With the support of charities, disabled people have gained legislative successes over the last two decades; but misinformed and problematic perception of disability persists. We reflect on campaigns shaking things up and challenging the way able-bodied people might think about disability in this week's blog.

It's not unusual for people to loathe politicians; it is remarkable, however, that this year's US presidential race has managed to cause reputational harm to the charity sector, and celebrity charitable foundations in particular. This week's blog asks - how many more celebrity charitable foundations do we need? Is it time for celebrities to resist the trend of starting their own foundations, and simply donate to trusted established charities instead?

This report looks at the key trends in how the public engage with politics and how they perceive charity engagement with the political process. It draws on nfpSynergy’s research with a range of audiences, including the general public, MPs and journalists.

The report includes the following sections:

2015 marked a sea change in the media’s coverage of charities. Over are the days when charities could feel confident that the occasional story about chief executive pay during the slow news summer cycle could be weathered and quickly forgotten by the public. Stories critical of charities reached an unprecedented level last summer and almost every week since then has brought new negative media coverage. In this blog we look at the ‘new normal’ of charity media coverage, and suggest three things that all charity media and communications teams must do in 2016.

Last Friday, communications professionals from a wide range of charities joined us for another successful media training day at Scope’s London HQ. From Mind and RSPCA to smaller charities such as Fresh Water Habitats and The Healing Foundation, our delegates were put through their paces by Chris and Tony from Inside Edge Media Training, who delivered a masterclass in how charities can work effectively with the media.

We would like to thank our clients and partners for inspiring us to keep researching the topical issues in the sector. As part of our Social Investment programme we regularly produce Free Reports and feed our finding back to the sector so any charity regardless its size or sector can find something useful. Here are the 12 popular reports this  year.

Joe Saxton looks at what the coming decade looks like for charities

It’s been a tough summer for charities in the media. From executive pay to fundraising practices, the third sector is experiencing a level of scrutiny they are unused to (and some would say unprepared for). In July, our research with the general public, the Charity Awareness Monitor (CAM), found that almost half (49%) of people recalled having seen media coverage about charity fundraising methods.

How to feel confident around journalists bombarding you with difficult questions? 

Anna Wates explores polling techniques, and why prediction can sometimes be a fool’s game