How Chuck Gave It All Away

We spoke yesterday about Ken Townsley, businessman and philanthropist who has dropped a fair chunk of his fortune on deserving causes in his home town of Blackpool. We've all heard stories of powerful figures bestowing their largesse on the needy, for reasons that run from common goodness to the need to appear generous while enjoying the tax benefits that charitable donations bring.

But up until very recently, the most generous donor of them all remained resolutely anonymous, choosing to let his money do the talking. Now, as The New York Times reports, Charles F. Feeney has finally come out of the shadows. The reason? His work is done. He's given away all but the tiniest fraction of a considerable fortune.

Charles' history reads like a slightly overheated airport blockbuster. A New Jersey boy, he served in the Air Force during WW2, before setting up a duty-free business to airports in 1960. That business would make him a billionaire. But Charles was never one for expensive living. As he put it, "you can only wear one pair of pants at a time." His tastes ran to burgers and a beer at his local pub, rather than fine dining in gilded restaurants.

And from the beginning, he knew what he wanted to do with his fortune. Consider: over the last forty years he has paid for over 1,000 buildings across five continents, including schools, hospitals and scientific research establishments. His network of charitable foundations has done an extraordinary amount of good, and given away an extraordinary amount of money. Charles F. Feeney is down to his last couple of million dollars, handing over a fortune–$8billion.

For Feeney, it was a no-brainer. That fortune, born from shrewd investments in scrappy little tech startups like Facebook, was there to do some good. His influence spreads far and wide. He advocated for legislation that would help to bring the Affordable Care Act into being, and secretly met with Northern Irish paramilitary groups, encouraging them to move towards peaceful means of discourse. His one key demand: that his name was kept quiet. He had no interest in the publicity, just the end game.

Now 85, Charles lives in a rented apartment in San Francisco with his wife. It's a quiet end to a remarkable life, and shows how philanthropy, when engaged in whole-heartedly, can make one hell of a difference.

How Ken Gave Back To His Home Town

We're all nervously looking up the line, worrying about the news that 2017 will deliver. Here at The Pier, we choose to view things positively. Therefore, we're entering our 11th year (we opened for business in December 2007–good grief!) with a little shot of happy news, to show that there is still good in the world.

Meet Ken Townsley. The 71 year old is a former airline baggage handler from Blackpool, who took the news of redundancy in the late sixties as an opportunity. With his payoff, he set up his own holiday business, Trident Travel. The company, based in his home town, went from strength to strength, eventually employing 700 people locally. He sold it to Thomas Cook, trousering over £80million into the bargain.

Good for Ken. You could be excused for thinking that he'd take the money, whizz off to Florida and live the high life. And you'd be right. But Ken was at heart a Blackpool lad, and he pledged to do right by the place.

So he's set up the Kentown Wizard Foundation, which is dropping large cheques onto good causes based in the area. Hospices and children's charities have benefitted with donations adding up to several hundred thousand pounds, given with very little warning. Fund boss Margaret Ingham sums up Kentown's freewheeling approach:

“Quite often they are very surprised to hear from us because they have not applied. We just ask if they want some money!”

Len Curtis of Donna's Dream House, a charity which offers holidays for children in need, confirms that it doesn't take much work to get onto Ken's radar:

“We got a letter saying we would be considered, but it didn’t have much information other than they wanted to come and talk to us. Then it came to a couple of meetings. It was only revealed on Wednesday the extent of the help they wanted to give.”

That help, in case you're wondering, is a complete refurbishment of the charity's premises, work that would have been completely out of the question before Ken's intervention.

You hear a lot about philanthropy and charitable donations from the rich, but Ken's local and slightly eccentric focus does our weary old ventricles a bit of good. We're happy to see a Blackpool lad giving back so solidly to his old community. More news like this in the New Year, please!

Time To Give Back On #GivingTuesday

We've finally got through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Both of these 'holidays' are unadulterated celebrations of greed, as we're encouraged to spend, spend spend. All this on the run-up to Christmas, which is the most commercialised holiday of them all. The message seems clear. The holiday season is all about conspicuous consumption.

One small ray of hope is the beacon of Giving Tuesday. It's a chance for you to ease your guilt at the excesses of the weekend just gone, and those to come, by offering up something that can't easily be bought or sold... your precious time.

The idea is simple. Pick a cause. Offer to volunteer for a set time. A few hours can make a real difference. There's no time limit, or cut-off date. Donate what time you can, and volunteer when you like. Just show up, and find how simple and fulfilling giving back can be.

Last year, last year people from 12 countries came together to donate over 3,500 hours to important causes including refugee empowerment, education and freedom of expression. Let's see if we can improve on that this year. Let's face it, 2016 has been a tough one for all of us. It's little gestures like this that can help us find our way back to the light.

If you'd like to join in, look up #GivingTuesday on social media, or head to bitly.com/GivingHours to pledge directly.

