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BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2010
 This is a monthly bulletin going
out to around 10,000 clients, contacts, friends, friends of friend's so
forth, to keep them in touch with what’s going on in the world of charities.
Tip: if like me you have a low attention span or this came to you by mistake,
scroll down to the …And Finally.
Daryl Martin
CHARITIES BULLISH ABOUT NEXT YEAR:
A recent survey showed surprisingly that 6 out of 10
believe their income will rise next year, most of this coming from individual
giving. Almost half expected an increase in Gift Aid income (this despite an
11.4% drop in Gift Aid income on the same level of income). Whilst it's good
to see charities so upbeat I do hope their optimism is grounded in reality.
Charities will have to work harder to secure their funds in 2011; I doubt the
overall pot of giving will get bigger, so there will be winners and losers.
If you are going to be a winner you will need a solid plan and a strategy.
Oh, the survey also said that over 50% of donors are making their donations
restricted, up from 22% last year. That's an interesting conundrum to solve;
how to get the funds in for the general fund.
THE EQUALITY ACT 2010:
Well, I spent some time today preparing a summary of
this for my dear readers. Get it wrong when you are interviewing for staff,
or providing services or dealing with grievances and you could be in a lot of
trouble. My notes are worth reading; click
here to download a copy from our website. The act is to harmonise
previous laws but it does extend provisions in some key areas and there is
much more scope for claims to be made. I always said that the discrimination
laws are there to protect good employees from bad employers and vice versa.
Now I'm not so sure; there's plenty of scope for vexatious claims. Let's hope
for lots of common sense from the tribunals as this act comes into play.
SOCIAL NETWORKING:
Facebook and other sites offer a huge profile for
charities to raise their profile. There are positive and negative
implications and if this is something you want to consider, Tony our IT
director has prepared a paper on the subject. Access it here: Social
Netwoking the Pros & Cons or email him any questions or comments.
CHARITY COMMISSION FUNDING CUT:
The Charity Commission has suffered along with other
public services, with its budget being cut from £29m to £21m by 2014/5. The
Public Service Union says that the Commission would 'simply not be able to
function', which of course is absolute rubbish; destroying their credibility
at a stroke. Welcome to the real world. Our business operates in a tough
environment where no-one owes us a living. Every item of spending has to be
scrutinised, waste is minimised and wage rises have to be earned. If anyone
goes sick we know they're really ill, not just on a 'sickie'. I wonder how
high sickness absence is at the CC compared to the private sector. Any
organisation with 450 odd staff that manages to spend nearly half a million
in a year on recruitment doesn't get my sympathy. OK, it will be tough, but
no tears now, just get on with it, cut everything, especially meetings, most
of which are probably quite superfluous, (my blog
will tell you how). Staff numbers which peaked at 600 are expected to drop by
half. If you need help, I'm available, but it won't be pretty. (First out the
door would be whoever authorised the above mentioned half a million!)
HALF OF BOARD MEMBERS AFRAID TO
SPEAK OUT:
Interesting research coming out of Cranfield indicates a
lack of dialogue at board level, with 30% of boards permanently fighting,
whilst almost half of board members were unable to discuss sensitive issues.
I can vouch for the truth of that. I have seen situations where board members
with the courage to challenge a strong executive or other board member have
ended up damaging their own health. Andrew Kakabadse who prepared this
research on board best practise came up with some interesting findings. Also,
he supports the idea of the chair being remunerated. (Thanks to Civil Society
for this one.) If your board has problems with open debate or is
dysfunctional in any way, I might be able to help. My material on good
governance is there to give practical help to boards, and has some important
keys which will unlock difficult situations.
BAPTIST UNION PENSION FUND:
I mentioned the BU in my last bulletin. A concerned
reader wrote in to remind me that it might be sensible for Baptist Churches
going through major changes to discuss their plans with the Baptist
Ministers' Pension Scheme administrators to check there are no implications,
such as a dreaded Pension Cessation Event. Remembering the difficulties some
YMCAs have experienced in this area, it's something to be borne in mind if
you have staff in a pension scheme which has a deficit. (Thanks Karen for
this)
CHARITABLE INCORPORATED
ORGANISATIONS (CIOs):
I might just end up with egg on my face on this one. I
have been saying for a while that I don't believe it will ever see the light
of day. I still don't see the need for them; especially at a time when the CC
needs to cut back spending. Checking out the CC website tells me that they
still want to get the legislation passed for a launch early in 2011. Reading
between the lines there could be a phased implementation. And don't forget
what I've said all along: we will not be recommending them until we are
satisfied it ticks the boxes and is fit for purpose. Not that I'm cynical you
understand. Oh, also the OSCR in Scotland seems once again to be ahead of us.
