Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Over 1,700 volunteers donated 48 weeks of their time in 3 days | Di-Ve - Malta News Portal

Over 1,700 volunteers donated 48 weeks of their time in 3 days | Di-Ve - Malta News Portal: "FareShare wants to thank volunteers who helped the charity collect a record number of food donations in Tesco stores across the UK for people in need.
From 27th to 29th November 1,787 volunteers volunteered on behalf of FareShare during Tesco’s Neighbourhood Food Collection to help collect a record 4.7 million meals for people in poverty.  Tesco’s Neighbourhood Food Collection is the biggest national food drive to help people facing hunger with donations going to food redistribution charity FareShare and foodbank charity The Trussell Trust.

FareShare volunteers gave up over 8,000 hours of their time to complete over 2,600 volunteering shifts in Tesco stores nationwide. "



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Salvation Army drops 17 places on charity reputation survey

Salvation Army drops 17 places on charity reputation survey: "One of Australia's best-known welfare organisations, the Salvation Army, has dropped 17 places from last year in the 2014 AMR Charity Reputation Index, a yearly survey which measures the overall reputation of the country's 40 largest charities ."



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Pursuant Gives Back: Repairing Wells Through Global Aid Network - The Digital Drip

Pursuant Gives Back: Repairing Wells Through Global Aid Network - The Digital Drip: "Pursuant Gives Back: Repairing Wells Through Global Aid Network
At Pursuant, we’re no different than you. We are passionate about nonprofits, making a difference, and serving others. very year we look for ways to give back in practical and tangible ways.

This year we rallied together to raise money to repair five wells in Zimbabwe that serve 281 families. Pursuant decided to match employee donations three-to-one. s  As a result, more than 1,000 people will receive clean drinking water and a message of hope in 2015."



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Holiday giving? Don't pick a charity by financial statements alone - Canada - CBC News

Holiday giving? Don't pick a charity by financial statements alone - Canada - CBC News: "Holiday giving? Don't pick a charity by financial statements alone"



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Driving The Rockefeller Legacy In Asia | Wealth-X

Driving The Rockefeller Legacy In Asia | Wealth-X: " 
But although their name is ubiquitous in the US, the Rockefellers are less well-known for their extensive philanthropy in China, which dates as far back as the mid-nineteenth century."



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Monday, December 22, 2014

Holiday Postings

Posting to the Resource Center blogs will be intermittent during the Holidays.

Holiday Notice: AFP IHQ and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy will close at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014.
- AFP IHQ will reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015.
- The AFP Foundation will be open for one day during the holiday week on Dec. 29, 2014, then close again and reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. Gifts can be made at any time online or call Diane LaVigna at (518) 360-4736.

Why Two Nonprofits Plummet in Charity Reputation Survey - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Why Two Nonprofits Plummet in Charity Reputation Survey - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: "Two of Australia’s most high-profile nonprofits saw their rankings on the 2014 AMR Charity Reputation Index plummet this year, one as a result of a scandal and the other as a result of stakeholder protests about its practices. The Salvation Army dropped the most precipitously, losing 17 places from last year from tenth place to 27th place, following allegations, with charges that were taken up by a royal commission inquiry, that some staff were involved in child sex abuse."



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The year in fundraising: 2014 | Third Sector

The year in fundraising: 2014 | Third Sector: "The way in which the Institute of Fundraising works with the other major fundraising bodies was a hot topic in 2014, as were society lotteries.

In January, Third Sector revealed that the IoF had drawn up confidential plans to merge its membership with that of the Fundraising Standards Board. It was estimated that combining the fees of the two bodies would bring in an extra £30,000 annually."



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Checkout Charity: Could You Give While You Pay? - DailyFinance

Checkout Charity: Could You Give While You Pay? - DailyFinance: "First, Samantha Kemp-Jackson started noticing something unusual at the local grocery store. Then it started happening to the Toronto mom of four at the department store. Then the liquor store. Then, pretty much everywhere else. She was getting hit up for a charitable donation at pretty much every cash register she encountered. And it was driving her bananas.
"



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Friday, December 19, 2014

HMRC tax statistics suggest large rise in charitable giving

HMRC tax statistics suggest large rise in charitable giving: "Tax relief on giving is expected to rise by 11 per cent in the year to March 2015, suggesting a large increase in donation income, according to provisional figures published today by HM Revenue & Customs.

HMRC has published provisional figures for the year ending March 2015, showing it expects gift aid to rise from £1.07bn to £1.19bn. This follows three successive years in which the value of gift aid fell."



