in funding and an increase in the demand for services. Key findings from last year’s survey found 9 in 10 charities reported a squeeze on fundraising, 67 per cent reported demands on their services had increased and nearly half (42 per cent) reported that they might have to dip into their cash reserves.

Figures released in January by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated the UK economy was expected to grow by 2.5 per cent this year. The British Chambers of Commerce have revised up their predictions for both this year and next year, albeit with some caveats.

Pricewaterhouse Cooper Director, Ian Oakley-Smith noted that ‘many charities are adjusting well to the “new normal” taking positive steps to understand the changes that continue to be needed’. He goes on further to say ‘..the results of this survey will provide further evidence as to the scale of the challenge that continues to face the sector’.

How is YOUR charity faring this financial year? Have you noticed a positive change, or does the situation remain largely the same? The findings of this survey will be of interest to the sector, so make sure your voice is part of that conversation. The deadline for completing the survey is Friday 14 February and can be accessed here.

Holly Mitchell

Posted: January 8, 2014 | Author: gortoner | Filed under: blog post | Back Britain’s Charities campaign is delighted to announce that anti-domestic violence charity Women’s Aid has signed up to add their support to the campaign.

Women’s Aid is a fantastic organisation that supports over 300 local domestic violence services across the country. Women’s Aid Annual Survey 2013 of around 200 domestic violence services in England found that in 2012/13 these organisations supported nearly 117,000 women and children through refuge accommodation and outreach support. This includes nearly 10,000 women and over 10,000 children in refuge, and nearly 83,000 women and 14,000 children in outreach services.  The first Women’s Aid federation was established 40 years ago, and formed in the aftermath of issues such as violence in the home and other forms of sexual and interpersonal violence to women being highlighted.

The charity aims to empower women who have been affected by domestic violence, meet the needs of children who have suffered as a result of domestic violence, provide specialised services run by women based upon listening to survivors, and promote cohesive inter-agency responses to domestic violence.

As a testament to their excellent work, Women’s Aid has received the support of high-profile figures such as Patrons Julie Walters CBE, and Dame Jenni Murray, as well as Ambassador’s including Will Young, Charlie Webster and Jahmene Douglas.

Explaining their support for the Back Britain’s Charities campaign, Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid said:

“Women’s Aid Federation of England supports the Back Britain’s Charities campaign because it highlights many of the key issues charities are struggling with in some of the most difficult times the sector has ever faced. As a national membership organisation, the network of local specialist domestic violence organisations across England depends on Women’s Aid to talk to government, decision makers and the public about the serious financial issues and spiralling demand for services that are affecting our members, most of whom lack the capacity to engage in publicity, fundraising and tendering for public funds. We are therefore acutely aware of both the local and national challenges charities face, and the need to highlight to local agencies, Government, individuals and businesses the importance of supporting local domestic violence charities who in turn support many of the 1.2 million women and thousands of children who experience domestic violence every year.”

We’re delighted to receive the support of Women’s Aid. We know that many charities across Britain are struggling, with people finding it difficult to give during the tough economic climate, but it’s vital that people from all walks of life do what they can to support charities. Because, as the work of Women’s Aid demonstrates, it is vital that beneficiaries of charities across Britain have somewhere to turn for support. The most vulnerable people in society often rely on the support of charities, and unless we act now to support the sector, there is a real danger that they will have nowhere to go for help. That’s why we all need to pull together and Back Britain’s Charities!

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Posted: January 7, 2014 | Author: gortoner | Filed under: blog post | Back Britain’s Charities campaign has warned of the dangers posed by falling charities incomes, and acknowledged that it is often small and medium sized charities that are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why it’s so important that people give as regularly as they can – so that smaller charities are able to plan their expenditure over the coming months, and make sure their income goes as far as possible.
We’ve also warned of the danger of cuts by government to charities, and how there is a real concern that some local authorities might disproportionately cut funding to charities, which means that the people who rely on charities and voluntary groups for support suffer. With spending restrictions set to continue for the foreseeable future we’ll be keeping an eye on councils as they set budgets for the next financial year, and check that they aren’t using cuts to charities as an easy way of balancing the books.

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