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. 

In our healthy audience report, we looked at 50 different health and disability conditions and the charities that work on the related cause. We were interested in examining the relationship between the number of people with a condition and the size of the largest charity supporting those affected.

This 2019 report is based on updated research first conducted five years ago, in early 2014. The report looks at the relationship between the number of people with a particular medical condition or disability and the size of the largest charity supporting those affected. One of the key questions we try to answer is whether the number of people who have a condition determines the size of the charity associated with it. We have extended the report to include research looking at public perceptions of progress made by health charities.

Key findings:

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?

Tim Harrison-Byrne

Sarah Nathan

The past few years have seen the UK public face crisis after crisis. Inevitably, this has led to a shift in the sector’s priorities as we’ve all had to adapt to a few ‘new-normals’ in a short span of time. But even as new concerns arise, the old challenges aren’t going anywhere. This has made it vital to track how the public’s top concerns are shifting at a national level, and whether or not policy is aligned with public demand.

In the first chapter of Membership and the Charity Sector, we explored how we define and categorise membership organisations. Having received a positive response from many organisations seeking to improve their own programmes, we are proud this week to be releasing the full report for free.

Membership has long been a staple of organisations, clubs, and interest groups. But in the digital age, the concept of membership has been pushed to new frontiers. Now, it has expanded to include global online communities, subscription-based services, and access to perks for those who patron businesses and organisations. This digital membership revolution has decidedly changed how we think about communities and organisations, but is just one part of a bigger picture.

Today nfpResearch is launching its first Small Charity Research Award. This is an opportunity for a charity with an income under £1 million / €1 million to receive a £10,000 research project for free. The nfpResearch team will work closely with the successful charity to design a research project to fulfil your charity and research objectives.