Mark Goldring
Apr 2, 2020, 11:00 AM
Leading through crisis: look at it through three lenses
Having led a number of large charities, most relevantly Oxfam, in responding to…
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David Saint
Mar 31, 2020, 3:00 PM
Coronavirus - How can Boards best support their charities through this crisis?
Every charity situation is different; every individual responds to crisis in…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Mar 27, 2020, 10:00 AM
Arts Council England funding for organisations and individuals
Arts Council England has set up a fund worth £160million to ensure the people…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Mar 27, 2020, 10:00 AM
London Funders set up Covid-19 fund
A new fund coordinated by London Funders has been set up to support London’s…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Mar 27, 2020, 10:00 AM
Calor puts up £85,000 for rural community projects
To celebrate its 85th birthday, gas company Calor has increased the value of its…
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David Bull
Mar 25, 2020, 10:00 AM
Leadership in the time of corona – 5 things to think about
As a charity CEO for 32 years, I have been through crises before. Here are five…
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Claire Cardy
Mar 25, 2020, 10:00 AM
Feeling helpless? Time to dig into those creative reserves
I have just passed the one year anniversary of leaving a permanent role to…
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Mark Goldring
Mar 24, 2020, 10:05 AM
Leading in a crisis: some lessons from personal experience
We might never have seen anything like this; I’ve certainly never lived through…
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Andrew Middleton
Mar 3, 2020, 4:00 PM
How can virtual meetings help your charity remain effective?
We live in very challenging times. Right now, coronavirus is forcing individuals…
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Ian O'Reilly
Feb 25, 2020, 10:00 AM
Impact of supporter experience on fundraising
What is supporter experience and why is it so important? Action Planning…
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Ruth Dwight
Feb 20, 2020, 10:00 AM
Growing a sales mindset in a not-for-profit organisation
Is your organisation looking for new funding streams but knocking up against a…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Feb 14, 2020, 12:00 PM
London Marathon fund for physical activity
Can you believe the London Marathon has been running for 40 years? Over that…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Feb 14, 2020, 10:15 AM
Funding up to £250,000 for museums and galleries
The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund is offering grants worth up to £250,000 to…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jan 31, 2020, 12:08 PM
Ouseley Trust grants for choral music
If you’re a parish church, choir school, choral foundation or cathedral that…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jan 24, 2020, 2:00 PM
£50k Aviva grants for small charity community projects
Charities with a turnover of under £1m are invited to apply for funding from the…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jan 24, 2020, 10:00 AM
Co-op funding for youth peer-to-peer support
Co-op Foundation, the charity arm of the grocery chain, is partnering with the…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jan 10, 2020, 10:37 AM
Heritage grants for historic buildings
Transforming Places Through Heritage is a £15million grant programme from the…
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David Saint
Dec 23, 2019, 10:00 AM
What chance of 2020 vision in 2020? And then what?
I like to think I was perhaps one of the first people to harness ‘2020 Vision’…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Dec 20, 2019, 10:37 AM
NCT funding for church building projects
The National Churches Trust has three grant programmes currently inviting…
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Sean Tully
Dec 20, 2019, 9:00 AM
Big Society depending on church social action – but where will the money come from?
This past decade of austerity and cuts in publicly funded services has seen…
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Tracy Madgwick
Dec 19, 2019, 9:43 AM
It's all about the people! – How can you nurture your human resources in 2020?
Looking back over 2019 as an HR consultant working with a range of different…
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Andrew Johnson
Dec 18, 2019, 1:00 PM
Has insight helped your decision-making this year?
Over the past year I’ve noticed that charities are starting to see the real…
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Andrew Middleton
Dec 17, 2019, 9:00 AM
Review is the word – how did your Governance look in 2019?
One of the great things about being an Action Planning consultant is that I get…
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Emily Petty
Dec 16, 2019, 10:18 AM
An exciting time but still big challenges ahead – so how was your fundraising year?
