Jun 2009: Issue 37

Jun2009Issue37

Impetus Trust's Stephen Dawson meets Fairtrade farmers in Dominica, Caribbean. Photo © Grant Masom, courtesy of Impetus Trust

Welcome to the June 2009 edition of the Philanthropy UK Newsletter. Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself as the new editor of Philanthropy UK. My first few weeks have been an eye-opener. Arriving from the creative sector where innovation is the order of the day, I am agog at the breadth and depth of innovative ‘good work’ being done across the globe by the myriad organisations working in the third sector, as well as the pace of development.

I very much look forward to discovering more and to meeting you, the highly active members of a flourishing philanthropic community.

In this edition we focus on the topical and contentious issue of measuring social impact. Can the ‘good’ philanthropists do be meaningfully measured? And if so, how can the human factor of social impact be captured? In seeking some answers we canvas opinion across the sector and highlight the benefits and challenges of measurement today, with case studies showing how organisations are responding to the demand to know how donations make a difference to the world.

Also in this edition, pioneering philanthropist Stephen Dawson, who co-founded Impetus Trust, the first UK general venture philanthropy fund, shares his inspirational story in ‘My philanthropic journey’.

We’d once again like to thank all involved in bringing this newsletter to you and hope you enjoy it. Please do send your feedback to us at editor@philanthropyuk.org. I’d be particularly interested to know what you would like to see included in future editions and your favourite inclusions to date.

Best wishes
Cheryl Chapman, Managing editor

Measuring impact: capturing the good of giving

SROI: government and third sector extend reach of measurement tool

Social Return on Investment (SROI), the social impact measurement tool, has seen a marked flurry of attention in recent months that positions the analysis tool at the heart of the government...

Giving by numbers – how measuring social impact stacks up

What matters more: the pleasure or the measure of giving?

From passion to profession: a call for an association of non-profit analysts

The last quarter of a century has seen the rise of many new professions, including investment managers, alternative healing practitioners, social entrepreneurs, call centre operators to name but...

Case studies

In the third sector’s quest to find meaningful ways to define the social, environmental and economic impact of its work, a plethora of approaches has emerged.

Events and programmes

Reports from Alliance magazine

The Philanthropy UK Newsletter is grateful to Alliance magazine for its permission to reproduce the following summaries of its event reports.

Influential Reader

Influential reading

Our ‘influential reader’ in this edition is Bernard Mercer, Chief Executive of the Forests Philanthropy Action Network and former Publications Editor of Philanthropy UK.

My philanthropic journey

For good measure: the impetus for venture philanthropy

I’ve had a social conscience for as long as I can remember, ignited perhaps by two years spent teaching English in Madagascar immediately after university. But for many years...

What's new in social investment

A brief round-up of developments in the social investment world

Prepared by UKSIF First community-based forest project to seek public funding launched The Cochabamba Project in Bolivia is now open to UK investors by means of an industrial and provident...

Notices

How Are You Getting On? Charities and funders on communicating results

This report seeks to help both charities and donors to better communicate results.

Hidden Surrey: Why local giving is needed to strengthen our communities

Although Surrey is one of the wealthiest counties in the UK, this report demonstrates that it has many pockets of deprivation, which suffer the double disadvantage of going largely unnoticed and re

Dead Aid

This provocative book, written by a Zambian-born, Harvard-trained economist, has attracted much attention for its claim that ‘aid to poor countries does not work’.

The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty

Australian philosopher and Princeton’s touring professor Peter Singer returns to a pet topic in this book – no, not man’s treatment of animals, for which he found notoriety follow

Breaking the Cycle: Charities working with people in prison and on release, an update for donors, funders and charities

The aim of this report is to consider the implications of recent changes in the criminal justice system on the work of charities and on the role and impact of private funding.

The 21st Century Potential of Constituency Voice

This report, authored by David Bonbright of Keystone Accountability, David Campbell of Binghamton University (USA), and Linda Nguyen of the Alliance for Children and Families USA, argues that human

The First Principle of Voluntary Action: Essays on the independence of the voluntary sector

Since 2006 the Baring Foundation’s grants programme ‘Strengthening the Voluntary Sector’, has taken a close interest in deepening understanding of the changing nature of the indep

Natural Philanthropists: Findings of the Family Business Philanthropy and Social Responsibility Inquiry

Despite the extensive literature on family foundations and corporate philanthropy, little is known about the philanthropy of family businesses, which straddles these categories.

Book Reviews

The Blue Sweater

This book, written by the founder of the trailblazing venture philanthropy Acumen Fund, is categorised by its publishers as a ‘Memoir’ and marketed as “part coming-of-age stor

Perpetuity or Limited Lifespan: How Do Family Foundations Decide? Loren Renz and David Wolcheck

The question of whether a foundation should exist forever (in perpetuity) by building up an endowment and distributing only the interest, or should ‘spend down’ by spending both capital

Subscribe

Jun 2009: Issue 37

Measuring impact: capturing the good of giving

SROI: government and third sector extend reach of measurement tool

Giving by numbers – how measuring social impact stacks up

From passion to profession: a call for an association of non-profit analysts

Case studies

Events and programmes

Reports from Alliance magazine

Influential Reader

Influential reading

My philanthropic journey

For good measure: the impetus for venture philanthropy

What's new in social investment

A brief round-up of developments in the social investment world

Notices

How Are You Getting On? Charities and funders on communicating results

Hidden Surrey: Why local giving is needed to strengthen our communities

Dead Aid

The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty

Breaking the Cycle: Charities working with people in prison and on release, an update for donors, funders and charities

The 21st Century Potential of Constituency Voice

The First Principle of Voluntary Action: Essays on the independence of the voluntary sector

Natural Philanthropists: Findings of the Family Business Philanthropy and Social Responsibility Inquiry

Book Reviews

The Blue Sweater

Perpetuity or Limited Lifespan: How Do Family Foundations Decide? Loren Renz and David Wolcheck

In this issue:

Latest News