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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Why Encouraging Service and Philanthropy is Important in Europe - German Marshall Fund Blog

Why Encouraging Service and Philanthropy is Important in Europe - German Marshall Fund Blog: "Service and philanthropy are two areas that speak to the very core of the Marshall Plan, in which the United States pledged to provide support to Europe to rebuild after WWII. Of the many subject areas that were covered in our program in Europe as Marshall Memorial Fellows, social engagement spoke to my personal interests of assisting vulnerable members of communities."



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Harper Government Encourages Canadians to Donate Generously This Holiday Season and Take Advantage of the First-Time Donor's Super Credit

Press Release

Harper Government Encourages Canadians to Donate Generously This Holiday Season and Take Advantage of the First-Time Donor's Super Credit:



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Boys’ Brigade charity drive reaches out to 35,845 beneficiaries | TODAYonline

Boys’ Brigade charity drive reaches out to 35,845 beneficiaries | TODAYonline: "SINGAPORE – The Boys’ Brigade Share-a-Gift (BBSG) 2014 charity project has managed collect enough donation items to reach out to 35,845 beneficiaries in just under a month, announced the uniformed group at the closing ceremony today (Dec 17)"



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Latin American Herald Tribune - Kenya Suspends Licenses of Some 500 NGOs, Some Tied to Terrorism

Latin American Herald Tribune - Kenya Suspends Licenses of Some 500 NGOs, Some Tied to Terrorism: "The Kenyan government announced on Tuesday it was suspending licenses and freezing the bank accounts of some 510 Non-Governmental Organizations, or NGOs; 15 of which have been accused of having ties to terrorist groups and money laundering.
"



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Monday, December 15, 2014

World Giving Index 2014 | CAF America

World Giving Index 2014 | CAF America: "The 2014 World Giving Index

a publication of Charities Aid Foundation, our partner office in the UK

Click here to download the report.

Gain insight into the nature of giving around the world

The World Giving Index is designed to provide evidence-based insight into the scope and nature of giving around the world. In order to reflect a culturally diverse planet, the report looks at three aspects of giving behavior. The questions that feed the report are"



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Friday, December 12, 2014

Media scrutiny of the charity sector in 2014

Media scrutiny of the charity sector in 2014: "Civil Society News is bringing you a festive countdown in the run up to Christmas. On the seventh day we look at some examples of the heightened media scrutiny that the sector has received this year.
The charity sector faced its fair share of criticism in 2014, with not all of it being entirely justified. In no particular order, we look at six of the most memorable examples."



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Volunteering platform Do-it relaunches

Volunteering platform Do-it relaunches: "Online volunteering platform Do-it has been relaunched today by its new owner, the Do-it Trust, with more emphasis on sharing volunteering opportunities via social media.
Do-it was started by YouthNet in 2001 and was sold to a partnership involving volunteering bodies ivo.org, Believe.In, Blue Dot, Prospectus and Vivo."



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Exclusive: ‘People Would Have Died’ in Britain Without Food Banks, Says Charity Head

Exclusive: ‘People Would Have Died’ in Britain Without Food Banks, Says Charity Head: "Interviewed as part of an in-depth look into the rise of food banks in Britain to be published in Newsweek’s European edition next week, Mould attacks coalition policy, saying that they had led to a sharp rise in the numbers of people dependent on food banks. "Our government has chosen a series of policies which have squeezed the incomes of the working poor,” he says.

Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week "



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The brilliant, quirky fundraising career of Professor Denny Young - 101fundraising

The brilliant, quirky fundraising career of Professor Denny Young - 101fundraising: "So when the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Toronto Area chapter – my chapter and the largest in the world – announced Denny Young as the 2014 Outstanding Fundraising Professional, 101fundraising congratulated and invited him as the guest on the first North American #101webinar. We broadcasted live from Toronto, Canada on December 1, 2014, less than a week after he received this award at a luncheon in front of 1,000 fundraisers and philanthropists. "



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Thursday, December 11, 2014

TD Bank backs expanded Toronto bike-share program in deal said to be worth more than $650K a year | National Post

TD Bank backs expanded Toronto bike-share program in deal said to be worth more than $650K a year | National Post: "Mayor John Tory pleaded with corporations, unions and non-profit organizations to “step up” and partner with the city on more programs as city officials revealed TD Bank as the major sponsor of the city’s bike-share operation."



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TD Bank backs expanded Toronto bike-share program in deal said to be worth more than $650K a year | National Post

TD Bank backs expanded Toronto bike-share program in deal said to be worth more than $650K a year | National Post: "Mayor John Tory pleaded with corporations, unions and non-profit organizations to “step up” and partner with the city on more programs as city officials revealed TD Bank as the major sponsor of the city’s bike-share operation."



