Greetings! 

Fundraising news tops the table today: Virgin has picked twin charities as official London Marathon recipients next year; Tesco has raised a record-breaking £7m for Clic Sargent, Volunteering England is to receive the lion's share of European Year of Volunteering funding, and Santander is inviting applications for its charity of the year partnership.
 

Cancer charities partner to become official beneficiaries of 2012 Virgin London Marathon
  

Breast Cancer Care and the Prostate Cancer Charity have been named as the official charities for the 2012 Virgin London Marathon, the first time two charities have been selected for the lucrative top spot.

Tesco charity of the year raises £7.2m
  

Tesco has raised £7.2m for Clic Sargent as part of its 2010 charity of the year partnership, smashing the partnership target by more than £2m.

CDFA receives £60m from £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund
  

The Community Development Finance Association has been awarded a £30m grant, and a £30m loan from two high-street banks, as part of the first funding round from the government's £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund scheme.

European Year of Volunteering partners sharing £580,000 announced
  

Volunteering England will lead the charge in the UK's efforts for the European Year of Volunteering after receiving £78,000 from a £580,000 pot provided by the Office for Civil Society and the European Commission to help encourage volunteering.

Public backlash against bankers prompts Bankers Benevolent Fund rebrand
  

The Bankers Benevolent Fund has changed its name to the Bank Workers' Charity in a bid to distance itself from the negative connotations associated with the word 'banker' and the outdated perceptions of the word 'benevolent'.

Santander seeking charity of the year partner
  

High street bank chain Santander is inviting national charities to apply to become its charity partner in 2012.

The challenges of collaboration
  

In straitened financial times, pressures grow to seek partnerships and collaborations with other organisations. But it's not always easy. James Sinclair Taylor warns that there are a number of sticky legal issues around collaboration between large and small organisations.

Removing the mist surrounding the cloud
  

Neil Cross highlights the key factors that organisations must consider before moving to a cloud computing model.

"The only thing falling short is the eyesight of those who cannot see that the 'Big Society' exists in many places already.  Support what is already happening and stop telling us that you are going to spring into action to create something completely new - you aren't!"

"I'd have gone for the 'The Peoples'Community Organising Front of Judea' Honestly, this is all too silly to get excited about."

"Let's all get real, it's a competitive market, and anyone can enter the fray. Justgiving etc are all good stuff but we are all having to compete rather than "tree-hug"!"