The Big Knitathon

With Halloween behind us, I think we can really feel the weather deepening into autumn. There's a properly frosty chill in the air. All of a sudden, the warm clothes are starting to move to the front of the wardrobe.

It's a great time of year to get knitting, if you have the skill–or even if you feel now it's time to learn. If you need a new pair of gloves or a nice scarf, or know someone that could do with them, then the inspiration is right there outside your window.

The Big Issue are hoping to tap into some of that creative energy this November, as they launch The Big Knitathon. They hope to raise funds from crafty folk to help out their vendors, who need to keep warm as the temperature drops.

Over the next month, you can set up events like knit-ins, or simply form a knitting circle to sell or raffle off goods. The Big Issue have a pack to help you get going, including knitting patterns, a collection box and even balloons!

They're also teaming up with Hobbycraft, who will be opening up their stores across the country on November 12th for a huge event day. It's going to be a big one!

If you're not a knitter, there's no need to feel left out. The Big Issue are happy to let crochet, cross-stitch and even paper-crafters in on the fun. If you have the yen to create and fancy helping out a really good cause this November, then this is the one for you. Louise and friends, who contributed last year, had this to say on the Big Issue Blog about their experiences:

"We found every free minute was taken up with knitting and the more we did it the more our passion for knitting was re-ignited. It was brilliant how much our nearest and dearest embraced our knitted goods and we were able to witness first hand the joy and warmth that handmade goods can give to others. We hope the money raised will go a little way to bring warmth to others."

For more information on the Big Knitathon, and to register for the Hobbycraft event on the 12th, get over to the Big Issue website. Needles at the ready, folks. Let's warm things up this November!

This Halloween, Do More With Your Pumpkins!

I'm going a little off-piste today, but there's an environmental message to deliver, so I hope you can bear with me just this once.

We're coming up on Halloween! For spooky-minded folk like myself, and indeed for millions of other people that break out the witch outfits and cobwebs once a year, it's a real fun time. But won't somebody please think about the pumpkins?

Sure, pumpkin-carving is a big part of Halloween-time. It's important to get your jack-o-lanterns out there. But it's not so much fun when you realise just how much needless waste is generated from all that knife action every year.

The problem is that people do their carving and then just throw away the flesh! Here's a dose of Halloween horror for you: 18,000 tons of edible pumpkin is simply thrown in the bin every October. It's a real shame. Pumpkin is delicious in soups, roasted, as mash, or in any number of delicious recipes. It's nutritious, cheap and incredibly versatile.

That's why our pals at Hubbub have set up Pumpkin Rescue. Started in 2014, it's an attempt to let people know that there's so much that they can do with all that tasty orange goodness. They're running guides so you can set up your own Rescue event, from a carve-and-eat party to a giant pumpkin festival!

Here at The Pier we fully support any initiative that gets us eating more of this cheap, easy-to-grow and versatile vegetable. Great pumpkin recipes are only a click away on the internet, so there's really no excuse. This Halloween weekend, get some pumpkin on the table!

For more ideas, check out Hubbub's Pumpkin Rescue page.

Charity Begins At Home.

We Brits like to believe that we're charitable souls. Look at the sponsored events we give to so generously, or the way we're happy to dress up in silly costumes for a day to raise money for Comic Relief. But where do we stand amidst the rest of the world when it comes to generosity?

The new World Giving Index has just been released, and it makes for interesting reading. The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has gathered data from pollsters Gallup to open a window into the world of charitable giving. And the end result shows that Britain needs to up its game a little.

The metrics are based on three fundamental strands: donations, volunteering, and helping strangers. In one of those regards, we're doing well–seventh overall. But for acts of charity that require more than just popping a quid into a collection box, we're lagging behind countries like Turkmenistan and Myanmar.

Figures released by Gallup show that we're giving slightly less to charities, in fact, while figures for volunteering and what's called 'informal' volunteering (helping someone that isn't a relative without direct guidance from a charity) are stable or slightly up. Which is encouraging, but not a cause for major celebration.

As it turns out, our high standing in charitable donations makes the UK the most generous nation in Europe. However, we're part of a downward trend in charity action across the West. Meanwhile, Africa is the continent to watch, with a big rise in giving sparked by disaster relief. Nepal, Libya and Iraq all feature strongly in CAF's good books.

Should we be worried that we're becoming less likely to donate or volunteer? Not necessarily. Experts are careful to look at the figures as showing a stable rather than flatlining situation. We should hope that continues or improves. With a steep drop in UK government grants and subsidies, the sector is increasingly reliant on individual donations to be able to keep doing their good work.

The last word goes to CAF's director, John Low. He sums up why it's so important that we keep on giving :

“Unconditional gifts of time and money are a life-changing force for good in the world. As people become more prosperous and economies grow stronger, we have an opportunity to build an ever stronger culture of giving right across the world.”