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Six-month delay for 20 per cent tax on direct mail fundraising

Six-month delay for 20 per cent tax on direct mail fundraising: "Changes in the VAT rules around direct mail fundraising which would have cost the charity sector tens of millions of pounds a year will not now be introduced until April 2015, the Charity Tax Group has said.

Earlier this year, HM Revenue & Customs said that “single-sourcing” contracts for direct mail should be standard-rated for VAT, meaning that charities would have to pay an extra 20 per cent on printing and production. Charities and suppliers had previously believed these contracts should be zero-rated for VAT."



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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Lisa Nandy announces policies to grow volunteering under Labour government

Lisa Nandy announces policies to grow volunteering under Labour government: "Lisa Nandy, shadow minister for civil society, will promise a raft of measures to grow volunteering as she reveals the results of Labour’s consultation with the voluntary sector later today.
She is also planning measures to increase the freedom of voice in the sector, including scrapping changes to make it harder for charities to bring judicial reviews, gagging clauses in contracts, and measures in the Lobbying Act."



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Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Top charity news stories of 2014: April to June

Top charity news stories of 2014: April to June: "Civil Society News is bringing you a festive countdown in the run up to Christmas. On the fourth day we look back at the ten most read news stories from April to June.
"



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Monday, December 08, 2014

Scotland's independent schools pass charity test - Telegraph

Scotland's independent schools pass charity test - Telegraph: "Scotland's independent schools pass charity test
But the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) warns them against "backsliding" and that they will continue to be subjected to higher scrutiny to ensure they provide enough public benefit."



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Charity fatigue: 'Why I'm sick of Sir Bob Geldof and street chuggers' | Hull Daily Mail

Charity fatigue: 'Why I'm sick of Sir Bob Geldof and street chuggers' | Hull Daily Mail: "It would have been nicer if they'd given up some of their money as well but, oh no, that's for we little people to do.

Well, get stuffed Sir Swearword (Bob Geldof). I didn't buy it. You, and your army of puffed up, short-term celebrities are one of the reasons why I, and others, are getting more and more resistant to giving to charidee in general.

Another reason is the increased understanding that a huge proportion of any money that is pledged via chuggers (or charity-muggers) in the street is used to pay the fundraisers themselves."



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Charity fatigue: 'Why I'm sick of Sir Bob Geldof and street chuggers' | Hull Daily Mail

Charity fatigue: 'Why I'm sick of Sir Bob Geldof and street chuggers' | Hull Daily Mail: "It would have been nicer if they'd given up some of their money as well but, oh no, that's for we little people to do.

Well, get stuffed Sir Swearword (Bob Geldof). I didn't buy it. You, and your army of puffed up, short-term celebrities are one of the reasons why I, and others, are getting more and more resistant to giving to charidee in general.

Another reason is the increased understanding that a huge proportion of any money that is pledged via chuggers (or charity-muggers) in the street is used to pay the fundraisers themselves."



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Word search: Can you find our 'Most Influential' fundraising bigwigs?

Word search: Can you find our 'Most Influential' fundraising bigwigs?: "Fundraising Magazine’s annual Most Influential poll is one of the highlights of the year and on the third day of our festive countdown we’ve hidden 15 of this year’s power list in a word search."



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Cancer Research UK launches its first crowdfunding campaign

Cancer Research UK launches its first crowdfunding campaign: "Cancer Research UK is hoping raise £190,000 this week from its first crowdfunding campaign to pay for three research projects.

The charity has listed three projects on IndieGoGo, a specialist crowdfunding donations website, with a deadline of midnight on 11 December 2014. If the projects do not receive enough support donations will be returned."



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Osborne announces VAT refunds for hospice charities | New rule on vulnerable donors | Power to ban trustees 'too broad' | Third Sector

Osborne announces VAT refunds for hospice charities | New rule on vulnerable donors | Power to ban trustees 'too broad' | Third Sector: "VAT refunds for hospices, search and rescue and air ambulance charities, and changes to the investment limits for social investment tax relief were among the announcements made in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement this week. George Osborne also announced that the government will increase the amount an organisation can take under the social investment tax relief scheme to £5m a year, up to a lifetime maximum of £15m.

Fundraisers should not accept donations from people who appear unable to make a proper decision, according to a new rule in the Institute of Fundraising's Code of Fundraising Practice. The Fundraising Standards Board asked the IoF to consider including advice on vulnerable donors in the code after adjudication in April following a complaint against the veterinary charity PDSA, which had accepted several large donations from a woman with schizophrenia."



