Fundraising Regulator: No ‘total reset button’
The Fundraising Regulator has decided not to pursue the cross-party fundraising regulation review’s original recommendation that the Fundraising Preference Service should feature a ‘total reset’ button. The regulator recently announced that the FPS, which it plans to launch in spring or early summer 2017, will instead ask people which specific charities they wish to opt out of communications from.
Ministers ditch anti-lobbying proposals for charities and universities
Also of importance to fundraisers is the news that ministers have dropped plans, also known as the ‘anti-advocacy clause’, to prevent charities and universities from lobbying as a condition of receiving public money. Instead, the government has published new standards for grant agreements. Read Stuart’s post for more info.
Support for fundraisers engaging with donors in vulnerable circumstances
The Institute of Fundraising published new guidance to support fundraisers engaging with donors in vulnerable circumstances. The Treating Donors Fairly guidance was launched at the annual IoF Individual Giving Conference on 21 November.
The Spirit of Women Changemakers small grants programme
The Fawcett Society is offering a new grants programme to support women and men to challenge and overturn damaging gender norms and stereotypes which limit people’s ability to live as they choose.
Fundraising blogs
- Saying thank you on #GivingTuesday – Madeline Sugden
- Men in Fundraising: We have a problem. And it’s you. – Matthew Sherrington
Other fundraising and sustainability news
Free crowdfunding webinars on Local Charities Day
Local Charities Day – Friday 16 December – aims to raise awareness of small, local charities to make sure they get the recognition they deserve. GlobalGiving UK is offering three free crowdfunding webinars:
- How to Run a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign (10.00-11.00)
- How to Create an Engaging Video for your Crowdfunding Campaign (13:30-14:30)
- What next after crowdfunding? Building relationships with donors (15.00-16:30). The day is fully funded by the Office for Civil Society.
IVAR report on small charities and social investment
Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) have published a report on small charities and social investment. It offers a closer look at the ‘social investment journey’ of 25 small charities, providing in-depth insights into their motivation, experience of the process, challenges encountered and the support they received.
More community groups to receive funding from Tesco’s £24m bag charge fund
UK Fundraising recently reported that supermarket Tesco is changing the way it distributes funding from its Bags of Help initiative. It will give many more charities and groups the chance to share in the £24 million it distributes from the income it receives from charging for plastic bags.
Understanding the community business market
Power to Change has published The Community Business Market in 2016, an independent assessment of the community business market, with findings based on 55 interviews, an online survey of 158 community businesses, desk research and publicly available data.
Training and events
Go to the training and events section of our website to see all our upcoming events. Highlights include:
- Writing Successful Bids (27 January 2017) – Need help making your funding bid stand out, come and learn the tricks of the trade from this course.
- Starting a new trading venture (15 February) – Considering in setting up or growing trading activity within your organisation? This course will help you assess the viability of your ideas and develop an action plan to get started.
- Certificate in Financial Sustainability (next course starts in February)
- Understanding the Numbers: Financial Intelligence for Trustees (3 March) – A must for all trustees to give you increased confidence and greater ability to review and assess financial information.
- Social value Bootcamp (3 March) –This course provides organisations with the knowledge and tools to understand and make use of Social Value Act principles, demonstrate local impact to commissioners, and produce stronger proposals for funding and other income.
- NCVO Annual Conference 2017: Leading with purpose (20 April) – Join us to explore all the key elements you need to consider when running your organisation and be inspired to lead with purpose.
You can always contact us about training or consultancy support. And if you have anything you think we should include in next month’s round-up, please do drop me a line.
Richard Sved is an NCVO sustainable funding consultant. He has worked and volunteered in the charity sector for 25 years. He has led the fundraising function (in-house and as an interim) for six national charities, including National Literacy Trust, Leap Confronting Conflict and Girlguiding. 
