COUNCILS GRAB £883 MILLION
Around £883 million of National Lottery money – supposed to go to the most needy charities as well as arts, sports and heritage projects – is being given to councils to…

THE ART OF TRUST AT THE TATE
The probity of trustees has come under the spotlight with revelations that the Tate Gallery acquired 73 works of art from 20 of its own trustees between 1955 and 2005…

SPONSOR SUES FOR MONEY BACK
A court decision on a £2 million lawsuit against a promoter of charity concerts for disadvantaged children is expected in the next few weeks. (Audience)….

TOUTS TARGET CHARITY EVENTS
Auction website eBay has been urged by a Government report on ticket touting to stop allowing touts to make millions out of charity events….

NEW ETHICAL FUNDS INDEX
A new searchable database of ethical funds has been launched by ethical investment analysts Eiris. (Third Sector)….

GIVE, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE
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….

UK PLC SHAMEFUL
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….

ARE YOU EATING ETHICALLY?
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….

DON’T BE MISLEAD
The charity Sense About Science has attacked celebrities such as fashion designer Stella McCartney and actress Gwyneth Paltrow for making statements that could….

FREE SEMINARS FOR CHARITIES
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….

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

POVERTY FOR MORE
The continuing fall in the real value of the basic state pension, which is not currently linked to earnings, and the lack of any help for pensioners in the budget is….

NOT TO BE SNORTED AT?
High flying sportsmen in their 20’s are too concerned with blowing money, or snorting it, to be much use as givers to charities….

MORE ON CHARITY SHOPS WASTE
The over-charging of charity shops by councils to collect and then dispose of their waste costs each shop around £400 per annum….

BAD PRESS FOR ONE CHARITY
Age Concern reportedly spent £16.4 million on Hayday, its membership organisation for the over 50’s, to recruit 44,000 members against a target of 796,000….

SUPPORTIVE PRESS FOR OTHERS
Meanwhile Private Eye also reported on the arguably bad decision of a judge who ruled the German car giant BMW could divert a 2,000 year old public bridleway to develop….

MORE FOR THE BIRDS
The Royal Society of the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has bought Wallasea Island, eight miles north of Southend, to develop as a 1,800 acre wetland sanctuary for wild….

SUPPORT ALL THE MR FAYEDS, OR A CHARITY
Those wanting to make donations to charity by buying charity Christmas cards should avoid purchasing them from Harrods, Boots, Marks and Spencer, Next or Cards….

GAMBLING DEGENERANCY INCREASES
The number of gambling addicts in the UK is rising sharply, according to charity support groups and others involved in monitoring the sector….

SOME EQUALITY HERE
The charity sector is one that discriminates least against women. This is a conclusion that might be drawn from research by the Chartered Management Institute and….

MODEL IMAGE FOR CHARITIES?
The wisdom of charities in their choice of celebrities for promoting their causes continues to be questioned in the press….

WATCH THOSE FAKES
A fake counsellor log-sheet in a 200,000 mailing from the NSPCC’s ChildLine has got the charity into trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)….

DOORSTEP COLLECTIONS UNDERMINED
Trust in charity doorstep collections of clothes is being undermined by bogus charity collectors and commercial collectors….

THE COUNCIL WASTE CON
Local authorities are ripping off charities by having their waste falsely classified as “commercial” and then charging them hundreds of millions of pounds to have it….

A GOOD EXAMPLE?
Nearly 60 per cent of TV viewers have claimed they now trust the BBC less than they used to, according to an opinion poll by The Guardian….

SLEEP WELL, PLANT A TREE
A charity has warned that tree-planting to offset carbon – a popular choice for those not wishing to change their ways and wanting to buy their way out – is like drinking water….

BBC LET DOWN CHARITIES AND CHILDREN
The BBC, as readers will know, has admitted deliberately deceiving viewers by featuring fake competition winners on charity fundraising programmes Children in…

NEW BIG CHARITY HITTER
The richest man in the City, Peter Cruddes of financial trading group CMC Markets is to donate £100 million of his £1 billion + fortune (10%) to charity. (Daily Telegraph)….

DON’T GET ME STARTED
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is to survey people’s views as to what social evils are most damaging to today’s society….

YOUNG CHALLENGE FOR THREE PEAKS
A 13 year old boy is set to climb the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, a total of 11,179 feet in three days. (Daily Telegraph)….

LIVE HUMBUG
Following the involvement of pop singer and cheer leader Madonna in the recent Live Earth concert her charity, The Ray of Light Foundation, has been criticised for its….

THE NEMESIS OF SHODDY MARKETING
The number of households that do not want to receive telemarketing calls from charities or anyone else has now reached 14.5 million. (Third Sector)….

OUR LEARNED FRIEND
Ex prime minister’s wife Cherie Blair’s name-dropping made toe-curling viewing during her BBC documentary The Real Cherie Blair, according to the Evening Standard….

WAKE UP CALL
Politicians are one of the least valued sectors of society, according to a survey undertaken by the Institute of Directors (IOD) amongst its members….

CRUELTY FOR FUN
The League Against Cruel Sports has won a conviction in a private prosecution against two members of the Quantock Staghounds for illegally hunting and killing deer with…

RESPECT?
The Charity Commission has reported that the campaign against Iraq sanctions run by MP George Galloway was funded from £188,000 of aid money diverted by Saddam….

CHARITY STATS
According to The Charity Commission British donors gave a total of £8.9 billion to 190,439 registered UK charities in 2005/6….

PROFITABLE CHARITY WORK, FOR SOME
Sir Terry Wogan was paid £10,340 by the BBC to host the Children in Need appeal last year, on top of his £800,000 a year for his work on radio 2. (Metro)….

CHARITY MANAGER JAILED
A six month jail sentence has been given to a manager of a charity after he stole £11,000 raised to buy a life support unit for premature babies at a local hospital….

JOBS THAT MATTER
Charity work has been named as one of the top ten second careers for those in their forties who want to quit the rat race for something more compassionate….

USA MONEY vs UK ENVIRONMENT
Plans for US tycoon Donald Trump’s luxury hotel and golf course in Aberdeenshire Northern Scotland are being opposed on environmental grounds by the Royal….

CARING FOR CARERS
A new law giving those caring for others the right to flexible working hours came in on 6 April….

ALL CHARITIES ETHICAL?
Further to our piece about charity Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust dumping shares in Reed Elsevier because of Reeds interests in the weapons market….

BIG BUCKS
A charity dinner raised £28 million in four hours, with tables of 10 guests selling for up to £100,000 and raffle tickets for £1000 each. (Daily Telegraph)….

NEW CENTRE FOR CHARITY
Charity the Wellcome Trust is opening a new £30 million centre opposite Euston Station, London on June 27. (Conference News)….

PROFITING FROM MAN’S INHUMANITY
In the wake of the massacre at Virginia Tech at least one charity will be relieved its money is not now being used to profit from the sale of guns in the USA….

WASTED DONATIONS?
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has been attacked by some of their donors for spending nearly £30,000 on a lavish mailshot….

SPEND SPEND SPEND
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) – a charity which helps people with debt problems – has expressed disappointment at the credit card arrangement….

NO PUSHY CHUGGERS
A consumer body to handle complaints from the public about aggressive or misleading charity fundraising has been formed….

FAKE CHARITY CHUGGERS CONVICTED
Two crooks who used fake charity ID and Shelter collection tins to con cash out of kind drinkers in West End pubs have been convicted for their dishonesty….