The Post-Charity Landscape

After a, let's say challenging, year for the Third Sector, there are some radical rethinks going on about the whole nature of charities in the 21st century. No-one doubts that they have a big role to play. The big question is how they position and sell themselves in the Britain of the future. Or even, how many of them there should be. 

At think-tank NPC's conference in London last week, head of the British Red Cross Mike Adamson had some tough words for anyone who believes that it can be business as usual for the Third Sector. He even questioned the use of the word 'charity':

"I think the word charity is very unhelpful, actually. I think we have a problem with terminology, because the problem is that when the Daily Mail attacks it uses the word charity, but the future is about values-led organisations, both small and large."

Take note of the phrase 'values-led organisations', because it'll start to pop up a lot over the next year or so. Mike's right, of course. People view the idea of 'a charity' dimly, while at the same time they're more than happy to fund-raise or volunteer for a cause. Just look at the success of JustGiving. The end result remains the same, but the terminology changes. Although to me, the term 'value-led organisation' is clunky in the extreme.

Mike also questions whether there is a need for so many charitable organisations in the current environment. He says:

"There are far too many of us charities, in my view, but we do need to create movements and make a difference through getting organised, and sometimes you do need organisations to do that."

He also urged the way to do this was to:

 "broaden alliances and collaboration to achieve as much impact as we possibly can".

Now, that's a tricky one. The obvious inference to take from that would be that the head of one of the country's biggest charities is looking to make a landgrab on causes that are smaller and less able to cope with bumps in revenue. Callous, or simply realistic?

David Robinson, of Community Links is even more blunt about how the charitable sector needs to reinvent itself.

"Is there a role for charities in the future? No, I don’t think so – not specifically.
"I think there is a role for values-led organisations, and I think we have to rethink how we divide up the sectors. I think our old ideas of statutory organisations, voluntary organisations and businesses are redundant. We need to think much more creatively about forms of organisation that are values-led."

See, there's that phrase again. It's hard not to see the wisdom in all of this, though. The business of raising cash for good causes is becoming ever more cut-throat and media-savvy. Understanding and responding to that is a task that will test any, ahem, values-led organisation over the next few years. The Victorian ideal of charity is changing with every passing year. Let's hope the sector can mutate and survive, for all our sakes.

The Future Of Charities in Brexitland

We looked earlier in the year about the likely impact of Brexit on some of The View's key areas of interest. The general mood was bleak but the one main conclusion was: it's too early to say.

For the most part, that's still the case. The trigger-pull of Article 50 is unlikely to be invoked before next spring, which is when the real work starts. But for charities, a new report gives a clearer idea of the role they are to play in this uncertain new Britain.

The Charities Aid Foundation has spoken to politicians from all hues of the political spectrum and a broad swathe of the public to get a better idea of the general mood and how the Third Sector could fit into that. The report that's been generated from all that work, A Stronger Britain: How can Charities build post-Brexit Britain? is a fascinating and surprisingly hopeful read.

There are two main points to take from this new work. Firstly, that Brexit has sparked a new sense of activism and, as a byproduct, folks feel much more inclined to volunteer. In fact, studies show that nine million people are more likely to give up some time for a cause than before the June 23rd vote. They feel the need to channel their sense of anger and hopelessness into something more positive.

The sense of division in the nation at the moment is almost palpable. Families have turned against each other in the aftermath of the vote, and communities are split in twain. But charities, with their real connection to these communities, are in a unique position to help and begin healing the rifts. Again, the study shows that people view the Third Sector much more positively in this regard than in any other way of providing support to neighbourhoods in need.

John Low of the Charities Aid Foundation makes the point clearly:

"Charities are born of their communities and are often best placed to see community division first hand. And the public see a legitimate role for charities to speak up on behalf of those they support. This is why we are calling on local and central government to commission charities to monitor levels of community cohesion, and threat, and to use the proposed British bill of rights to protect the freedom of charities to speak on behalf of their beneficiaries."

In other words, there's a place for charities to become a central part of the mediation process, making sure that ordinary people are not left behind in the race to Brexit. The influence and expertise the Third Sector can bring should not be ignored or minimised. There is an enormously positive and important role for charities in post-Brexit Britain.

How Will You Spend Your #firstfiver?

Over the last couple of weeks, a strange new item has been appearing in the wallets and purses of the nation. The first major innovation to UK currency in decades has given us the plastic five pound note.

The benefits of moving from paper to plastic when it comes to a hard-used item like the fiver are pretty obvious. It's much more hard-wearing, so it can stay in circulation for longer. It's waterproof, which is a relief for those of us who don't check their pockets before putting their clothes in the wash. Most importantly, it's much more difficult to forge, requiring a highly complex set of processes to manufacture.

Our Aussie cousins have been using plastic currency for years now, so the technology has been successfully field-tested. Apart from rampant nostalgia, there's really no reason to see the disappearance of the paper fiver as anything but a great step forwards.

