Greetings! 

It's unlucky for some thirteen OCS strategic partners who will no longer be such, as of April; a district council praised by the Local Government Secretary last week receives a rather more scathing response from its local CVS; and Civil Society has something to celebrate in welcoming Andrew Hind as our new permanent editor of Charity Finance magazine. 

Thirteen OCS strategic partners now known to be off the list
  

Charity Trustee Networks, the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation and the British Youth Council have admitted that they too have received notification from the Office for Civil Society that they will not be continuing as strategic partners after 1 April.

Tendring CVS attacks Pickles' star council
  

A district council singled out for praise by Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles in his speech to the NCVO annual conference last week has in fact been treating the local voluntary sector like a "political football", according to its local CVS.

Andrew Hind becomes editor of Charity Finance magazine
  

After three months as guest-editor of Civil Society's flagship publication, Charity Finance magazine, former Charity Commission chief executive Andrew Hind has accepted the job on a permanent basis.

Govt must support donor research and fundraiser training, says Institute and FRSB
  

The government's Giving Green Paper focuses too much on technology as a cure-all and lacks detail on tax reform, research into giving and fundraiser training, according to separate paper consultation responses submitted by the Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Standards Board.

Only half of northern LEPs include voluntary sector representation, says report
  

Local enterprise partnerships are still failing to engage with voluntary organisations and social enterprises, according to research by IPPR North and Acevo.

International association for impact analysts launched
  

Social impact analysts around the world now have their own professional organisation designed to promote dialogue about how best to measure charities' impact and effectiveness.

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.

What, this little thing? Mobile phone fundraising gets serious
  

2011 is all about mobile. From the sepia-tinted screens of Nokia 3210s to the omnifunctionality of iPhones, the opportunities to engage supporters via these constant companions are significant. Celina Ribeiro looks at the market and the charities that are making inroads.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer discovers the power of pyramid fundraising in the social era
  

When two well-connected individuals decided to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, they turned to the power of the web and a new kind of campaign was born. Celina Ribeiro reports.

Unfair advantage? Match funding for arts and education
  

Government match funding schemes for the arts and higher education are all well and good, but do they give those causes an unfair advantage over others? Mark Astarita thinks so.

The augmentation redundancy conundrum
  

At a time when many organisations are looking at budgets and considering reducing staff numbers great care needs to be taken when those considered participate in the local government pension scheme, says David Davison.

"We've been banging on about this for ages. Long before the blessed Mary Queen of Shops in fact. But well done them for introducing not just efficient business practice and treating volunteers like professionals but... wait for it... human rights."

"I am more than in support for a portability aspect to CRB's, rather than the constant applications for differnet places which is costly and sometimes impractical timewise. However, I am sceptical and concerned about the employers potentially not receiving a copy as I think it gives opportunity for deception."

They said it...