September 2011

Philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley has launched a new online membership organisation and website to promote philanthropy across the world and give philanthropists a voice. Gordon Brown appointed Dame Stephanie, billed onsite as ‘The British Government’s Founding Ambassador for Philanthropy’, as Ambassador for Philanthropy in 2009 when he was Prime Minister.

The Office for Civil Society has issued a consultation paper proposing new policy directions for the Big Lottery Fund, sparking fears that  lottery money might be redirected to government projects rather than be used for 'additional' projects as originally stated.

A 30-month research project has revealed the key triggers for why people take part in civic society, including donating to charity. Pathways through Participation concluded that government policy is focused too much on tools such as technology to promote volunteering and giving opportunities without addressing the underlying ‘causes’ of why people don’t participate, such as lack of resources or confidence. Triggers for participation were divided into three areas:

Donations to charities with an income over £10m fell by nearly 11% (approximately £855m) between 2007 and 2009. In comparison, the income of medium-sized charities, those with an income between £500,000 and £10m, rose by 2.2 % over the same period, according to new research by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).