But what do you do with your first fiver? Surely this is an occasion that should be marked with a little celebration. Does it go towards a breakfast treat? Perhaps a glass of prosecco to toast the future?

Well, a lot of people are doing the right thing and donating their first fiver to charity. Social media, using the hashtag #firstfiver, has been all over it. Honestly, it seems like a lovely idea to me. A fiver is the perfect amount for a charity gift: not too little, not too much. It's a gesture, but one with positive benefits. So why not make that first plastic note do something worthwhile? I'm sure you all have a good cause that could benefit, but if not, just do a search on #firstfiver and you'll find plenty of ideas.

Personally, I haven't been given one yet. But once I do, I know what I'll be doing with it.

Give As You Live!

We talk a lot about 'conscious consumerism'–the idea that we can be better citizens to the planet simply by shopping in a more thoughtful and considered way. Which is a great idea in theory, but somehow loses something in practice. If it means a hit to our weekly budget, or that we have to go out of our way to find ethical or sustainable products, then we are much less likely to go down the conscious route.

But the boom in online shopping has forced something of a step-change, and has made the idea of conscious consumerism a lot more realistic for many of us. Much apart from the way that we can now connect with and buy from our favourite ethical retailers, there is a push towards charity giving as you shop.

Sites like QuickQuid have been a savvy shopper favourite for years. They work as a portal to the big online retailers, and by signing up you accrue points that mean you save money or snag rewards. By attracting more shoppers, the portals earn commission which allows them to make money and pass the savings on to you. Simple, eh?

Now there's Give As You Live. It works in exactly the same way as QuickQuid, but instead of rewards you earn money for your favourite charities. Sign up is simple and straightforward, and you're not limited to second-rate retailers. You can even do your weekly food shop. Worried that your charity might not be supported? There are currently 200,000 good causes to choose from, from well-known names like the Big issue Foundation all the way to local churches and social clubs. You can always reach out and persuade your charity to sign up, of course!

Give As You Live are clear about how much you'll earn for your cause: percentages depend on the charity and the retailer. Nothing's hidden, and there's a dedicated support team ready to help. They've raised over £7.5million since starting in 2010, and have won a stack of awards for the good work they've done for the sector. I honk on about finding clever new ways for charities to raise their fundraising game. This has to be one of the smartest.

Our View: Give As You Live seems like a no-brainer to us. An easy and transparent way to earn cash for charities while carrying on the retail adventures that you'd do online anyway. It costs you nothing but a couple of extra clicks. If you're already used to doing things the QuickQuid way, there's no learning curve at all. Check them out, and see if you can shunt some money towards your favourite good cause.

Start here.

A Toxic Legacy Of The 2012 Olympics For Charities.

An often-used term in relation to the Olympics is 'legacy'. That is, after the huge investment in new buildings, stadia and parks that are part of any host nation's commitment to the Games, what happens next? What are the ongoing benefits to the community of that spending?

We've all seen the horror stories: the Olympic Studium in Athens rotting away, unused and forgotten. But after the 2012 Games, universally hailed as a triumph, much noise was made about the way Queen Elizabeth Park and ongoing lottery funding would support the people of East London.

It seems, though, that things haven't quite worked out that way. Quite the opposite, in fact. The government diverted £425million from the Big Lottery Fund to help build the Olympic Park in Stratford–a sum it is yet to repay. This is despite a final underspend figure on the 2012 Olympics of nearly £500million.

Moreover, charities are furious that the Stadium has been handed over to West Ham Football Club for the next 99 years. Charity relief campaigners The Directory Of Social Change, which has called on the new Mayor Of London Sadiq Khan to intervene, points out that the stadium was built using public money and will now solely benefit the owners of West Ham. Hardly the definition of legacy we'd consider to be in the best interests of the people...

The need to pay back monies owed to the Lottery have become more urgent in the face of Brexit, as charitable causes are set to lose £225million in EU funding. The Third Sector, struggling more than ever as donations dry up, need the money they are rightly owed to keep themselves, and the lives of the people they support, above water.

Ciaran Price of the Directory For Social Change puts the situation plainly:

“While many charities are seeing demand for their services rising at a speed never before experienced, and while they are finding it more and more difficult to get the financial support they need to meet this new level of demand, the government has been sitting on this money, continuously trying to kick it further into the long grass, hoping we’ll somehow forget about it.”

Our View: this is simply unsporting behaviour by the government, who seem to view Big Lottery Fund money as free cash that they can dip into as and when they need. This sets a dangerous precedence, and should be rightly pushed back against. It's bad enough the money was taken in the first place, but as it transpires it was never needed, it should be immediately returned to the people who can make best use of it.

Bike-Back

Here at The Pier we're big fans of Bite-Back, the marine conservation charity that's serious about sharks. They've been instrumental in cutting the number of UK restaurants serving the controversial shark's fin soup, and do brilliant work to enlighten and inform us about one of the sea world's most misunderstood creatures.

