The UK Giving report from CAF was released last month and in the sector press again.

Charity annual reports and accounts are one of the key unifying features of the charity world.

All but the smallest charities have to produce them. They set out their income, their expenditure, their reserves, their salaries above a certain level and much more. Indeed, the rules governing charity accounts are over 100 pages long.

Our new report Past Imperfect, developed over the last 18 months examines data from the fields of Cancer, heart disease, disability, poverty, and the environment to try and see what changes, for better or worse have taken place over the last few decades. This blog is an edited version of our conclusions, as much as anything to encourage people to read the whole report!

In the light of the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) working group consultation, here are some questions that still remain.

Process and practicalities

At nfpSynergy we have been very interested in the effect of the new fundraising regulation on charities.

Our research shows it is likely to be popular with the public, but every conversation we have had with charities shows a deep level of concern about the impact of the Fundraising Preference Service.

One aspect of the new regulation about which there has been little discussion is the legal dimension. Our understanding is that trustees have to make decisions that are first and foremost good for the charity they are trustees of: their fiduciary duty.

The charity sector has had 12 months unlike any other it has ever seen. We have been under the spotlight in the eyes of the media, public and politicians more than ever before, and rarely for the right reasons. The response of the sector has been varied, and largely ineffective.

1. Better fundraising regulation

We need better fundraising regulation. I have been writing about inadequacies of the current system since 2012. So the new regime of a stronger, better funded regulator with control over the Code of Practice is very welcome.

2. Trusteeship needs a revolution

Joe Saxton was caught up in the floods at the weekend near his home in Keswick. Here is his moving account of what it was like

Falling at the first hurdle? Joe Saxton points out the many challenges ahead of the Fundraising Preference Service, and poses some tough questions.

The Fundraising Review proposed the introduction of a Fundraising Preference Service (FPS). The detail on how this would work is very sketchy, but the basic idea is that a person could ask for all direct charity communications addressed to them to stop. This blog tries to explore how this would work and what the implications might be.

It’s now just over a month since the report of Stuart Etherington’s fundraising review was published. There has been a huge amount of comment since then and not least a range of voices about its implications for the sector.  So here are my thoughts now the dust is beginning to settle.