Budget 2020
The government has announced that the next budget announcement will be on 11 March. The Treasury has opened its budget representations portal and submissions must be made by 7 February 2020. NCVO will submitting a joint response with other sector bodies in the coming weeks and on the day my blog will provide analysis of what the various announcements mean for charities. You can also follow me on Twitter for updates.
.@danny__kruger on forthcoming Budget and whether it will include funding for social infrastructure as well as physical – "a decent chance it will recognise this, but it won't be the headline". Following question from @Leah_Davis @NPCthinks #CommunitiesinCharge
— Nick Plumb (@NicholasPlumb) January 22, 2020
Consultation on responsible investment
The Charity Commission has launched a consultation on responsible investment. They want to encourage trustees to consider whether their investments are consistent with their organisation’s aims and understand barriers to this, in order to give more charities the confidence in making decisions. The consultation closes Tuesday 31 March.
VAT and social media advertising
In October 2019, HMRC officials sent a letter outlining their view on the VAT treatment of social media advertising. The Charity Tax Group (CTG) disagrees with this view and is considering possible next steps, following discussions with charities, agencies and sector bodies. If your charity is affected by this issue and would like to support this initiative, please contact info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk to receive a confidential briefing.
Where are England’s charities?
New research by New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) has found that charitable wealth and resources – including volunteers, philanthropic donations and council grants – is disproportionately clustered in England’s richest areas, at the expense of the country’s most deprived communities. NPC argues that reforming or swapping Gift Aid for a grants-based system might be one way of addressing the problem.
2/ What would be the effect on overall donation levels if the #GiftAid incentive was lost? Not good, I suspect. Plus a grants-based approach would rely on government deciding which causes are worthier than others, running the risk of pet political projects being prioritised.
— Paul Winyard (@PaulWinyard) January 17, 2020
New guidance on fundraising reporting requirements
To prepare charities for the reporting year ahead, the Fundraising Regulator has published new guidance to help charities fully comply with their fundraising reporting requirements. They’ve also published an analysis of reports filed with the Charity Commission, which found that just 40% of charities included an adequate fundraising statement to meet the legal requirements.
Measuring social impact animation
Good Finance has produced a useful animation for measuring social impact to help charities tell the story of the change they make to their supporters, stakeholders and funders. You can watch the animation on the Good Finance website or on Twitter.
Shaping the future of social purpose funding
The social innovation charity Shift is exploring the demand for social investment, equity and other alternatives to grant funding to help inform key UK funders’ future approaches. By sharing your funding needs through this short survey, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win £100 for a charity of your choice.
NCVO Annual Conference
It’s the NCVO Annual Conference on Monday 20 April. Join us for an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day and reflect on the rapidly changing world. Network with colleagues from across the sector and further your professional development in expert-led breakout session on topics including income generation and strategy.
Book by Friday 14 February for the early bird discount.
Help shape NCVO’s strategy and support
With a new chief executive and now a new government, we are in the process of developing a new strategy for NCVO. This involves thinking about where we want to see change, the things we will do to achieve that and how we will go about it.
As members, leaders and trustees within the sector, we want to hear your views on some big questions such: as what is the role of NCVO in the voluntary sector and in relation to volunteering?
Find out more about how you can get involved and have your say.
Do you need help with strategy and planning? Check out some of our useful resources:
- Visit our Knowhow site for information and guidance on strategy and planning
- Watch our online course Strategy made easy: simple steps to producing your strategic plan (free for members)
Charity Finance Group annual conference
Charity Finance Group (CFG) have opened bookings for their 2020 annual conference bringing together those working in finance in the sector. Smaller organisations can go at a discounted rate.
The latest from Funding Central
Funding Central has news about the Postcode Local Trust, Postcode Community Trust and the People’s Postcode Trust.
Grants range from £500–£20,000 and are available to wide variety of organisations and projects so read more on Funding Central to see which one might be right for you. The current funding rounds for all three close on 4 February, so get your skates on (however there will be further funding rounds in March so keep your eyes peeled if you don’t get an application in this time).
If you or your organisation are a Funding Central subscriber you can get detailed information on all three funds on our database. If you don’t have a subscription we’ve opened up our listing for the Postcode Community Trust so you can have a closer look at this fund.
If these funds aren’t the right fit for you then there are thousands of other funding opportunities to search from on Funding Central.
Paul joined NCVO over seven years ago after working for a leading public affairs agency. Since then he’s led our policy work on a variety of issues, including welfare-to-work reforms, volunteering, the Compact, public service commissioning and procurement regulations. He now leads our work on funding and finance with a particular focus on charity tax relief and safeguarding EU funding post-Brexit. 
