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In an effort to appease staff left in the dark, Amnesty International has pledged future transparency, coming clean on payments to its former secretary-general and her deputy. Meanwhile Sir Stuart Etherington has given his "hardest speech yet", calling on the government to double the Transition Fund, before it's too late. 

Paying off Khan was 'least-worst option' according to Amnesty's IEC chair
  

A full and frank explanation of the reasoning behind Amnesty International's pay-off packages to Irene Khan and Kate Gilmore has been given by the organisation's international executive committee chairman, Peter Pack, in which he describes the payment to Khan of over £533,000 as the "least-worst option".

NCVO chief calls for Transition Fund to be doubled to £200m
  

NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington has called on the government to double the size of the Transition Fund to prevent civil society organisations from going to the wall before statutory funders decide whether to continue contracts.

Lawn tennis club fails public benefit test
  

A Hertfordshire lawn tennis club that charges £339 for full annual membership has been told by the Charity Commission that it is not providing sufficient public benefit and must draw up a new plan for meeting this requirement. 

Andrew Watt named chief exec of AFP
  

Former Institute of Fundraising head of policy, Andrew Watt, has been named as the new president and chief executive of the organisation's American counterpart, the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Army veterans face a "bewildering array" of charities, says new report
  

Former armed forces personnel and commissioners have to navigate more than 2,100 charities, making it difficult to find and allocate help, says a new report from the Howard League for Penal Reform. 

Booktrust saves three literary programmes after government funding u-turn
  

Booktrust has secured government funding to save its three book-gifting programmes after a proposed 100 percent statutory funding cut sparked public outrage.  

The Charity Pay Ratio Survey: a balancing act
  

Gareth Jones looks at the results of the first Charity Pay Ratio Survey and considers the merits of imposing a pay ratio cap on high-earning staff.

Complete the Charity Banking Survey 2011
  

The annual Charity Finance Banking Survey 2011 is now open and we would be very grateful for your cooperation. Your contribution will help the survey maintain the reliability and robustness that it has become famous for. In return we will give you free access to the survey, which would otherwise cost £35.

Collective action: leadership at Action for Children
  

Action for Children's chair, CEO and FD share their thoughts with Andrew Hind about leadership and keeping the 'spreadsheet merchants' at bay.

Over-complicated governance structure
  

Pamela Chesters and Derek Twine respond to a charity's predicament of an over-complex governance structure.

"What a disgrace - shame on Irene Khan for extracting this payment, shame on the Charity Commission for not giving the job of commissioner to someone with a more genuine commitment to charitable causes, and shame on Amnesty for agreeing to such a contract."

"The aim of a foundation is to make a social difference. The quality of the service, back-up and evaluation are more important that bald administration costs. This research might have more meaning if those aspects had been investigated and evaluated as well."

"Much quicker and simpler to increase the bank levy by say £1bn per annum. They can afford it - hard-pressed citizens have already bailed them out and shouldn't be press-ganged into this as well."

They said it...