DARYL'S BLOG:
Feeling rather smug; someone whose opinion I value told
Anita, 'great blog, full of wisdom, bit like, thought for the Day'. My latest
blogs cover: 'Pioneer or Settler' (which camp do you reside?), Trust
(something that much exercises me right now), 'Dealing with Stress' (a
helpful tip on handling trauma), and an encouragement to make a difference.
You'll have to dig hard to find the one on honour; I can't get it past the
censor for open publication. Click here to sign
up for these weekly pearls of wisdom.
PERSONAL LIABILITY OF BOARD
MEMBERS:
Last month I reminded readers of the dangers inherent in
remaining in an unincorporated status. The trustees of a Newcastle charity
are wishing they had heeded my warnings. They shut down 2 years ago when the
money ran out. The local employment tribunal has ruled that the 10 board
members must personally pay more than £5,000 to former staff made redundant.
There are 6 further claimants. Don't say you haven't been warned. An email
will get you our free information pack.
HEALTH & SAFETY:
Most sensible readers will have a healthy cynicism of
health and safety, particularly when they hear of children no longer being
allowed to play conkers or bob for apples, (really nasty if you get a stalk
in your eye). Meanwhile, don't be blind to the big picture. A church in
Florida that sent a party of children on a skiing holiday has been ordered to
pay almost $5 million to the family of a boy who was badly injured. Risk must
be considered, but it should be your servant not your master.
TRUSTEES' STATISTICS:
Tidying up on a lot of stats this month; here are some
more. It's estimated there are around 260,000 charities in England and Wales
with 850,000 trustee posts. (Some trustees are brave/silly enough to hold
more than 1 post.) Almost half of the charities have unfilled vacancies. The
average age of trustees is 57, with only 0.5% being under 25.
SERMONS SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 8
MINUTES:
This is a filler which has been hanging around since
March. The Vatican has recommended that sermons should be kept under 8
minutes, and clergy should work from an outline rather than a script to allow
for some eye contact. I have fixed a meeting with Steve our minister to
discuss this, but I suspect I'm whistling in the wind on this one. He had to
reduce his sermon from 60 to 40 minutes when we put an extra service on; any
shorter and he'll feel cheated (actually so would we). As they say, if you
haven't struck oil in 7 minutes, stop boring.
TRAINING:
I'm still planning training days in different parts of
the country. The last bulletin resulted in requests for me to visit specific
charities, which I am working on. If your charity has a slot in a conference
or an away day etc, for some helpful insights on pretty much any charity
related topics let me know.
HUMAN RESOURCES:
Professional HR services are becoming ever more
important, especially in the current climate. We are currently looking to
expand our HR partnerships around the country and are looking for HR
professionals who may be interested in working with us. Email Kay for an informal chat if you
are interested.
AND FINALLY...
When I research it's clear that the world doesn't
contain that many jokes, certainly not of the incredibly high standard set by
my gentle readers. Send me yours, but only if it's very, very good. This one
made me smile; also it's new:
As a diner ordered spaghetti bolognese, the wine waiter was
passing by and said, 'you'll need a Macon for that'. The diner said, 'you
think so?' The waiter said, 'I've seen you in here before; you're a messy
eater'.
Here's another from Hillary which
unlike others she sends is printable.
Little chap sitting on a stool at a bar with a glass of beer
in front of him. Biker walks in, big guy, tattoos everywhere. Stands beside
the little chap, seeing the glass of beer is untouched, picks it up and
drinks it all in one go. He looks at the chap sitting down and says with a
sneer, 'You wanna make something of it?'
The little man starts to cry. 'Oh don't cry, I can't stand men crying, you
want me to give you something to cry about?' The man replies, 'Well, it's all
gone wrong today; I lost my job, my wife left me for my best friend, my dog
bit me and I'm out of money. I came in here bought my last drink and dropped
a pill in it to end it all. I'm waiting for the poison to dissolve and you
come in and mess it all up. Anyway, enough of me, how's your day going?'
And to give you value for money, 3
Tommy Cooper specials:
I went to buy a watch and the man in the shop said.
'analogue?'. I said, 'no, just a watch'
I went next door to buy a kettle and the man said, 'Kenwood?' I said, 'well
where is he then?'
I phoned a local builder and said, 'can I have a skip outside my house?' He
said, 'I'm not stopping you'.
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