Charities do amazing work. They reduce poverty, they cure cancer, they save the environment, and a host of other amazing things. But is this both their greatest strength and greatest weakness?   The problem is not whether the quality of their work is good, but the quantity, the scale of it. In other words, no matter how good any individual charity they aren’t big enough to make a difference.  If you want any proof of the diminutive impact of charities, then the fact that we a

I put a post on LinkedIn in February asking who or what the organisations were that helped social entrepreneurs. I got a fantastic range of responses, so I thought I would collate them into a single post. Here they are.  I have put them roughly in the order they came through in the comments, though more regional ventures are at the end. Apologies if I have missed any organisations.   School for Social Entrepreneurs The School for Social Entrepreneurs is one of the powerhouses

Introduction This is a trustee recruitment information pack for the Calypso Browning Trust. We are a small grant-maker that gives away approximately £30k a year to animal welfare and homelessness causes. We have two trustees, Joe Saxton and Vicky Browning, who have both been trustees for a decent length of time, and it's time to plan for succession. This recruitment information is designed to attract a new influx of trustees and initiate the process of Vicky and Joe stepping

Introduction The sad reality of today’s world for UK charities and non-profit organisations is that funding is in short supply. Government funding is decreasing, grant-makers are under increased pressure, and public fundraising has been hit by a range of setbacks. So when an organisation doesn’t have the money, it needs to do the work it wants to do. What are the options? I think there are eight ways to respond, including two that look at increased funding. But the sad realit

For as long as I can remember, charities have worried about what to call our sector. Over the years, I have seen all sorts of variants. Here are some and their flaws: ·      Charity sector – but misses out non-profits that aren’t charities ·      Third Sector – why have we relegated ourselves to third ·      Social Sector – doesn’t really include large chunks of charities ·      Civil Society – hard to add a ‘sector’ to that, without getting tongue-tied ·      Voluntary S

Introduction This is the ninth in the Heyheyjoe briefing series, looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their impact on charities and non-profit organisations. This one focuses on leisure time and leisure expenditure and how those changes impact charities.   The rise in leisure time The rise in leisure time is driven by a number of factors. The decrease in work time – in 1970, we did an average of 30 hours a week, while it was 23 hours a week in 201

Introduction This is the eighth in the Heyheyjoe briefing series, looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their impact on charities and non-profit organisations. This one focuses on how it is personalities and celebrities that increasingly dominate our thinking socially and politically. Some ways in which celebrities rise, and institutions fall Celebrities dominate social media, particularly Instagram The top ten accounts on Instagram have an astonis

Introduction This is the seventh in the Heyheyjoe briefing series, looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their impact on charities and non-profit organisations. This one focuses on the rise of consumer choice and its implications for charities.   Some ways in which we have more choice in our lives 1. Rise in the number of supermarket products The average supermarket in 1975 carried approximately 9000 products (references available on request). By 2

Introduction It's easy to measure the success of a company – profit, turnover, share price – to name but 3 ways. It is much harder to...

If charities and non-profits are to succeed, to thrive, in today’s challenging world, then we need our key stakeholders to see us in the...

Introduction This is the sixth in the Heyheyjoe briefing series, looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their impact on charities and non-profit organisations. This one focuses on changing patterns of religious observance and their impact on charities. The number of Christians is falling in the UK. The most accurate way to measure the habits and demographics of the UK population is through census data. Chart 1 below shows changes in religious compos

Introduction We now have a covenant in place between the sector and the government for our relationship with them. Anybody who thinks...

I am not a fan of the new sector Covenant with the government. I have been trying to work out why it makes me so queasy. I think there...

Introduction This is the fifth in the Heyheyjoe briefing series, looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their...

Charity lotteries are a really important part of the fundraising landscape for charities and other non-profits. Put alongside the money...

Introduction This is the fourth in the Heyheyjoe briefing series looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their impact on charities and non-profit organisations. This one focuses on how people die in UK society. We have death statistics going back 100 years, as well as survival rates for cancer and the big differences in genders and age on the way that we die.   The way people die is changing. Chart 1 and 2 shows the most common reason for death for e

Whenever I talk to chairs and trustees there are certain things that set my alarm bells ringing. Things that are likely to mean that the...

Introduction This is the third in the Heyheyjoe briefing series looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their...