2019 has been a really exciting year for fundraising. Despite the challenges…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Dec 13, 2019, 11:32 AM
Grants of up to £30,000 for war memorial conservation
The War Memorials Trust is offering grants of up to £30,000 towards the…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Dec 6, 2019, 10:06 AM
Veolia grants for environmental projects
Not-for-profit organisations in England raising funds for environmental or…
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Tracy Madgwick
Nov 29, 2019, 3:42 PM
How to overcome the recruitment challenge for faith-based organisations
Good directors are hard to find in any circumstances, but for a Christian…
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Andrew Middleton
Nov 29, 2019, 2:26 PM
Reflections on Conference Season
November saw Action Planning set up its stand at both the NVCO Trustees…
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Emily Petty
Nov 20, 2019, 9:14 AM
Week 4 - Re-energise: Sometimes we all need to switch off and start again
In the last of her four-part series on overcoming the cultural barriers to…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Nov 15, 2019, 12:00 PM
New vision fund for London’s blind
The Vision Foundation has launched a new fund to address the most pressing…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Nov 15, 2019, 11:40 AM
Toyota funding for disabled sport and activities
Organisations running clubs, activities or events for disabled people can apply…
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Emily Petty
Nov 13, 2019, 9:20 AM
Week 3 - Grow: Give your team the confidence to tap into their talents
In the third of four articles on overcoming the cultural barriers to…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Nov 8, 2019, 12:40 PM
Match funding for reviving green spaces
Community groups working to develop public green spaces in their local area are…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Nov 8, 2019, 12:25 PM
New funds for cultural protection in Libya, Syria and Yemen
New grants worth up to £100,000 are being made available to organisations…
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Emily Petty
Nov 6, 2019, 12:28 PM
Week 2 - Reconnect: Overcoming cultural barriers to fundraising
In the second of four articles on overcoming the cultural barriers to…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Nov 1, 2019, 10:06 AM
Grants of £50,000 available for church conservation projects
The National Churches Trust (NCT) Cornerstone Grants programme provides grants…
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Emily Petty
Oct 30, 2019, 12:28 PM
Week 1 - Reboot: Overcoming cultural barriers to fundraising
In the first of four articles on overcoming the cultural barriers to…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Oct 25, 2019, 9:28 AM
Windrush Day grants of up to £25,000
The Government has set up a Windrush Day Grant Scheme, with a fund worth…
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Felicia Willow
Oct 22, 2019, 9:28 AM
Is it worth investing in an interim CEO?
Interim CEO posts can be a high-impact and effective use of resources for…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Oct 18, 2019, 3:00 PM
£5.75m tech fund to tackle unemployment
A new fund has been launched to support charities that are helping to reskill…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Oct 18, 2019, 2:00 PM
£2m fund for organisations tackling loneliness
One year after the publication of the Government’s landmark Loneliness Strategy,…
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Sean Tully
Oct 10, 2019, 4:17 PM
Reflections from a church capital appeals workshop
Saturday 5th October saw Action Planning deliver the second of three workshops…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Oct 4, 2019, 12:17 PM
Match Funding for outer London community projects
The second round of funding from Trust for London and Crowdfunder’s Connected…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Oct 4, 2019, 12:05 PM
Children in Need Small Grants round open for spring 2020
Charities and not-for-profit organisations that work with disadvantaged…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 27, 2019, 12:05 PM
£40,000 grants available for healthcare charities
Charities working to provide healthcare to disadvantaged adults and children in…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 27, 2019, 11:44 AM
Join us at NCVO/Bates Wells Trustee Conference 2019
NCVO/Bates Wells Trustee Conference 2019 is taking place on Monday 4th November…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 27, 2019, 11:38 AM
We’ve teamed up with Digi-Board™ to solve the governance review conundrum
Action Planning has developed an innovative and effective approach to governance…
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Andrew Rainsford
Sep 27, 2019, 9:48 AM
Places of worship VAT grants extended to 2021
The recent Spending Review contained news that the Listed Places of Worship…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 20, 2019, 10:00 AM
£120,000 in new funding for road safety initiatives
Charities working towards the reduction of casualties on the road can join…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 20, 2019, 9:30 AM
High value prizes for healthy ageing projects
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) is running a competition for…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 13, 2019, 9:30 AM
New funding for small international development charities
Small UK not-for-profit organisations working on international development…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 13, 2019, 9:30 AM
Leeds community fund invites applications
Charities in the North of England can apply for a share of a £100,000 fund pot…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Sep 6, 2019, 9:30 AM
Applications for £3 million Dream Fund now open
Applications for the People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund opened this week.
