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How much time and money do small charities waste on funding applications?

Most of us who work in charity fundraising are eternal optimists: we have to be! There is no room in fundraising for those who invariably see every glass as half empty.

But optimism has to be balanced by reality. And

Last week I attended the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s National Convention. This was, as usual, an enjoyable and vibrant occasion – but also a sad one, as it was the last National Convention the CIOF will hold. In future years the Convention will be replaced by two new one-day events:

In recent months, we have seen significant reporting of an increasingly pro-active stance by the Charity Commission towards regulatory oversight of charities. In general, this is to be welcomed, and indeed some important cases of charity mismanagement have been brought to light.

A feeling exists that somehow small charities will avoid

In recent months there have been scores of media reports highlighting the closure of charity shops. Some have been chain shops belonging to large charities such as the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK; but others have been single outlets run by small local charities.

The reasons cited in the

Last week I attended the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s National Convention. This was, as usual, an enjoyable and vibrant occasion – but also a sad one, as it was the last National Convention the CIOF will hold. In future years, the Convention will be replaced by two new one-day events:

The oft-repeated “May you live in interesting times” is believed by many to be an ancient Chinese curse. Although this saying may have its origins in an 18th century Chinese proverb “It is better to be a dog in peace than a human in war“, it is actually attributable to

A small charity I’ve given pro bono fundraising help to over a number of years has just announced that they intend to pause their fundraising efforts.

The reason for this? Thanks to some effective initiatives, they have been able to raise more than they expected and now find themselves with more

Scarcely a week goes by without a small charity closing down somewhere in the UK. Frequently, the reasons for closures include the withdrawal, or severe reduction, of statutory funding.

This begs a question: why does any charity rely so heavily on statutory funding that it has to close when that funding

The debate on whether trustees should be paid or not is relatively new. Unlike local government councillors and members of the Reserve Forces who once gave their time voluntarily but have been remunerated for many years, the role of trustee has been strictly voluntary.

Views have been expressed that by not

A recent report on the role of VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) organisations quotes government sources that VCSEs have been involved in over 17,500 government contracts worth £24.4 bn over a 5 year period.

This apparently equates to 4% of the total value and 6% of the total volume of