We wish all our clients, and everyone working so hard to sustain vital charity services and support a restful and enjoyable Christmas and New Year and look forward to working with you in 2021.

Danny Kruger report Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new social covenant, released in September 2020 includes some interesting ideas on the role of civil society in rebuilding after Covid. In our view, however, while these proposals (if implemented) may offer opportunities for the sector, as ever, its destiny lies in its own hands. Now is the time for radical thinking from within the sector itself.

We have heard a lot recently about how difficult it is to make plans in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, and, while it is challenging, it is also necessary. This blog reflects a little on how small and medium sized charities and social enterprises can go about planning for an unknown future.

Good Behavioural Governance practice is hard to define and in pressured times most people don’t have the time to read extensively on the subject. This blog offers a short checklist of good practice in Behavioural Governance.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit there have been seismic shifts in the charitable grant funding market and the likelihood is that the volatility will continue for a while. This blog briefly explores what we think is going on and how smaller charities can navigate the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and (often) ambiguity.

From time to time we’re asked for our top tips for writing a good bid for grant funding. So here goes.

Many charities with a wider membership don’t know who the Members are and often treat them as silent partners in the charity. This articles outlines why it is important to maintain an accurate and secure register of Members and to ensure Members are treated (and used) properly.

With Government support for organisations most hit by Covid-19 now unwinding, all charities need to be investing time and effort in future strategic planning and developing new business models. But do they have the right skills at board level to do that?

With the pandemic having profound impacts on the finances and operations of almost all charities there’s a lot of talk of consolidation in the sector over the next few years. Will there be more charity mergers? And should there be?

While there continue to be many indicators of severe impacts of Covid-19 on the charity sector, we believe there are grounds for optimism if funders and policy makers focus on supporting those who need help to survive and who can chart a positive future for their charity.

This article argues that charities need to get much better at evidencing the impact of their work. That way they can stop hiding behind misleading statistics about what proportion of the money they raise goes to the so called “frontline”.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the charity sector hard and predictions for the future seem gloomy to say the least. This short article explores the question of which charities are likely to survive and what that means for society.

After nearly four months of lockdown and with restrictions easing, charities are grappling with what the new normal might look like for fundraising. The Fundraising Regulator recently issued guidance on fundraising affected by social distancing and this post looks at what that guidance says.

Fundraising for faith-based causes can often pose additional challenges. While many of the same principles apply, there are some important differences to fundraising for secular causes, including the need to choose potential grant funders carefully. in this article we explore this topic, in particular with Jewish charities in mind.

Nearly 5 years on from the tragic death of Olive Cooke, this short article explore whether the Fundraising Regulator’s latest Complaints Report tell us anything about the impact the regulator may, or may not, be having on fundraising practice.

In the last decade there has been an explosion in online giving platforms. The resulting diversity makes it almost impossible to compare the costs of different platforms. Do small charities need more help navigating this increasingly crowded marketplace?

With lockdown easing what does this mean in practice for charities? What practical measures do you need to put in place as part of your “restart plan”?

After reading our blog “Is your charity ready to emerge from lockdown?” (published on 1 May 2020), our colleague Bryan Thomas of CPB Projects wrote a response which he has kindly agreed we can publish. We hope you enjoy reading Bryan’s thought-provoking insights.

Charities and Social Enterprises that rely on visitors for income are facing an existential threat. Together with our associate Bryan Thomas of CPB Projects we offer the following musings on ways these organisations could rise to this challenge.

With social distancing set continue in some form for many months at least and the likelihood that there will be no return to ‘business as usual’, we must all adapt to a new normal. Charity Trustees and senior managers need to be thinking about what the ‘new normal’ will look like for their charity, in the short, medium and longer term.