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Global Campaign for a Culture of Philanthropy | Nexus Global Youth Summit

Global Campaign for a Culture of Philanthropy | Nexus Global Youth Summit: "Rules to Give By: A Global Philanthropy Legal Environment Index is the world’s first study on government support for philanthropy in all 193 United Nations Member States. It offers an index of countries’ performance based on the regulatory and tax conditions associated with philanthropy, and investigates the relationship between the presence of such infrastructure and the percentage of people donating money to charity according to the 2013 World Giving Index.
 "



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Friday, December 05, 2014

Give a Little and Get a Lot: Giving to Charity This Holiday Season | Cindy Crean

Give a Little and Get a Lot: Giving to Charity This Holiday Season | Cindy Crean: "Give a Little and Get a Lot: Giving to Charity This Holiday Season"



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New charitable tax credit attracts hundreds of Islanders - - CBC News

New charitable tax credit attracts hundreds of Islanders - - CBC News: "More than 300 Islanders made their first ever charitable donations last year, taking advantage of a new federal tax credit.

Ottawa started offering the extra 25% credit on donations up to $1,000 in the 2013 tax year as a way to encourage new donors. "



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Thursday, December 04, 2014

BERNAMA - Singapore President Closes Trades Worth Us$400 Million In Support Of Icap Charity Day

BERNAMA - Singapore President Closes Trades Worth Us$400 Million In Support Of Icap Charity Day: "Singapore President Closes Trades Worth Us$400 Million In Support Of Icap Charity Day

SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam has closed four trades worth US$400 million at ICAP's 22nd global Charity Day - a day where 100 percent of revenues and commissions will be donated to local charities."



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Less than a third of Charity Commission staff believe regulator is managed well

Less than a third of Charity Commission staff believe regulator is managed well: "Less than a third of Charity Commission staff feel the regulator is well managed and less than a quarter feel adequately paid, according to a staff engagement survey published yesterday.

Staff were surveyed in October as part of the Civil Service People Survey, which assesses engagement among 103 public sector bodies, and results were published online yesterday. "



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Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Vice, Knight Foundation and CUNY create 'innovators' fund | Capital New York

Vice, Knight Foundation and CUNY create 'innovators' fund | Capital New York: "lans for the Knight-VICE innovators fund, which will begin next year, were announced at the Knight Innovation Award ceremony, held at CUNY's 40th Street campus.

Vice Media C.E.O. Shane Smith was the recipient of the second Knight Innovation Award. As part of his prize, Smith was gifted $25,000, along with $25,000 to invest in a startup of his choice.

Smith picked Payk, a nonprofit, Afghanistan-focused organization that convenes journalists "to foster a dialogue that will lead to enlightenment, activism and a sense of belonging to a global community.""



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Monday, December 01, 2014

$25-Million Gift Restarts U.N. News Agency as Nonprofit – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

$25-Million Gift Restarts U.N. News Agency as Nonprofit – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Hong Kong investor Jho Low’s family foundation has committed $25-million to save the United Nations’ financially ailing news service, which will become a nonprofit journalism venture, reports The New York Times. Integrated Regional Information Networks has operated for nearly 20 years under the aegis of the U.N. office that coordinates humanitarian aid, reporting on disaster relief and development work."



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Volunteering in 2015: the times they are a-changing | Rob Jackson | Third Sector blogs

Volunteering in 2015: the times they are a-changing | Rob Jackson | Third Sector blogs: "These two tweets summarised my reflections at the Westminster Briefing event looking at Volunteering in 2015. It was an interesting day with a good mix of speakers (including yours truly) who challenged, encouraged and debated with attendees on topics including impact measurement, social enterprise, local and national government policy, social media and the role of infrastructure."



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IoF updates fundraising code for vulnerable people

IoF updates fundraising code for vulnerable people: "The Institute of Fundraising has today changed its Code of Fundraising Practice guidance to introduce a new standard for those fundraising with people in vulnerable circumstances.

The changes follow recommendations from a Working Group set up earlier in the year in response to a Fundraising Standards Board adjudications. "



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'Tescoisation' of the charity sector - take two?

'Tescoisation' of the charity sector - take two?: "Many charities are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate tangible impact to funders, or to show that they have delivered the necessary outcomes under a payment-by-results contract to trigger payment from their commissioner.
Just like managers in hard-pressed companies, senior executives in service-delivery charities have to continually hit targets to survive. Inevitably, this pressure to continually prove performance means that some charities are going to be tempted to tamper with data, just like those Tesco executives did."



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