Bite-Back head Graham Buckingham is a man on a mission, and he'll never face a challenge sitting down. Until now. Actually, it's probably better if I let him explain...

I’ve never asked for sponsorship before because I've never done a marathon, 10K or even a park run. And for good reason. I like sitting down.

So imagine my excitement at the prospect of completing a marathon-like challenge while sitting down?

The concept alone prompted me to sign up to the Prudential Ride London event in July and cycle 100 miles in one ...err ... sitting.

However, it turns out that the 100 mile course covers much of the 2012 Olympic route and will take around eight hours to complete. That’s eight whole hours pedalling at an average speed of 13mph. On a tiny saddle. Ouch.

Chances are that I won't be as keen on sitting down by the end.

He's a braver man than I am. The Prudential Ride London event takes places on July 31st, so there's plenty of time to drop him a few quid of sponsorship money. Your cash will go to help Bite-Back continue their work, and take shark off the menu for good.

At the time of writing, Graham's just at the halfway point to his £1000 target. Why not help him hit the finish line in style?

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=cycle4sharks&faId=728807&isTeam=false


 

Charities Need To Go Mobile

Charities are seeing massive drops in their donated revenue over the past few years. There are all sorts of factors in play that could explain it, from austerity to a general sense of mistrust over the sector as a whole.

But this isn't the whole story. We are a charitable nation. Just look at the huge amounts we give every year to funds like Comic Relief, or how generously we respond to disaster relief appeals. Or the explosion in fundraising sites like JustGiving. We're happy to give to a worthy cause. What's changing, more often than not, is in the way we choose to donate.

Let's look again at Comic Relief and disaster relief funds like DEC. The one thing they have in common is how easy they make it for people to donate. When it becomes as simple as dropping a text to give a fiver to your favourite cause, the excuses not to put your hand in your pocket start to disappear.

Using PayPal or phone apps has another advantage: they erase the barrier between your wallet or purse and the purchase. Consider: when you have to dig about for loose change or pull out your cash roll, you have the opportunity to think about what you're doing. Every second spent on fetching money is a moment when you could think 'actually, no, I don't want to do that.' This is not what fundraisers want to happen. Why do you think so many TV ads end with the words 'do it now'? Don't think, just give.

These are common retail lessons that many charities seem unable, or unwilling to learn. But it seems foolish when it could make the difference between sink or swim for them. It seems crazy, when so many of us live on our phones, that charities are not taking advantage of new fundraising opportunities.

Paul De Gregario, head of mobile at Open Fundraising, an agency that works with some of the biggest charities out there, makes the point loud and clear:

We need to make the act of giving as frictionless as possible. The future of fundraising and technology is firmly embedded in our phones and how we use them.”

The story behind the charity, meanwhile, can be as important as the method by which we donate to them. The growth in vignettes that Comic Relief does so well, those mini-stories that focus on the people behind the appeals, bring the reason to donate home to people. Using YouTube and video apps to tug at the heartstrings, with a clickable link to a donation site at the right moment, is a powerful way to get the public donating. None of it is tricky to do. All it needs is a board of trustees willing to take a punt on new methods.

And this is just the start. Gamification of charitable donation could be the next big thing. The news this week has been full of stories about the newest Pokemon game, which gets people out on the streets to catch their favourite beasties using Augmented Reality. Imagine a situation where you could do the same with a charity game, winning prizes that drop micro-donations to a chosen charity. It's proven that gamers are more than happy to spend real money on virtual wares. Why shouldn't a tiny percentage of that cash go towards good causes?

Our View: It's an exciting time to be working on new methods of charity giving. A little imagination and the willingness to make the process a fun one could level, or even reverse the plunge in donation levels.

Forget The Euros: Here's The Homeless World Cup!

For the next five days, Princes Square in Glasgow is home to a remarkable and inspiring event. This week, the Homeless World Cup has come to Scotland, as over 500 players from across the globe unite using the universal language: football.

Homelessness is a dreadful situation that affects millions of people across the globe. Its effects are more far-reaching and debilitating than you might think. It's not just about shelter. It's about the stability and sense of identity that comes from having your own space. It's about knowing that, whatever else happens, there's a place where you can feel safe.

Without that security, homelessness can force people into isolation, which affects their ability to share, communicate their thoughts, and work with others. It's a dreadful downward spiral, which is shockingly easy to fall into.

So how can football help? Pretty simple, really. You see, the whole point to The Beautiful Game is that it's something you can't play by yourself. When a homeless person gets involved in football, they build relationships; they become teammates who learn to trust and share. They have a responsibility to attend training sessions and games, to be on time, and to be prepared to participate. They feel that they are part of something larger than themselves.

This brings on a sense of empowerment, and with that the strength to see that there's a way forward, and just maybe, a way out.

