This week's blog looks at the findings from our latest report on how to measure public giving and some of the pitfalls and challenges in doing so. 

It's Christmas time and as per tradition we're giving away 12 more of our reports. They address key issues like lobbying, fundraising and trust, plus a couple of niche ones like Gift Aid and media spending. Enjoy!

We've been sending out quite a few free reports recently, so we thought we'd put them all in one convenient place. Here's a preview of what's available:

The Politics of Charities

What do the public think about charities having the right to lobby? And what does it mean to MPs and journalists for charities to 'be political'?

Global Digital Fundraising

Global communication has opened up new opportunities to engage with communities and key audiences. So what does this mean for non-profits in different environments?

This report is an introductory examination of the issues of competition and strategy in the voluntary sector. Our aim is to stimulate organisations to think about how they can improve their performance overall and in comparison to their peers.

Research recently published by a global communications marketing firm seems to contradict the findings from our research last autumn which indicated that trust in charities was at the highest level since 2013. Why the disparity between their research and ours? In this week's blog, Joe Saxton and Hannah Bennett highlight ten things to consider when interpreting statistics on trust in charities and other bodies, with a focus on understanding the UK sector and different factors impacting on the public's trust.

Individual giving is the largest source of fundraising income for charities. It is extremely important that small charities, who often have limited or non-existent budgets, can compete with larger ones for individual giving funds.

In 2008 we published the first Mission Impossible report, which brought together over 80 vision and mission statements from a range of  non-profit organisations. And now we did it again! 

Start with the heart and soul of your organisation.  Vision statements should come from the heart of the organisation.  They are not a paper exercise out of a marketing textbook but the opportunity to distil and agree some of the essence of an organisation. Often the creation of a vision statement helps trustees and senior managers to establish what they see as some of the fundamental tenets of the organisation.

As it's the season of goodwill, we're giving away The 12 Insights of Christmas. They look at some of the key issues facing the charity sector and include research, interviews and advice from charities and from us. Unwrap our 12 free reports just in time for Christmas.

1. A Hidden Gem - Resilience report from the Clore Social Leadership Programme