NCVO publishes five-year strategic plan

NCVO publishes five-year strategic plan: NCVO intends to “lead the way” on the voluntary sector’s use of open data to demonstrate its accountability and transparency, as part of its new five-year strategic plan.

The plan, for 2014 to 2019, published today, outlines the umbrella body’s priorities for the next five years. These include:

HMRC may toughen gift aid declaration, not simplify it

HMRC may toughen gift aid declaration, not simplify it

Shower Strike

Shower Strike: Our Strikers of the Day are the fabulous Fish family! They are on their fourth Shower Strike this year! Back in 2011, their first year to Shower Strike, Melanie Fish said: “We decided who better to participate in the annual Shower Strike than a family with the last name Fish? No one likes smelly fish.” It was true then, and it’s still true now! Congrats on meeting your goal, you...

6 tax credits you can claim on your tax return - Yahoo Finance Canada

6 tax credits you can claim on your tax return - Yahoo Finance Canada: In my previous article in October, “The ins and outs of charitable giving”, I wrote about the First-Time Donor’s Super Credit. If you’ve been making donations for many years now you will not be eligible for this tax credit. However, you can still derive a significant benefit from your donations as the combined tax credit for Ontario donors who donate over $200 is 40.16%. Donations from a husband and wife should be added together and claimed on one tax return. I

Charity umbrella chief: charity sector funding is 'topsy-turvy'

Charity umbrella chief: charity sector funding is 'topsy-turvy': he chief executive of umbrella body Involve Yorkshire & Humber has said sector funding is “topsy-turvy”, with too much attention paid to a minority of charities which can take on social investment and a emphasis on the ‘vast majority’ of charities' funding needs.

Judy Robinson was speaking at an all party parliamentary group on civil society and volunteering meeting organised by NCVO

Committee recommends a second Sorp for smaller charities | Third Sector

Committee recommends a second Sorp for smaller charities | Third Sector: Ray Jones of the Sorp committee says there is a strong case for two Sorps - one based on the new FRS 102, the other on the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities

The Statement of Recommended Practice Committee has reco

allAfrica.com: Kenya: The 2014 Chase Group Foundation Charity Walk

allAfrica.com: Kenya: The 2014 Chase Group Foundation Charity Walk: Over 1400 participants walked through the Ngong Forest Sanctuary on Saturday early morning to raise funds to train midwifes in rural Kenya. The 2014 Chase Group Foundation Walk was in support of the Stand Up for African Mothers initiative by Amref which seeks to train 15,000 midwives by 2015, therefore reducing maternal mortality by improving access to reproductive health services.

Lisa Nandy: Charity leadership needs to tackle pay ratios

Lisa Nandy: Charity leadership needs to tackle pay ratios: Pay ratios matter,” she said. “The voluntary sector is a champion for equality and campaigns for a more equal society. So it matters that charities embody those values.

“If you don’t embody those values with staff and beneficiaries then you start to lose your moral compass.”

She said that on the whole the charity sector treated its staff very well, and had much better pay ratios when compared with the public and private sector. “But there are problems,” she warned.

2014 International Compensation and Benefits Survey for Fundraising Professionals

Daryl Upsall Consulting International | darylupsall: 2014 International Compensation
and Benefits Survey for Fundraising Professionals

Press Release (PDF)
Topline Results (PDF)
Supporting graphs (PDF)

Why British charities need to take a more international perspective | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional

Why British charities need to take a more international perspective | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional: Why British charities need to take a more international perspective
The boss of the Small Charities Coalition explains why the sector needs to widen its horizons by establishing global links

Eric Rawson bequeathed �250,000 to St Luke's Hospice in Kenton in his will after five days of care - Get West London

Eric Rawson bequeathed �250,000 to St Luke's Hospice in Kenton in his will after five days of care - Get West London: ONE of the largest legacies in a Kenton hospice’s history has been received by the service.

Eric Rawson left �250,000 in his will to St Luke’s Hospice after receiving end of life care in the comfort of his home.

The former patient organised the legacy with executor, Bharat Pindoria of Pindoria Solicitors in Stanmore, and a cheque was presented to the hospice.

Volunteering, commissioning and grants are sector priorities, NCVO told

Volunteering, commissioning and grants are sector priorities, NCVO told: Better volunteering support, better commissioning and more grant funding are policy priorities for the voluntary sector, according to respondents to an NCVO consultation which took place over the last eight months.

The NCVO consultation, called the 2015 Project, was intended to establish what policy priorities it should focus on in its manifesto. It included an online consultation which received 223 responses, a series of events and focus groups.