The Homeless World Cup has become a huge success since its foundation in 2011. With 73 National Partners involved in social welfare programs working in over 420 cities across the globe, the Homeless World Cup Foundation has become a real force for good.

The World Cup in Glasgow is bringing together teams from street football programmes all over the world. This July, homeless people who would normally be invisible are set to become heroes on the pitch, finding new conserves of inner strength, determination and the will to succeed. The games are fast-paced 15-minute matches, and although there are seperate men and women's team trophies, women can compete on male teams.

The Homeless World Cup is an amazing example of how something as simple and universally understood as a game of football can help to transform lives. Why not check out the games and become a supporter?

https://www.homelessworldcup.org/

 

Spread The Light With Harry Potter

There's been a lot of grim news around lately, so it's time to spread a little light. If you're a Harry Potter fan (I hear there are a few of you out there) this will be of interest.

Spread The Light is a meeting of minds and hearts, as twenty different Potter fan sites and YouTube channels are joining forces to raise funds for the Anne Rowling Clinic. This was set up by author JK Rowling in memory of her mother, who died at the tragically young age of 45 from multiple sclerosis.

Set up by Michaella Katz of Always JK Rowling and Pedro Martins of Potterish, the notion of Spread The Light is simple. The campaign invites fans to become an inspiration in the same way that JK was to them.

For many people, fandom is more than an appreciation of a book, film or series. It's a way of connecting with like minds, and building friendships that reach across generations and continents. Fandom is a powerful force and, when harnessed for good, can work miracles.

Michaella explains:

I don’t think I truly realised the extent to which the Harry Potter fandom had become my home until I began to work on Spread the Light. As I worked day in and day out creating it with dear friends from all around the world, it became clear that that this magical fandom held more than just words and movies. It also made me look at J.K. Rowling in a whole new way. Rowling and her books have given us the magic to help others and find a home together as Potterheads. From our hard working fundraising team to the wonderful people supporting our fundraiser, I can now say, without a doubt, magic exists and I am so honoured to be a part of it!

So far Spread The Light has raised money for Rowling's own charity, Lumos, which helps kids in orphanages. This summer, they're starting a fresh campaign for the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, based at Edinburgh University. The clinic researches all sorts of neurological diseases like MS, working towards a way to slow the progression of an unpredictable disorder that can cause everything from dizzy spells to blindness.

The new campaign, boosted by the renewed interest in Potter that comes from the new West End play Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, has a number of cool prizes on offer. Signed DVD box sets, photos and books are up for grabs in a prize draw. If you're a fan, this is a great way to spread a little light in a world where darkness seems to be gathering on the horizon.

 

For more information, hop on a broomstick and head over to the Spread The Light website: http://spreadthelight.site/

Broken Rainbow

It looks like 2016 has its Kid's Company moment. LGBT domestic abuse charity Broken Rainbow went into administration on June 3rd. Running a helpline which was the only one of its kind in the country, the small charity worked using a handful of staff and volunteers. Nonetheless it punched well above its weight, earning endorsements from major figures like Sir Ian McKellen, and received hundreds of thousands of pounds in grants from public funds.

But, as BuzzFeed News reveals, Broken Rainbow was frequently down to coppers in the bank account, and often dropped into the red. The charity owed thousands in back taxes, struggling to cover basic expenses like salaries.

Despite this, CEO Jo Harvey Barringer lived the life of a high-flying executive, travelling first-class to Edinburgh from the charity's London offices, and claiming the fares back on expenses. This on top of a salary that, although part-paid by another charitable foundation, still totalled thousands of pounds a month. Many charges seemed to have little to do with the running costs of Broken Rainbow: everything from razors to birthday cards was claimed back. And grants from major beneficiaries like Comic Relief were spent within days–sometimes within 24 hours of landing in the charity's account.

Accusations fly from ex-employees of Broken Rainbow of a culture of bullying and intimidation, which at one point led to Harvey Berringer's suspension. But, according to them, the blame lies as squarely with the trustees of the charity as the divisive head. A damning indictment from one employee:

"the trustees didn’t really understand what they were doing”.

An inability to control spending led to an almost laughable situation where Broken Rainbow were operating out of serviced offices at costs running up to £2,500 per month and merrily throwing cash on catered lunches and meals out while being unable to pay tax bills. Donations that were supposed to be spent on the core aim–keeping the helpline afloat–were diverted into train fares and expensive gifts. When, as one employee claims, a pot of pennies from school kids was used to help pay for yet another trip to Edinburgh, the writing was on the wall for Broken Rainbow. The charity was running on fumes. Soon, it stalled completely.

The comparisons with Kid's Company are undeniably persuasive. A strong and charismatic CEO, a weak board, no sense of financial oversight. And of course, government money thrown into the pot with no questions asked on how it was being spent. This is a terrible example of good cash thrown after bad. In an environment where charities are trusted less and less, the last thing the sector needs is another organisation crashing in the same way, and leaving the people that need it so desperately in the lurch, as Kid's Company. Broken Rainbow's helpline is being folded into another LGBT organisation, but serious questions need to be asked about how one of the UK's most unique charities managed to fall apart so needlessly.

