Foundations, Giving, Philanthropy, Research, Trends

Foundations essential to creating civil society

New results showing that grant-making by the UK’s Top 300 foundations reached a record £3.3 billion in 2016/7 – despite the unpredictable economic environment – offer some reassurance to civil society. In a fourth continuous year of positive growth, grants grew by almost 11%. The value of foundation grants goes well beyond monetary worth. Foundations are an integral multi-faceted part […]

Charity / Charities, Fundraising, Giving, Trends

Catch 22 in public fundraising

Reactions to the death of Stephen Hawking reveal a lot about the psychology of giving. Within hours of the news, the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association website collapsed under a wave of public donations – a remarkable demonstration that immediacy in perceptions of need is one of the most powerful triggers to give. We see its power in the ever-increasing […]

Donors, Giving, Trends, Video

Young Donors: Motivations of Millenials

Presentation from ‘A Day of Arts Philanthropy’, organised by Renee Steenbergen, University of Utrecht and Dutch foundation Geef om Cultuur, 2017 Links to Cathy Pharoah’s two reports on Millennial Donors in the city: London Millennials NETWORKING Towards A Better World London Millennials Working Towards A Better World From a talk given at Utrecht University in 2017.

Philanthropy, Research, Trends

Major charities hang on to slim margin of income growth

The Spotlight Top 100 Fundraisers report 2018 measures the annual financial results of the major charities against their own performance in the previous year. This gives a highly reliable indicator of change. It shows the major charities hanging onto to a slim margin of fundraising income growth in 2016/17, at 0.7%. (after inflation) This finding suggests the sector is on […]

Giving, Philanthropy, Trends

Slow UK economic growth – does this mean lower giving?

The OECD is predicting slow growth for the UK economy in 2018 and 2019. Short of a miracle, times will be hard and get harder for some. So will those with more wealth give more away?  On past experience, probably not. Philanthropic giving today is like a luxury good. People give more when their income increases. And it’s not only […]