Lord Hodgson calls for tougher sanctions for 'aggressive' fundraising

Lord Hodgson calls for tougher sanctions for 'aggressive' fundraising: Lord Hodgson has suggested charities should lose their charity status as an ultimate sanction for persistently breaching fundraising regulations.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live on Sunday on a programme about “aggressive” fundraising, the Conservative peer, who carried out a review of the Charities Act 2006, said fining charities that break fundraising rules would not be appropriate because it would take away money people had already donated.

“Publicity is the first and best weapon,” he said. “No charity wants to be in the frame for having behaved badly.

'Chuggers' are bonafide employees, not the charity sector's dirty little secret | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional

'Chuggers' are bonafide employees, not the charity sector's dirty little secret | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional: Chuggers' are bonafide employees, not the charity sector's dirty little secret
Public perception has changed and the sector itself now needs to accept street fundraisers as fully-fledged professionals

Offering to make a difference - China - Chinadaily.com.cn

Offering to make a difference - China - Chinadaily.com.cn: We have seen an increase in volunteering in general, to all regions, including Asia. Our volunteering programs are some of the most highly trafficked on the site, outperforming studying abroad and teaching abroad," said Anis Salvesen, a director at Go Overseas, an online directory that provides reviews of volunteer programs around the world.

HOUSTON: Houston Asian Chamber of Commerce to Award Global Investor and Philanthropist Jho Low During 24th Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner | Business Wire | Rock Hill Herald Online

HOUSTON: Houston Asian Chamber of Commerce to Award Global Investor and Philanthropist Jho Low During 24th Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner | Business Wire | Rock Hill Herald Online: HOUSTON — The Houston Asian Chamber of Commerce will present its first international honor during the 24th Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner on Thursday, April 3, 2014. Mr. Jho Low, chief executive officer of Hong Kong investment firm Jynwel Capital and co-director of Jynwel Charitable Foundation Limited, will be recognized as International Entrepreneur of the Year for his approach to sustainable investing and disruptive philanthropy. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the dinner will be held at Ocean Palace, 11215 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, TX 77072.

Will Andrew Forrest convince Australia's billionaires to open their wallets? | Christopher Baker and Helena Liu | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Will Andrew Forrest convince Australia's billionaires to open their wallets? | Christopher Baker and Helena Liu | Comment is free | theguardian.com: Will Andrew Forrest convince Australia's billionaires to open their wallets?

Compared to their counterparts overseas, Australia’s super-rich are stingy. Let’s hope the media glory afforded to Forrest’s Global Freedom Network helps persuade them to share their wealth

Resource Alliance CEO Makhijani to leave

Resource Alliance CEO Makhijani to leave: Resource Alliance chief executive Neelam Makhijani is to step down from her post in order to concentrate on her family.

Makhijani will remain in post until May during which time the Resource Alliance board will recruit for her replacement. She has been at the helm of the international fundraising body for four years and is stepping down in order to care for her ill mother in Delhi.

NHS charities will be allowed to escape health service legislation | Third Sector

NHS charities will be allowed to escape health service legislation | Third Sector: Department of Health response to consultation says the move would allow the charities to operate more flexibly while maintaining links with the NHS

The Department of Health is to allow NHS charities to operate away from NHS legislation by setting up new charities and transferring their assets and activities to the new entities.

The DoH yesterday published its response to a public consultation on NHS charities, which says it will develop guidance for charities and NHS bodies and a template memorandum of understanding that could be agreed between any such newly established charity and NHS bodies.

Public sector could save �16bn by working with local charities, says new research

Public sector could save �16bn by working with local charities, says new research: Locality, an umbrella body for community organisations, claims that English local authorities could save �16bn per year, and improve services, by commissioning services on a “local-by-default basis”.

The report, Saving money by doing the right thing: why ‘local by default' must replace ‘diseconomies of scale’, which was carried out in partnership with Professor John Seddon of Vanguard, argues that the current model of public service contracting is inefficient and that local authorities need to “abandon unhelpful beliefs about ‘economies of scale’ and standardisation”.

Charities should not have to reveal salaries of highest-paid staff, sector bodies say | Third Sector

Charities should not have to reveal salaries of highest-paid staff, sector bodies say | Third Sector: Nick Brooks of the accountancy firm Kingston Smith says the proposal, in the draft of the new Statement of Recommended Practice, could be harmful to charities

Charity and voluntary sector experts have warned against charities being made to reveal the salaries and job titles of their highest-paid employees in their accounts.

The Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator have published all the responses not submitted in confidence to their consultation on an "exposure draft" of the new Statement of Recommended Practice.