 

Brexit And Charities

In the second of this week's post-Brexit pieces, we look at how UK charities are faced with an even more uncertain future.

The last couple of years have been, shall we say, complicated for the Third Sector. Deep drops in donations, a difficult relationship with government and a couple of high-profile scandals have left charities exposed and struggling. In Brexitland, things are unlikely to improve.

Financially, the Sector is likely to take a big hit. The steep fall in both UK markets and the value of the pound have a couple of harsh effects. Firstly, many charities that do work abroad buy a lot of foreign currency to be able to purchase supplies and pay support staff on the ground. That has suddenly become more expensive.

Meanwhile, grant funding from charitable foundations to worthy causes will also drop off. The tanking UK market means that the investment assets that these foundations rely on to do business are suddenly worth a lot less than they were this time last week. £5billion less, in fact. The political uncertainty in the country at the moment is not one in which the markets feel comfortable doing business. If things continue as they are, charities that depend on grants over the next financial year could find themselves looking at a lot of red lines in the account book.

And this is before we mention the uncomfortable question of funding from the EU itself. A potential £200million shortfall from EU programs is likely to vanish, with no enthusiasm from the UK government to replace it. When the minister in charge of the sector, Rob Wilson, calls grant funding for charities "unsustainable", you know you're in trouble.

That relationship between charities and government is uncertain to improve in this new environment. David Cameron's Big Society seems a long time ago now, and there's likely to be a hardening in attitude from a more right-wing administration (which seems a given, given the front-runner for new Prime Minister). Charities, as ever expected to do more with less and forced to pick up the shortfall from collapsing and underfunded public services, will find themselves caught between a rockier rock and a harder place.

The more difficult question to quantify (one which David Ainsworth teases out in this piece for Civil Society) is how charities face a public that suddenly seem to view refugees, the disabled and the underprivileged with suspicion or downright dislike. The Third Sector has always been one that works on an inclusive view of the world. We are all brothers and sisters, and we have a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. Does the UK still share those views? Right now, it's hard to see it. Perhaps the job of the Third Sector is about to shift, and its job will become one where it has to persuade the British public to step away from a blinkered, xenophobic view of the world outside its shrinking borders.

 

It's National Bike Week!

As the producer of a cycling documentary, and one of the millions who choose to use pedal power for their local journeys, I'm very happy to promote National Bike Week on The View today.

We're all agreed, I hope, that cycling is one of the healthiest ways to get around–totally sustainable, relatively carbon-free (short of using bikes to transport bikes to the bike shop, there's always going to be some manner of hit in that regard) and very good for you.

You may not realise, though, just how popular riding a bike has become in the UK. A new survey commissioned by Pier32 pals CyclingUK, the nation's biggest cycling charity, reveal that over 20% of respondents had used a bike in the last week. People are as likely to call cycling their top activity as football or going to the gym.

The theme for this year's event is 'Ride To Work'. This is an activity I can endorse wholeheartedly–although I have to catch a train to my day job in London, the trip to the station is undertaken on my trusty, battered Ridgeback. It's as quick as the bus, and parking is free. I've been heartened by the increase in cycling infrastructure in my home town of Reading–from a posh new secure cycle park at the station to an award-winning bike and pedestrian bridge over the Thames at Caversham.

For an increasing number of commuters in the capital, a bike is the obvious choice. And with the rise of proper, segregated bike lanes on some of the major routes, there's a big spike in riders choosing to ditch their cars and ride to work. Indeed, some figures suggest that bikes could outnumber cars at peak times in as little as five years.

The fact that cycling isn't just healthy and cheap but a useful activity shouldn't be ignored. Cycling UK Chief Executive Paul Tuohy said of the survey:

“To see that cycling is as popular as playing football is a real sign of the rise and rise of cycling in the UK. Of course you can’t ‘football to work’ – but what is striking from these figures is that while so many people are riding bikes for fun and for exercise, many people have not yet added cycling into their commuting plans. That is where Bike Week comes in. Cycling can really easily become a part of your working week. From buddy rides to bike breakfasts, Bike Week brings together a host of simple ideas to help make cycle commuting an accessible and attractive proposition.

“Nearly half of all working people in the UK live within five miles of their employment, but only 800,000 cycle in for their commute on a daily basis. We want to swell that number by half-a-million during Bike Week – and encourage them to keep cycling after that.”

 

Athlete and Olympic silver medal winner Colin Jackson has been beating the drum for Bike Week, making the point that it's remarkably easy to bring a cycle into your daily life. He says:

 

“Cycling is such a great way to build in exercise to our busy lives – if you can cycle to and from work then there’s less need to find time to head out to the gym or go for a run.

