NEWS
RICHARD BLAUSTEN, editor of CHARITIES MANAGEMENT, writes: The news material below is just a selection of items to give readers a broad feel of what is going on in the charity world with an emphasis that is not necessarily seen in other charity publications. Thus we highlight corporate involvement with charities, particularly the fundraising efforts of staff, and we run management-related items that we feel deserve particular attention.
Do have a great read of the whole NEWS section.
Standstill on development of trustees annual reports
Accountancy firm Deloitte has produced its second set of survey results on charity trustees annual reports under the SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice) 2015 regime in other words how charities are meeting SORP requirements in their reporting in their annual reports. The review also looks at how charities communicate effectively in their reports. The first survey was in 2017.
As Deloitte points out, the purpose of preparing a trustees annual report and accounts is to discharge the trustees duty of public accountability and stewardship. The SORP sets out recommended accounting practice for this purpose. But the annual report also has an important communication role.
Says Deloitte: "It gives trustees the opportunity to stake their claim in an increasingly pressured world. A high quality report, providing insight into governance and a necessary link between the income generated and the objectives, strategies, activities and achievements that flow from it, is required."
Parallel to the fact that there have not been significant developments in reporting requirements since 2017, albeit there was the introduction of mandatory reporting on fundraising, charity accounts also have seemingly stood still. Whilst all charities surveyed responded to the new fundraising reporting requirements (in more or less detail), there has been little progress on existing requirements, and still only a third of the sample include key performance indicators (KPIs) and 14% still do not include the factors mitigating their risks.
A quarter of charities (as in 2017) were judged to have a strong correlation between the narrative in the front half and the activities reported financially in the back half of the accounts.
Although all charities reported on their activities for the year and how these met goals or targets in words, only 36% of charities gave information on KPIs or reported clearly against targets or goals and presented a clear result for scrutiny. "Partial information such as a target without a specific result or the years result and a comparative do not tell the whole story," says Deloitte. "It is not always clear whether the intervention or activity was successful or whether it more or less successful than anticipated or hoped."
Of those surveyed reporting KPIs, 46% reported unmet KPIs, which did demonstrate some balance of reporting required by the SORP.
However, charities have in fact addressed the requirements set out in the SORP and compliance was high but not perfect in a number of areas: 80% of charities gave risks and mitigating factors, 90% included key management pay policies, 96% included some comment on the appointment of trustees and 92% discussed the induction process.
82% reported on public benefit, including both a statement of compliance and some further information on activities and beneficiaries. But some statements were limited, one only 25 words. This was not quite enough to demonstrate how public benefit was integrated into the activities and at the core of its objectives.
Reports continue to get longer with one trustees' report and financial statements topping out at 110 pages. This is only two thirds of the average length of FTSE companies' corporate reporting which rose from 155 to 164 pages in 2019. Says Deloitte: "It is important that with length, clarity and focus remain." Use of graphs, graphics and visual stimuli both enhanced and expanded the reports in the 2019 charity sample.
Only 10% of charities surveyed had no financial information on their website (and the accounts of those charities were all considered not visually attractive). 88% had accounts available to download and 36% had annual reviews available to download. 70% of charities had either visually attractive accounts or an annual review. However, only 38% of charities used graphs and 30% case studies to bring their stories to life. No charity sampled outside the top 200 included an overview or highlights page.
Whilst there has been little change in the statutory financial reporting, additional requirements and options have been introduced. A charity governance code has been introduced following the 2017 report. The code is not a legal or regulatory requirement. It sets the principles and recommended practice for good governance and is deliberately aspirational. It takes an "apply or explain" approach.
However, many of the larger charities are reporting on these in their financial statements. Additional requirements have been introduced around gender pay gap reporting which is made via the charitys website as is the statement on modern slavery.
Only two charities (2017: one) in the sample had a paid trustee and fully disclosed this in both the trustees' report and the notes to the accounts. As the reporting requirements, laws and regulations increase the need to have high quality, dedicated volunteer trustees, this becomes more of a challenge.
Observes Deloitte: "As the corporate world focuses on women in the board room and how diversity can improve performance, we note that over 40% of trustee board members across our sample were women. As gender continues to be a topic for boardroom discussion as well as the levels of executive pay, we note about 40% of key management personnel were women in the charities surveyed where gender could be identified."
Insufficient compliance leads to new fundraising guidance
The Fundraising Regulator has found that the majority of charities are not including an adequate fundraising statement in their annual reports. So, to prepare charities for the reporting year ahead, the regulator has published new guidance to help charities fully comply with the fundraising reporting requirements in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016. Under the Act, charities are required to provide a statement on fundraising in their annual reports.