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Ondine Upton
Aug 30, 2019, 9:30 AM
Whose eyes are we looking through? Top tips for developing organisational success with major donors
One of the most powerful game-changers for an organisation serious about major…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Aug 30, 2019, 9:30 AM
Government puts up £30m for 5G projects
The Government’s pledge to roll out 5G to the UK’s rural communities has been…
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David Saint
Aug 30, 2019, 9:30 AM
Christian distinctiveness: an aid to fundraising, or a hindrance?
Action Planning has worked with hundreds of Christian charities and churches…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Aug 23, 2019, 9:30 AM
New round of community funding from Power to Change
A grant fund worth £60,000 has been made available to charities across the South…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Aug 16, 2019, 11:00 AM
New grant fund for community projects across the South
A grant fund worth £60,000 has been made available to charities across the South…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Aug 2, 2019, 9:29 AM
The Times 2019 Christmas Appeal opens for applications
Charities can now apply to be part of The Times’ 2019 Christmas Appeal. The…
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David Loxton
Jul 25, 2019, 8:00 AM
New Fundraising Code of Practice – Good news, and a helpful reminder
The Fundraising Regulator has released a new Code of Practice that takes effect…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jul 25, 2019, 8:00 AM
Climate change initiatives to receive £100m National Lottery funding
Organisations involved in tackling climate change will soon be able to apply for…
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Sean Tully
Jul 25, 2019, 8:00 AM
Church capital appeals - how to improve your chances
One of Action Planning’s regular training seminars, the event focussed on how…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jul 19, 2019, 9:30 AM
Extra time to apply for The Big Give Christmas Challenge
The UK’s biggest online match funding campaign, The Christmas Challenge from The…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jul 19, 2019, 8:00 AM
Connected Communities to match fund London projects
Local community projects in London are being offered the opportunity to apply…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jul 5, 2019, 8:00 AM
GSK IMPACT Awards supporting health and wellbeing charities in 2020
Nesta Challenges is inviting charities and social enterprises to bid for grants…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 27, 2019, 8:00 AM
Nesta Challenges puts up £1m to tackle social isolation through technology
Nesta Challenges is inviting charities and social enterprises to bid for grants…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 27, 2019, 8:00 AM
National Heritage fund to hand out £100m over three years
UK heritage organisations are being invited to apply for grants worth £5million…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 20, 2019, 8:00 AM
New funding available for community green energy projects
The Government’s Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) is inviting new community…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 20, 2019, 8:00 AM
Nationwide offers housing project grants in Northern Ireland
The Nationwide Building Society is awarding grants of between £10,000 and…
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David Bull
Jun 18, 2019, 8:00 AM
Leadership teams: you can’t do it all by yourself!
