As one of the most tumultuous years in recent history draws to a close, we've been thinking about what charities should expect in 2017. What will Brexit, Trump, rising oil prices and various domestic issues mean for the sector? Discover our predictions in this week's blog.

The time has come again to reflect on the last 12 months and thank our clients and partners for inspiring us to keep researching topical issues in the sector with 12 free reports.

The parallels between Brexit and Trump are plain to see and are constantly being made, but what does this say about the divisions in our society? What can we learn, and can charities help to heal the divide?

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?

Westminster has become a crowded environment for charities, with numerous organisations campaigning and competing for MPs' time. Compounding this, our latest research reveals that just under 1/4 of Conservative MPs state that charities should not campaign in parliament. So how can charities best navigate this difficult landscape and get their voices heard by key decision makers?

When it comes to influencing government policy, UK-wide charities have tended to focus the majority of their resources on lobbying the powerful political institutions of Westminster.

However, with devolution continuing at breakneck speed across the country, charities that have started to build on their work in the devolved Assemblies and Parliament are already seeing results.

With the EU referendum just around the corner and polls showing a tightly-fought contest, both sides are arguing fiercely about what the future of the UK would look like outside of the EU.

One thing both campaigns can agree on, however, is that a vote to leave would spark a major upheaval in British politics – and charities campaigning in parliament would undoubtedly be affected by this.

So what sort of challenges would charities face in the event of a British withdrawal from the EU, and all of the political turmoil that could come with it?

During the last few decades there have been some fundamental changes in the rights of disabled people with legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) coming into force in 1995. More recently, the topic of support for disabled people has been brought to the forefront of the political agenda, resulting in the resignation of a senior government minister.

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:

The Government has recently announced a new clause that will be added to grant agreements, meaning that no proportion of a grant awarded to a charity can be used for lobbying Government and Parliament.