From 1st August 2018, the rules on disqualification of charity trustees in England and Wales are changing.  There will be more automatic disqualifications and the rules will be extended to certain senior managers in charities. All charities need to update their trustee appointment processes, introduce similar checks and declarations for relevant senior managers/staff and make sure that existing trustees and relevant senior managers will not be disqualified after 1 August 2018.

With numerous scandals and bad publicity around charities and fundraising in the media over the last few years, the sector needs to change the way it thinks about supporters, offer more in return for their support and try new ways of engaging and motivating supporters, including thinking beyond money.

GDPR comes into force on 25th May 2018 and has significant implications for how organisations use personal data and how they keep it secure.  I keep hearing (usually from those who only started preparing close to the implementation date) that it is a “nightmare” and I’ve seen lots of inaccurate information in the media. but my key message is: DON’T PANIC!

Before the 2008 financial crisis public sector funding for the third sector (grants and contracts) had become so prevalent that many charities and social enterprises had, frankly, become overly reliant on funding from local and central government. It’s not surprising that a large number of charities and social enterprises I have worked with want to develop income diversification strategies.  This article reflects briefly on a few of the common issues I have encountered.

For many organisations business planning is a dull chore undertaken because some management consultant said that you should have one (we have a lot to answer for!). However, the point of having a business plan is often to ensure shared understanding and buy-in. This makes the process of preparing a business plan far more important than producing a pretty, glossy document at the end of that process.