If you are a charity CEO, you know you can’t do it all by yourself. Which is why…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 18, 2019, 8:00 AM
Futures for Women: The Next Episode
Back in January we published a case study on our work with Futures For Women,…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 13, 2019, 8:00 AM
£5 million fund launched for supporting unpaid carers
A new Carers Innovation Fund has been launched to help finance innovative ways…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 13, 2019, 8:00 AM
Discounted housing grant scheme unveiled
Getting together to give is not new. People have acted collectively to donate…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 13, 2019, 8:00 AM
Co-op Foundation invites funding applications from Welsh community groups
Community groups in Wales have two more weeks to apply for funding from the new…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 13, 2019, 8:00 AM
Government opens fund to reduce food waste
Organisations that help to cut food waste by redistributing surplus food to…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Jun 13, 2019, 8:00 AM
Lloyds open last round of Enable grants
Lloyds Bank Foundation has announced its last round of Enable grants, offering…
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Rob John
May 24, 2019, 8:00 AM
Virtuous Circles: collective giving is a powerful way to develop better donors
Getting together to give is not new. People have acted collectively to donate…
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Layla Moosavi
May 24, 2019, 8:00 AM
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP: PREPARE TO SUCCEED
As fundraisers, we all know how difficult it is to get through the door of a…
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Eleanor Mitchell
Apr 16, 2019, 8:00 AM
Management: what, why, and how to do it
While management is often described as the coordination and organisation of…
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David Saint
Apr 16, 2019, 8:00 AM
Action Planning Consultants: introducing Mark Goldring
Action Planning has an extensive team of outstanding and highly-experienced…
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Sally Denbigh
Mar 14, 2019, 8:00 AM
Why would anyone be a charity trustee?!
The role carries a lot of responsibility, has legal and financial liabilities,…
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Tracy Madgwick
Feb 14, 2019, 8:00 AM
Managing Underperformance
Managing people’s performance is one of the key issues facing any charity. After…
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Karen Morton
Jan 17, 2019, 8:00 AM
Awaydays: Holding the Space
New Year is the perfect time to ‘health check’ not just ourselves, but our…
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David Kirby
Jan 17, 2019, 8:00 AM
Trading Subsidiaries: Using one, or think you should be?
Recent developments have affected the way in which payments from a trading…
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David Saint
Dec 13, 2018, 8:00 AM
You Can't Tickle Yourself!
Interviewed at the recent Christian Resources Exhibition, Chairman David Saint…
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Sally Denbigh
Dec 13, 2018, 8:00 AM
Charity at Christmas
Working in the voluntary sector, we spend most of our time thinking about and…
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David Bull
Nov 8, 2018, 8:00 AM
Protective Organisational Culture
In the wake of the recent crisis in the International Development sector…
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Fiona Lewis
Nov 8, 2018, 8:00 AM
What Is A Content Strategy, And Do You Need One?
Online content is the most cost-effective way to reach large numbers of people.…
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Felicia Willow
Oct 9, 2018, 8:00 AM
Employing Trustees: Navigating The Minefield
One of your charity Trustees (or ex-Trustees) may seem like the perfect…
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Sally Denbigh
Oct 9, 2018, 8:00 AM
Salaries and Benchmarking
Determining the appropriate salary for a job is not always easy, and also of…
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Oct 9, 2018, 8:00 AM
Are you a Charity That Helps Women Enter the Workplace?
Are you a charity that helps women enter the workplace? If so, you may wish to…
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Layla Moosavi
Sep 13, 2018, 8:00 AM
Marketing And Communications In Small Charities
Marketing and Communications in small charities has its own particular…
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Sally Denbigh
Aug 9, 2018, 8:00 AM
Finding and Recruiting the Hottest New Candidates
It’s August, it’s Summer and it’s too hot to be thinking about recruitment.…
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Emily Petty
Aug 9, 2018, 8:00 AM
Building Meaningful Lifelong Relationships with Supporters
What does relationship fundraising look like in today’s world? And how should…
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Sally Denbigh
Jul 5, 2018, 10:41 AM
Legacy fundraising: don’t leave it to luck!
Legacies are an important source of funding, yet more than half of charitable…
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David Saint
Mar 21, 2018, 10:41 AM
Where are the Visionaries?
Charities pride themselves on making a difference, yet so often we seem to get…
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Lucinda Shaw
Mar 14, 2018, 10:41 AM
Focussing on People rather than Performance will get you to Excellence
Almost every organisation will say that its people are its greatest asset. And…
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David Saint
Mar 14, 2018, 10:41 AM
The answer’s Yes. What’s the question?
