The joy of giving has been given a scientific basis by neurologists who have discovered that making a charitable donation heightened activity in the midbrains of 20 respondents (Daily Telegraph).

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has pointed out that the midbrain is also involved in producing the same warm glow that comes from having sex or food, and that something in the human brain has been shaped by evolution to allow a similar joy to be felt when something helpful to someone else is done. Continue reading →

The actual cash figure given to charity by the top 500 UK companies is £400 million, or 0.236% of their profits of £169 billion.

According to the Evening Standard city editor Chris Blackhurst this average is a “shamefully low” figure for companies that like to pontificate about their corporate social responsibility, although some are much more generous than others with firms like Sainsbury’s (7%), Innocent (10%), Richer Sounds (10%), RAB Capital (4.77%). Icap (2.82%), and Marshall Wace (2.40%) leading the field and giants like Goldman Sachs International (0.32%), Schroders (0.21%), Merril Lynch Europe (0.19%), Morgan Stanley International (0.17%) and 3i (0.04%) trailing well behind.

In the past 10 years total charitable income in the UK has barely shifted, in real terms, yet in the same period the wealth of the 100 richest people on the Sunday Times Rich List has tripled.

Those eating at chain restaurants and wanting to take into account ethical criteria will be interested in the league table of 26 restaurant chains published by Ethical Consumer magazine.

This rates their owners by environmental, animal, people and political issues and calculates an “ethiscore” out of 20 for each one. These scores are as follows – the higher the score the more ethical the restaurant brand is considered. Continue reading →

The charity Sense About Science has attacked celebrities such as fashion designer Stella McCartney and actress Gwyneth Paltrow for making statements that could mislead.

Ms Paltrow claimed that she was avoiding cancer by “eating biological foods”, something dieticians say is not possible. And Ms McCartney’s comments that “lots of skin products use the same petrochemicals as the anti-freeze in you car” and that 60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed into the system “have been challenged by pharmacologists who say that absorption rates are around one per cent and that the propylene glycol used in some skin products and antifreeze is also used as a medical lubricant and as a solvent in food colourings, fragrance, and anti-bacterial lotions.

More information about celebrity scientific gaffes can be found at www.senseaboutscience.org.uk

A total of 56 free seminars aimed at charities and associations are offered at this year’s Charities and Associations Exhibition, CHASE, held at the Business Design Centre, Islington, February 26/27.

There are nine sessions under the fundraising stream, including Fundraising for Unpopular Causes, Legacy Marketing, Wealth Intelligence and Risk Management and five sessions under the trustee stream including Recruiting the Right Trustees, Good Governance and Public Benefit. There are also sessions on Gift Aid, Choosing the Right Charity Challenge, Data Protection, Online Campaigning and legal issues.

www.conferencehouse.co.uk/chase

Charity trustees are being offered a low cost subscription to Governance magazine, provided applications are received by January 31.

If so then up to five individuals at different addresses can receive the six issues for the total annual subscription price of £145, or £29 per individual. A special two year subscription on the same basis is available at £246, and those charities wanting more than five individuals mailed can pay £12 per extra individual for a one year subscription or £20 for a two year. Continue reading →