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The theme of the day is 'textiles' as the Salvation Army has been forced to address concerns over the charity's arrangement with its clothing collector, while complaints over bogus clothing collections triple. Meanwhile, the OCS has confirmed the end of the strategic partner programme in exchange for further transition funding, and London charities have won a battle against painful council funding cuts.   

FRSB refers Salvation Army clothing collection bank complaint to charity

 

The Fundraising Standards Board has asked the Salvation Army to deal with a public complaint about the charity's arrangement with its commercial clothing bank partner following national press coverage criticising the partnership for favouring the company.  

Office for Civil Society to end strategic partner programme in 2014

 

The Office for Civil Society will scrap the strategic partners programme and create a £9m transition fund lasting till 2014 for up to 15 existing strategic partners.

London charities win judicial review against £10m funding cut

 

London charities have won a judicial review challenge against London Council's decision to cut its London Boroughs Grant Scheme by 63.5 per cent.

Complaints about bogus clothing collections rise 200 per cent

 

Public complaints about charity clothing collections have risen by more than 200 per cent, according to unofficial figures from the Fundraising Standards Board.  

PayPal to pay running costs on Oxfam donations in February

 

Oxfam will have a month's running costs paid for by PayPal in an effort to alleviate donor qualms about how much of their donations go to overhead costs.  

Sector representatives take part in UK/India public health challenge

 

An employee from each of Groundwork UK, British Red Cross and Action for Children have been selected to take part in a joint UK/India healthcare challenge supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Common Purpose.

Student unions get own governance code

 

The National Union of Students has produced a Good Governance Code of Practice for its member unions to help them adjust to their new status as registered charities.

Permission to pay trustees must remain with Commission, says NCVO

 

The Charity Commission must retain its regulatory role with regards to granting charities permission to pay their trustees, the NCVO has said in its submission to the taskforce charged with cutting red tape in the sector.

Charity Technology Survey 2011 - win a £100 Amazon voucher

 

The Charity Technology Survey, which brings together our existing research under one roof, is your chance to input into the most comprehensive analysis of IT, accounting and CRM software in the charity sector, and win £100 in the process.  

PayPal pays Oxfam running costs: A double-edged sword?

 

PayPal's plan to supplement donations to Oxfam to ensure that 100 per cent of donors' money goes to core activity and not overhead costs could fortify, not break down, donor hesitations, says Celina Ribeiro.

Another day another dollar?

 

It's tempting to look to the United States for inspiration, but we're very different demographics, says Niki May Young.

Publish or be damned - transparency in the sector

 

With technology driving ever more leaks of sensitive information, charities should prepare to reveal all from the outset, says John Tate. 

"An unregulated free market in the finance sector brought the country to its knees. We do not need ill-fitting business models to do the same in the charity sector - we need a society built on strong foundations, not shifting tides and quicksand"

"I don't think we should ignore the reality that there are some people who literally can't afford the time unless they are paid for it. Do we really want to exclude these people from participating on our boards?"

"Having lived in that great bastion of private sector benevolence, aka the United States of America, I can only repeat many an American's opinion of Professor Booth's belief in private funded charity: Hogwash!"

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 (Source: UK Giving 2010 report and National Philanthropic Trust)