The requirements are designed to reinforce responsibility and accountability for fundraising and encourage charities to demonstrate their commitment to protecting donors and the public, including people in vulnerable circumstances, from poor fundraising practices.
The regulator's analysis was based on a sample of annual reports filed with the Charity Commission that represent a cross section of different size charities which spend more than £100,000 on fundraising.
Common issues that arose as part of the analysis included:
To ensure that charities of all sizes and fundraising budgets can meet the Act's requirements, the Fundraising Regulator's guidance includes information on what the statement should consist of, examples of a fully compliant report, expectations from the Charity Commission and what charities can expect from auditors and independent examiners.
Charity salaries and jobs growth continues
2020 has got off to a good start as far as charity jobs are concerned, according to data from job board CV-Library. There were 9.3% more charity jobs on offer than a year ago to the end of January, more than three times higher than the national average of 2.8%.Applications rose by a staggering 50% year-on-year, making it one of the top industries for application growth.Alongside this, the CV-Library data also reveals that salaries in the sector rose by 3.9% over the past 12 months, which could offer some explanation for the significant growth in applications.
Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV Library, says: "While applications have rocketed in the charity sector, its unlikely that this is just as result of the increase in pay. Rather, it could show a trend toward professionals searching for roles that make a difference to the world."
If one steps back a month to look at the figures ending December 2019, one can see the January figures continue a trend in the last quarter of the year. Then salaries in the charity sector bucked the national trend andgrew by 2.6% compared to a 7.8% drop nationally.
CV-Library Q4 2019 report reveals that, despite slow growth in other industries, the number of job applications in the charity sector rose by 61.7% during this period, the third highest growth rate in the country. Indeed, the industries which saw the largest growth in job applications year-on-year include:
As well as increasing salaries, the charity sector continued to advertise more new roles in the last quarter of 2019. In fact, the number of jobsin the sector grew by 32.5% year-on-year.
Charities do well in global email impact report
Charities are still performing above average when it comes to successfully making the connection by email, according to email marketing platform Campaign Monitors 2020 Global Email Marketing Benchmark report. This is despite being overtaken by government organisations as the top industry for highest open rates, these improving by 10.71% (from 19.79% in 2018 to 30.5% in 2019. Charities do very well with their average open rate, although not so well by other yardsticks, as the figures below show:
Beware of legacy fraud
Charities need to keep close to supporters, alert to potential legacies and inquisitive over administration processes to avoid being defrauded, according to Thursfields Solicitors. The warning comes after a court heard how a solicitor had plundered a wealthy womans' £1.6 million estate to buy a £580,000 home for himself after he was appointed executor of her estate.
The action by James Allie, who was also a councillor for Brent in London, defrauded the Canon Collins Educational and Legal Assistance Trust charity which had been left the fortune and then had to launch a legal battle to retrieve it. Katherine Ellis of Thursfields says: "This case shows the importance of charities having an open dialogue with supporters wherever possible regarding legacy giving.
"There is also a need for charities to utilise all practical and legitimate measures available to them to ensure they are informed when they have been left a gift in a will. And once they know they have a legacy, it is vital that charities keep a close eye on the administration process, regardless of who is overseeing this. They should ask appropriate questions and seek outside legal assistance if they have concerns regarding delays or the general handling of an estate in which they have an interest."
In the fraud case, Allie has now been ordered to hand over the house and any remaining money from the estate, and the police and the Solicitors Regulation Authority are investigating the case. The charity is also seeking £72,000 in legal costs from him.
Says Ellis: "While the majority of executors behave in an appropriate and lawful manner, this case highlights that there are instances when this is not always the case and, as in this case, the financial loss to those charities can be huge."
Charity responds to jump in grant applications
Applications from charities across England and Wales to the Freemasons' national grant-giving charity have nearly doubled over the last year, according to the figures in its latest Impact Report. The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) received 4,127 applications for grants in 2018/19, up from 2,597 in the previous year. Charities and individuals received £18 million of grants made by the MCF, a rise of a million pounds on 2018.
The £18 million figure is part of an estimated £45 million that Freemasonry as a whole has contributed to charity across England and Wales in 2018/19. Freemasons have also provided an estimated five million hours of voluntary work during the year.
Among many other projects, the MCF has forged major partnerships with Age UK and Hospice UK, backed a programme of support for PhD students to carry out research into degenerative diseases and given £165,000 in emergency grants to help relief efforts following natural disasters, including major floods in Bangladesh, the cyclone in India and the volcanic eruption in Guatemala.
