The government’s Green Paper on giving was published between Christmas and New Year with a timing designed to maximise welcome publicity for this neglected area of media interest. For those who remember the attitude of the Thatcher/Major years to giving in particular and civil society in general the seismic change in interest is very welcome. For the last Tory government the voluntary sector was not so much below the radar as just invisible. For this Tory government (even without the Lib Dems) the interest is real, genuine and palpable. On every count this change should be welcomed.

As part of the Charity Awareness Monitor, our regular survey of the British public's attitudes towards and awareness of charities, we collect data on the faith and worship habits of respondents. Delving into this data we pose the question- are Christian audiences relevant for charities that are not faith-based? And does being a regular churchgoer make a difference to how individuals perceive and engage with charities?

• Young, single and childless who have still to write wills are amongst those most amenable to charity legacy-giving
•  Those most amenable to legacy-giving are also most open to letting a charity draft their will for free (no obligation to give)
• “Charities should especially target younger legacy-givers to help create a culture of legacy-giving,” vies nfpSynergy

People yet to write a will comprise a larger potential new legacy market for charities than those who have already written one currently without a

A survey and the results on all things fundraising, answered by people in the sector.

Versions from 2007 and 2010 are available.

Last week (w/c 1st March 2010) the London Evening Standard ran a series of stories called ‘the Dispossessed’, highlighting the almost unfathomable gulf that exists between the wealthiest and poorest of London’s residents.  I wouldn’t typically hold the paper up as a paragon of journalistic or literary excellence. However, reader responses to the Standard’s campaign last week highlighted some important messages for charities to sit up and take notice of.

Having just read ‘Nudge’ by Thaler and Sunstein I realised that much of fundraising is based on the idea of ‘nudging’ people to give.

Over the last twelve years we have seen one really good initiative to raise donated income for charities, and a lot of inconclusive enigmas. The really good initiative was Gift Aid, and the half-hearted, short-lived enigmas form a short but depressing list: the Giving and Philanthropy Centre, share giving, the Giving Campaign, a charity ‘Tsar’, and the Beacon Fellowships. Have I missed any?

One of the first and clearest results that we came across when the Irish Charity Engagement Monitor[fn]nfpSynergy’s Irish Charity Engagement Monitor  is a tracking study  of attitudes, awareness and perceptions  of charities among adults in the Republic of Ireland.

A report on using SMS and mobile phones for fundraising and campaigning. Includes our ten top tips, and case studies from other organisations.