It’s time the sector stopped huffing and puffing and bit the bullet. The public has no easy way of knowing whether a charity is spending enough of its income on its mission, nor whether that money is doing a good job. 

Joe’s blog about TOIL has provoked much comment, not least in the nfpSynergy office. Mirroring the comments on our site, opinion is divided. And all of this happening while Joe is sunning himself in the Caribbean…

For me, the discussion about TOIL relates to broader questions facing charities about how to balance staff needs with responding to other stakeholders. Unlike profit-making organisations, charities have no 'simple bottom-line' to solve this.

It has become part of the charity vernacular. “’So and so’ is on TOIL (time off in lieu) today. They worked all weekend and so they’re taking Monday off.” For many charities, TOIL is as endemic a part of the working culture as equal opportunities and pay increments. Every employee really ought to be able to take some time off if they have worked hard above and beyond their normal hours. Who could argue with that?

Audience segmentation by attitude and lifestyle is just one of the ways that charities can make sure they get the right message across to the right audience. But what is the theory of segmentaiton? This presentation explores how charities can make sure they exract every ounce of value from their investment in research and marketing.