Better planning with new financial system
Landmine clearance charity the HALO Trust, with its headquarters in the UK, has implemented a cloud based financial system from Adaptive Insights that will help planning across its global operations. The charity employs more than 8,700 people across 25 countries. It also helps destroy weapons, manage stockpiles and educates communities on how to stay safe while there is still the dangerous debris of war.
Previously the charity relied on the development of financial plans utilising complex spreadsheets, which were difficult to integrate into the global planning process and inefficient when producing multiple scenarios for effective option appraisal.
The finance team provides the guidance necessary to support the charity's rapid growth, which has doubled in just the last three years. So being able to provide globally distributed team members with an easier, faster, and standardised approach via a single platform enables the charitys budgets and forecasts to reflect current local conditions and currencies.
Says HALO Trust finance director Mick Darby: "Being able to holistically manage real-time changes is critical to our success. With a single, powerful system in the cloud, we've eliminated the headache of working with siloed spreadsheets and have significantly reduced the time taken to produce high quality financial models."
Online accessibility for families of disabled children
Children's charity Just4Children has added website accessibility software Recite Me to its website to help everyone use the website barrier-free and promote inclusion online. The charity provides support for families to help their children with disabilities.
The website supports people with a wide range of disabilities, learning difficulties and people who don't speak English as their first language, making it easier for everyone to access charity news, support and information easily, and donate hassle-free.
The Recite Me assistive toolbar offers a range of accessibility and language features including text to speech functionality, fully customisable styling features, and reading aids. It also has a translation tool with over 100 languages, including 35 text to speech voices, plus a range of other features.
Jeremy Marris, CEO of Just4Children, says: "We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience. We now have a range of accessibility options on our website to allow everyone to read and understand our content in a way that works best for them. The software was easy to implement and was customised to suit our branding."
Enabling moving from rent to ownership
Charity Bank and Big Issue Invest have partnered to lend charity Independent Cinema Office more than £1 million to help it purchase new London premises. ICO - which supports independent cinemas, film festivals and exhibitors of all forms across the UK - decided to purchase a new London property to secure its future, enable growth and give it means to diversify its income streams through subletting possibilities. The new building, at London Bridge, will act as its headquarters with 22 employees based there.
In total, ICO is borrowing £1,050,000 for the purchase, with £875,000 from Charity Bank and Big Issue Invest lending a further £175,000. Owning a property means the charity can continue in its mission to develop a diverse, inclusive and thriving film sector, providing training, programming and networking opportunities for independent cinemas and encouraging wider access to the industry.
This is happening as Charity Bank launches its Rent to Ownership campaign to highlight the reasons why moving from renting to property ownership can be beneficial for some charities and social enterprises.
Ed Siegel, chief executive of Charity Bank, says: "Renting can often feel like a drain on your resources. Its a huge outgoing expense that provides no real security or return. Securing a property can be an effective way for charities and social enterprises to reduce costs, attract more funding and invest in their futures. Repaying a property loan can often end up cheaper than paying rent, so many charities can save significant sums of money by purchasing, which could go towards developing their services and impact.
"We were really pleased to work with Big Issue Invest on this loan - our strategic partnership has now resulted in several co-funded projects."
Catharine Des Forges, founder and director of ICO, says: "The benefits of buying far outweighed any risks for us. If we stayed where we were, the charity had no assets and our costs would always increase each year. Owning a space has given us the flexibility to grow and adapt for the future."
With traditional lenders ICO was limited by the type of property it could purchase due to the small funds it had available for a deposit. Charity Bank recognised that ICO could afford to repay a larger loan than other lenders were willing to provide, introducing Big Issue Invest which provided an additional loan to enable the purchase to go ahead.
Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, says: "Property deposits are particularly difficult for many small to medium sized charities. The more charities and social enterprises can acquire and develop assets the more they are able to build sustainable asset strategies which support their core social mission."
Charity wins national social care award
Nexus social care service, based in Lewisham and working across South East London, has won a national award for its best retention and recruitment of staff. The charity was up against over 18,500 adult social care organisations and 75,000 individual employers across England in the Skills for Care Accolades awards now in their 17th year.
Nexus took the Secrets of Success Award that rewards social care organisations which invest in their workforce so they can offer high quality services. The charity had to demonstrate how it employs the right people with strong caring values, and how it develops its workforce's skills to best meet the needs of the people it supports.
