Jonathan Lewis offers some final words of wisdom before departing the Social Investment Business for a new NHS venture; possible job losses at Centrepoint; and CAF calls for major donors' investment in its new social investment fund.  

Charities need to merge more to attract finance, says Jonathan Lewis
 

Charities need to do more mergers, acquisitions and resource sharing to make themselves more commercially bankable to lenders, says Jonathan Lewis, outgoing chief executive of Social Investment Business, who is to head an NHS social enterprise spin-off in August.

Centrepoint consults on redundancies
 

Homelessness charity Centrepoint is consulting with staff on a possible 14 redundancies, with others to see their contracted hours increased to 37.5 a week.

New fund asks major donors to support social investment
 

CAF has launched a new social investment fund which it hopes will allow major donors to finance loans to charities.

Baroness proposes FTSE-style league table of best-value charities
 

The voluntary sector should be renamed the 'not-for-dividend' sector and the biggest charities should be ranked in an investors' league table according to the value they create, Tomorrow's People chief executive Baroness Stedman-Scott said at the Bank of England on Friday.

Foundations and charitable trusts chosen to invest in first social impact bonds for PR reasons
 

Foundations and charitable trusts were consciously chosen as the first investors in the UK's first social impact bond trial as it was easier in "public relations" terms for not-for-profits to take the "first stab", compared with pension funds, according to Sir Ronald Cohen founder of Social Finance.

Tomorrow's People offers to pilot new social impact bond
 

An independent analysis of the economic value delivered by welfare-to-work charity Tomorrow's People has estimated that for every pound spent by the charity, at least £2.40 worth of value is created for society.

Pro Bono Economics has received 50 requests for help from charities
 

Pro Bono Economics, the charity set up Martin Brookes to match volunteer economists with charities that want help to measure their outcomes, has worked with more than 25 charities since its inception three years ago and been approached by over 50.

National Film and Television School fined £17,500 for paralysed volunteer 

The charity National Film and Television School has been fined £17,500 and ordered to pay costs of £4,787 after a volunteer was left permanently paralysed after falling 2.25 metres from a mock staircase on set.

Showing social investment works
 

In August, Jonathan Lewis leaves social lender Social Investment Business to become chief executive of NHS spin-out Bromley Healthcare. Vibeka Mair interviews Lewis on his time with the UK's largest social investor.

Charity league tables are coming whether you like them or not
 

Acceptance is growing of the idea of comparisons between organisations in the sector, says Tania Mason.

Dying to meet you
 

Robert Ashton envisages a future where a network of comfortable assisted-suicide centres are run as social enterprises.