New Canadian Budget Supports Online Charity Registration, Modernization of Lotteries - Press - AFP

New Canadian Budget Supports Online Charity Registration, Modernization of Lotteries - Press - AFP: Budget 2014, introduced yesterday, includes a number of measures impacting Canada’s charities. It is worth noting that despite rhetoric to the contrary prior to the budget’s release, there were no specific measures targeting the political activities of Canadian charities. There is, however, a provision creating a new revocation offence for accepting donations from state supporters of terrorism.

AFP was pleased to see budget provisions that encourage electronic filing and provide funds to bolster the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Charities Directorate website. As a member of the CRA Technical Issues Working Group, AFP recently discussed potential areas of improvement on the directorate’s website with the CRA and sector colleagues during a recent working group meeting.

Charities are powerhouses of Canada’s economy | Toronto Star

Charities are powerhouses of Canada’s economy | Toronto Star: Charities are powerhouses of Canada’s economy
Artificial limits on executive compensation should not be allowed to hobbl

Charity staff, volunteers and councillors sleep rough in Redhill to raise the profile of local homelessness (From This Is Local London)

Charity staff, volunteers and councillors sleep rough in Redhill to raise the profile of local homelessness (From This Is Local London): Staff at Reigate and Redhill YMCA wrapped up to bed down in the open air recently in a night of sleeping rough in Redhill.

The charity staff were braving the plunging night-time temperaturE

Charity's floating hospital reaches Africa | Herald Scotland

Charity's floating hospital reaches Africa | Herald Scotland: A SCOTTISH charity is about to embark on the second stage of an ambitious plan to convert a ship into a floating hospital and transport it to Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

The Vine Trust's vessel Jubilee Hope is due to arrive off the coast of West Africa today, where it will be broken down and transported more than 500 miles over land.

NCVO and CAF go separate ways on giving research

NCVO and CAF go separate ways on giving research: NCVO and the Charities Aid Foundation have ditched their annual co-produced philanthropy report, UK Giving, after the 2012 report prompted much criticism within the charity sector.

The two organisations today announced that they will be building on their individual research strengths and develop “complementary programmes of research”, but have no plans to produce any more co-authored reports.

Office for Civil Society plans �40m fund to support 'financially vulnerable' charities

Office for Civil Society plans �40m fund to support 'financially vulnerable' charities: The Office for Civil Society has won backing from the Treasury for a new fund, hoped to be worth around �40m, to help voluntary organisations which are in danger of closure.

An OCS spokeswoman said: “The Office for Civil Society is looking to set up a new fund to support voluntary organisations, specifically those who deliver high-quality services, to better prepare for the longer term."

Society Diary: Going commando versus copping a feel

Society Diary: Going commando versus copping a feel: Blokes at the back, please

This campaign about how it’s better to have breast cancer than pancreatic cancer, caused some controversy over whether breast cancer charities get too much support at the expense of other medical charities.

And there’s a certain amount of evidence for this thesis in The Sun, which has launched a campaign with the charity CoppaFeel! to get women to check themselves for breast cancer. It featured extensively on the front page and, er, page 3.

Time to think tax returns once again

Time to think tax returns once again: First-Time Donor's Super Credit Under the current rules, individuals can claim a non-refundable federal tax credit of 15% for the first $200 of annual charitable donations. That tax credit rate jumps to 29% for any donations above $200. Provincial or territorial donation credits are also available.

Research confirms big drop in Irish giving | UK Fundraising

Research confirms big drop in Irish giving | UK Fundraising: Overall charitable giving in Ireland has fallen from €130 per person per annum to €68 per person in the wake of the salary ‘top up’ controversy, according to research undertaken as part of a progress report on the One Percent Difference Campaign.

The Intersection of Philanthropy: Shared Value – An NGO Perspective | CAF America

The Intersection of Philanthropy: Shared Value – An NGO Perspective | CAF America: his is the first article in a series entitled “The Intersection of Philanthropy.” The series will focus on the changing notion of ‘corporate social responsibility’ in the private sector and how businesses are moving toward a more integrative and strategic approach in their philanthropic initiatives — an approach that is supported by the concept of shared value.

Fundraising, Part 5: International affairs groups refine message � Philanthropy North Carolina

Fundraising, Part 5: International affairs groups refine message � Philanthropy North Carolina: With serious disasters abroad in 2013 eclipsing those in the U.S., international aid organizations showed a sharper focus on disaster planning and preparation before disasters, says Bob Ottenhoff, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

International aid groups also have focused more attention on post-disaster recovery and rebuilding, and turned increasingly to social media to help educate donors about disaster needs, he says.