Ben, did you see the piece Tyler Cowan shared on civil society from a right of centre perspective? Might be of interest if you didn't - it's another perspective if nothing else lawliberty.org/the-road-to-...
Fancy joining a fantastic community of current and recent philanthropy and fundraising students and all round charity enthusiasts and experts? We've got an informal chat about studying with us Kent* today at 5pm UK time. Sign up or just message me for the link www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/philanthro...
If you're working in and around #philanthropy and #charities, at the University of Kent we're now recruiting for our MA in Philanthropic studies. It's distance learning that fits around your job.
We're online at 5pm on the 28th April if you want to meet: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/philanthro...
Hi Liz 😀 A couple of things I liked: it's based on excellent empirical analysis of data from various sources that gives a historical perspective that I think too often is missing. And it dissects policy of successive governments - which aren't always clear about why volunteering matters/what its for
Book cover: volunteering in the UK
This has just been published. I think it’s excellent. Analysis of long term trends and government policy. #volunteering
Civil society does inform and influence government and its policies. That's an important role in democracy. But I suspect if these figures are typical - and I suspect they are - so are other parties, and these deserve the same level of scrutiny.
2/3 From the report:
"When we looked in more detail at Defra...we identified a total of 1,377 meetings between food businesses and trade associations – far outnumbering the number of meetings between Defra ministers and food NGOs held during the same period of time (2020-2023) which was just 35."
Pie chart showing who is lobbying governmetn departments
1/3 For those who find themselves in arguments about excessive lobbying by civil society, I noticed this in @nextwavef.bsky.social's excellent substack on the Food Foundation's latest report on the food industry:
Are you a small charity worrying about how to raise money when people’s budgets are so tight? Come ask my expert panel for advice and mention your charity on radio 4’s Money Box. Felicity.hannah@bbc.co.uk to put yourself forward
Good stuff from the always-interesting Mr Birch. Cash giving is in long-term decline, but CAF reckoned 7% of adults were still giving this way in 2021. Keep your coins, we want change... #giving #fundraising @breezephilanthropy.bsky.social there's a great story in here about the Roman baths at Bath
Without knowing the details, this isnt good, and presumably indicative of a contracting environment that is unsustainable. Relate struck me as an excellent federation lead body, but life is tough for these orgs. The members are separate and not in administration.
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
A loss to the sector, I reckon. Important charities scrutinise future candidates as fully as Fraser and previous potential appointments were. Ditto the appointments process.
I use to use this stuff all the time in my @ncvo days! It partially inspired howcharitieswork.com, which I am still proud of!
wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/u...
There's a tool here to test whether your charity/nonprofit organisation is ready for AI. It's a bit quick/basic, and the insight it generates is just a line. But some might find it useful. altruistleague.com/readyforai/
There are two rules for succesS... 1. Never reveal everything you know
As this place gets bigger (and it's lovely to see so many old friends from the other place), I'm reminded of the rule: 'You don’t need to go to every argument you are invited to.'
Media reporting that the National Citizen Service is to close: www.msn.com/en-gb/news/u...
This is a fantastic, albeit terrifying, piece of journalism. Thank you, Lewis.
Just publised, and free to access: The Routledge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy: www-taylorfrancis-com.chain.kent.ac.uk/books/oa-edi...
This is grim, if accurate. Poor accountability mechanisms remain an Achilles heel for the charity/nonprofit sector. www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/n...
If you're thinking about doing a social science PhD and looking for funding, the ESRC-funded SEDARC scheme is now open. Happy to talk to anyone interested in #voluntarysector, #volunteering or #philanthropy related applications. www.kent.ac.uk/graduate-res...
Australia now has a National Strategy for Volunteering covering the next ten years, with an action plan for the next three. There's nothing especially new from a UK perspective, but its a good to-do list to kick start declining volunteering levels here. volunteeringstrategy.org.au/actionplan/?...
Asphalt Art: Painting a Better Urban Future popupcity.net/insights/asp...