Action Planning gets asked to help with an extraordinarily diverse range of…
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David Saint
Feb 8, 2018, 10:41 AM
Recruiting your first fundraiser
If your organisation is planning to employ a fundraiser for the first time, here…
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Robin Hamilton
Feb 8, 2018, 10:41 AM
Learning lessons from Oxfam - To disclose or not to disclose? That is the question.
It is sad to see so many media outlets and commentators jumping on the…
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David Saint
Feb 8, 2018, 10:41 AM
How to diversify income
Any organisation that is dependent on one source for more than 30% of its income…
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David Saint
Feb 8, 2018, 10:41 AM
Procurement Obscurement?
Does your Procurement Department always get you the best deal? We share some…
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Felicia Willow
Feb 8, 2018, 10:41 AM
Five Indications of Failing Trustee Boards
Poor trustees – always being bashed these days! But these observations, from an…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
Governance – what could possibly go wrong?
The Charity Commission recently reviewed their ‘problem cases’, and came up with…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
How to recruit trustees
Perhaps we should start with ‘how not to recruit trustees’ – because frankly the…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
Simple Governance Review – here’s one I prepared earlier!
Andrew Betts, Director of Advantage Africa was very quick off the mark, by…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
How to Recruit a Chief Executive
We turn our attention to the recruitment of a Chief Executive. But surely…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
'Preference Diversity' The Essential Team Ingredient
First, what is diversity? Diversity is ‘the fact of many different types of…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
Downloadable policies – just papering over the cracks?
In our increasingly complex society, we now need an astonishing array of…
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David Saint
Dec 5, 2017, 10:41 AM
How to recruit a Fundraising Director
In recent issues we have considered the best approach for recruiting trustees,…
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Kate
Oct 3, 2017, 9:41 AM
Managing Reputation - Inoculating Against Crisis
It was Warren Buffet who once said “It takes twenty years to build a reputation…
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David Saint
Oct 3, 2017, 9:41 AM
The £1.19m answer: Einstein’s Theory of Happiness
I was fascinated to read recently that Einstein’s ‘Theory of Happiness’ had been…
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David Saint
Aug 30, 2017, 10:41 AM
When the problem is having too much money
This may seem an extraordinary topic to explore in a charity sector newsletter,…
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Dave Tyler
Aug 30, 2017, 10:41 AM
Project management? Never heard of it…
I’ve been a professional project manager for over 20 years and freelance for…
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Ian O'Reilly
Aug 30, 2017, 10:41 AM
The Value of a Mentor
The most honest feedback I receive in life is after the final whistle is blown…
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Gavin
Aug 30, 2017, 10:41 AM
Challenge Events – An Antidote to GDPR - The Great Depression of People Raising (money)
Over the last few years I feel we have been in a ‘great depression’ within the…
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David Saint
Aug 30, 2017, 10:41 AM
CV Tips – From The Recruiter’s Perspective
Having recently read 79 applications for one role, and 6 for another, I have…
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Tim Glynne-Jones
Aug 30, 2017, 10:41 AM
Website woes? Here’s a solution
When it comes to publicising the work of your charity, a good website is…
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David Saint
Jul 12, 2017, 10:41 AM
How To Plan A Capital Appeal
For most organisations, major capital projects are not common occurrences – they…
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Felicia Willow
Jul 12, 2017, 10:41 AM
Trustee appraisals – have you got yours in place?
The Charity Governance Code recommends that the Boards of all charities – large…
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Felicia Willow
Jul 12, 2017, 10:41 AM
Charity crisis: Do you know what to do when something goes wrong?
All of us, obviously, want things to go smoothly at our charity; but what to do…
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David Saint
Jul 12, 2017, 10:41 AM
When is it the right time to do a capital appeal feasibility study?
An appeal for a major capital project is not an everyday occurrence for most…
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