Andrea Wiggins, chief executive of Nexus, was presented with the trophy by Strictly Come Dancing star Anton du Beke at the awards ceremony at Londons ILEC Conference Centre.
Nexus supports people with learning disabilities and autism to lead fulfilling lives, the idea being to empower them to shape and take control of their own lives. It provides supported living, community-based support and employment-focused day services.
Transport body commits to mental health
The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) has joined Mates in Mind's community of supporter organisations and has partnered with the charity to improve the mental health of the scheme's workforce and members.
The partnership has arisen as Mates in Mind, initially established to tackle the challenges of mental ill-health specifically within the construction sector, has expanded the support and services it offers within the supply chain, to incorporate transport and logistics companies, including fleet operators of all sizes.
FORS is a voluntary accreditation scheme dedicated to raising standards across the road transport industry, encompassing all aspects of safety, efficiency, and environmental protection. Now in its 12th year, FORS has 5,000 members nationwide and provides evolving best practice for transport operators of any size and vehicle make-up, including HGVs, vans, passenger-carrying vehicles, powered two-wheelers and passenger cars.
Martin Lockham, growth development manager at Mates in Mind, says: "Whilst we remain committed to our ambitious target of reaching 75% of the construction sector by 2025, we recognise that mental ill-health has become an unavoidable issue within transport and logistics, which we need to address now. As an HGV driver in the UK, you are 20% more likely to take your own life than the national average; this figure rises to 85% more likely as a warehouse operative.
"The seriousness of the situation is then only further reinforced when we look at the fact that within the sector 76% of professionals have reported employers are not doing enough to address the issue. People are at the heart of the transport and logistics industry and Mates in Mind is here to enable employers to take action and take care of their people.
"Our new partnership with FORS is a natural one, as the organisation's values reflect the belief that there is no health without mental health - and that in order to achieve exemplary levels of best practice in safety, efficiency and environmental protection, we must include addressing mental health."
Mental health support fund launched online
Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation has launched a dedicated fund in support of local mental health initiatives for children and young people through cloud platform The Good Exchange. The Bedfordshire Mental Health Fund for Young People will run for one year with the dual aim of distributing grants between £1,000 and £5,000 to local charitable organisations, and growing the fund through collaboration with funders, local businesses and individuals.
According to analysis by the University of Bedfordshire (commissioned by the foundation), there are an estimated 660 boys and 360 girls aged 5-10 years and 815 boys and 550 girls between the ages of 11-15 with a mental health problem in Bedford Borough. In addition, it has been estimated that one in 10 young people in Luton are likely to have a diagnosable mental health condition.
Organisations from Bedford and Central Bedfordshire involved in delivering mental health education, promotion and development, including therapy and counselling sessions, are encouraged to submit their applications for funding via the foundation's Funder Page on The Good Exchange platform.
Dipak Mistry, grants manager at Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, says: "We hope to be able to support a range of different initiatives, but we really need other grant-giving organisations and individuals throughout the county to join with us to support this hugely worthwhile cause. All local groups who'd benefit from financial support - covering the costs of providing treatments and therapy sessions to general day-to-day overheads and equipment costs should apply.
"We've been very impressed by the platform's single online application form, which significantly streamlines the grant application process for all concerned."
Most charitable Premier League footballers
According to a report by Online Casinos, the top 10 Premier League footballers in terms of their "charity influence" are, in order, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, David James, Teddy Sheringham, Sylvain Distin, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Kevin Davies, Aaron Hughes and Michael Carrick. Players were scored on their charitable contributions, as well as any coaching work, and whether or not they had a specific foundation set up in their name to help a good cause.
Says Online Casinos: "Many players dont come from privileged backgrounds, and having made a life for themselves financially, are happy to give back to the community. Wayne Rooney scores top place for his outstanding charity work throughout his career."
Lottery award helped by online survey
Tackle Prostate Cancer charity has been awarded funding by the National Lottery for the project Tackling Prostate Cancer – peer-to-peer support for men with prostate cancer. The grant is for just under £238,000 over three years.
Tackle Prostate Cancer is a patient-led charity which addresses the issues people face when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer and helps people to cope with their diagnosis and treatment. As a national federation, Tackle has 90 support groups across the country, representing some 15,000 members. Many of the groups contributed to an online survey last year, the answers to which provided much of the background for the lottery application and helped towards its success.
The main aims for the project are to increase the number of patient-led cancer support groups, particularly in areas where there is currently a lack of provision; to support and encourage existing groups and increase membership by at least 10%; and to ensure that the charity is reaching out to all members of the community whatever their background
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