“With the chance to ride through quieter streets, alongside canals and off-road, you can get a real sense of freedom and more progress in the saddle than you do stuck in a traffic jam or on a bus or train. Cycling can really easily become a part of your daily commute and Bike Week is the best opportunity to start!"

Our View: of course, there's a lot of inflammatory coverage in the press about a so-called "war" between cyclists and drivers. This is a load of old hooey, frankly. We're all just trying to get around. Cycling UK is using National Bike Week in a great way, making it clear that jumping on a bike is a fun and easy way to get around with real, proven health benefits. What else can we say? Get on your bike!

For more details on National Bike Week, head to CyclingUk's dedicated news and events page: http://www.cyclinguk.org/news/20160510-bike-week

 

Volunteer's Week

You hear a lot in the press and from that Facebook mate of yours (you know the one) about the way charities are stuffed full of overpaid, underworking execs. We could mention how in our opinion, the Third Sector could use a few more high-flying CEOs to push their working practices into the 21st century. But that's something for another column. Like this one. 
Instead, let's talk about the true mainstay of the charity sector: the volunteer. It's National Volunteer's Week from the 1st to the 12th of June and the purpose is clear. To celebrate the hard work done by the millions of people who chose to give up time, effort and creativity in the service of a greater purpose.
You may have noticed that the 12 days of the event equal more than a week. Well, you could also argue that the work that volunteers put into their chosen cause equals much more than the time they spend. Volunteer's Week has been running since 1984 and for many the event has already expanded beyond the arbitrary seven-day boundary.
This year, though, the 12th also coincides with The Patron's Lunch, a celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s lifetime of service to more than 600 charities and organisations to which she acts as a Patron, on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Seems crazy not to make the most of it, right?
The Volunteer's Week website is filling up with inspiring blogs from people across the country, recounting their stories of how they got involved and the projects in which they participate. From Abbie's tale of putting a little glam into a Cancer Research shop to Ashish's adventures in a schoolroom in the Himalayas, the lesson to learn is that volunteering doesn't have to be humdrum. For some, it's the first step to a new career, or even just a chance to meet people that you wouldn't normally.
This week is a great time to show our appreciation for the hard work and dedication of a big chunk of the British population, who give without expectation of reward. They help because they can.
And isn't that what charity is all about?

For more, visit the Volunteer's Week website:
http://volunteersweek.org

Tap-To-Donate: How Technology Could Revolutionise Charity Fundraising.

Moving on from yesterday's post a little, let's consider the way that we are moving slowly but steadily towards a cashless society. Contactless tech is being used ever more frequently for the sorts of purchases that would normally have us digging in our pockets for change–coffee, a pint of milk, the morning paper, even a pint of beer. As most retailers will now accept tap-and-pay for transactions up to thirty quid, it seems the weekly trip to the cash point is gradually slipping down the list of vital tasks.

But where does this leave charities? As I mentioned last time, most of us still donate to a good cause using cash. If there is a genuine trend to go out without any spare change, then will charities, already struggling with a 5% drop in donations since 2014, find it even harder to raise funds?

There are solutions, but they'll take a little bit of radical thinking. What if, for example, we could use our mobiles to give to charity? Apple Pay and Android Pay are already rolling out to major retailers and suppliers like the London Underground. In conjunction with a little smart coding and a free app, there are definite opportunities out there.

Take Busk, which is a mobile app designed for street entertainers–another group that's always been dependent on the largesse of strangers with their spare change. Busk allows people to find, connect and most importantly reward their favourite musicians directly from a friendly, intuitive interface. Part of The Busking Project, the notion is to network, allowing street entertainers to share tips, tricks and help each other out in times of trouble.

The problem with Busk, however laudable the aim, is that it doesn't allow for spontaneity. You can't easily squirt funds directly to any performer you happen to come across. What's needed is something a little simpler to apply on the street.

One elegant solution is being trialled by our pals at the Big Issue. Their sellers stand or fall by the amount of money they make on the streets every day. With cash on the way out, they need a new way to gather funds.

The Big Issue are trailing contactless payments to allow their sellers to take the cover price of the latest issue out of your account, and directly into theirs with a simple tap. Quick, easy, secure–and it means there's no danger of a mugging wiping out a day's profits.

This kind of innovation could be a great way for street fundraisers to operate, but why not take things further? An idea could be to take donations with a simple tap on a smart jacket, using the sort of tech that Levi's and Google are working on. You could even define different areas on the garment to take different amounts. Tap on the chest for a pound, the arm for a fiver. Make things a little bit cheeky, maybe, with a tenner for a tap on the bum?


There's a long way to go with this kind of innovation, but it's clear that charities need to think outside the (collection) box if they want to halt the slide in donations that we've seen recently. Making it easy and fun to give to a good cause is definitely an avenue worth exploring. Apps and RFID tech could make a real difference to the way we give to our favourite charities in the future.