Volunteering Victoria - Research Digest
Volunteering Victoria - Research Digest
Issue 8 28 June 2016
Research
Organisation / Item, source, keywords / SummaryEduserv in partnership with Charity Comms, (reported on Guardian Voluntary) / “Business Transformation and the Role of Heads of Digital – A Manifesto for Change”
3 February 2016
See the report Business Transformation and the Role of Heads of Digital / This research examines the measures charities are putting in place to bolster their digital capability, how well the different functional teams are supporting the digital agenda – and which teams are holding things back.
The research finds that only a few charities are making excellent headway on the digital agenda – 80% of digital specialists agree that technology requires a fundamental shift in the way charities work, yet only 34% believe their leaders understand this.
But using digital technology is not just a skills challenge for charities, it is now a governance issue. Organisational and digital strategy are merging into one. From communications to service delivery to fundraising, digital touches every area of your organisation. So how can boards prepare for this and adapt to agile ways of working while managing risk?
The research and the current practice in leading charities contained in the report suggest four clear messages for heads of digital and charities about what they need to do differently to make progress on this issue.
And see the interview between David Hobbs and Oliver Capel, digital campaign manager at Eduserv HERE http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/oliver-capel-qualifications-arent-always-important/careers/article/1391890
Volunteering Australia / 2016 State of Volunteering in Australia report
By Volunteering Australia, with PwC
April 2016
See the report HERE / This report analyses the findings from a national survey of 2,304 volunteers, volunteer-involving organisations and for the first time corporates.
NCVO / The Basics of Financial Management, by NCVO Know How
See HERE / This article provides a step-by-step guide to establishing sound financial management for not for profit organisations (there is a lot of other useful information about managing not-for-profits on the NCVO Know How website)
Volunteer Match / “How to Engage The Right Volunteers for Your Organisation”
By Tessa Srebro, 26 April, 2016
See article HERE / As its title indicates, this article provides suggestions on selecting the volunteers who will work best for an organisation.
Voluntary Sector Network – The Guardian / Cyber security for charities – top tips
Brian Shorten
4 February 2015
See HERE / Charities are the same as any other company in the UK when it comes to information security. Large or small they have information assets to protect, problems to deal with, and cyber-security threats to counter.
The Guardian – Voluntary Sector Network / “It’s time for charities to stop wasting money on social media”
Matt Collins
11 March 2016
See report HERE / Social media has changed how we access information, communicate with our friends and it has changed how charities raise awareness and raise funds. In fact, most charities now spend countless hours and money investing in their social media channels and it is time to stop.
A recent report found that entrepreneurs say social media is a waste of time, with no discernible impact on their sales, and Collins believes the same could be said for charities.
In theory, social media connects you to over a billion people who are active on Facebook or 320 million on Twitter. But in reality it’s far fewer than that.
Voluntary Sector Network – The Guardian / “What are the top three factors that attract funding?”
Anna Isaac
21 April 2016
See report HERE / Charity professionals were asked what factors they consider when deciding which organisations to support – two key factors are being able to demonstrate sustainability and the ability to make a difference. Funders are also influenced by other funders.
The Guardian / “Charity Boards Are Failing to Adapt to Digital Age – This Has to Change”
Zoe Amar
11 April 2016
Read the article HERE / The change in technology is no longer just a skills challenge for the voluntary sector, it is now a governance issue.
Pro Bono Australia / “Give Fundraising a Digital Kick in the Pants”
Richenda Vermeulen
24 May 2016
See article HERE / Vermeulen is the director of integrity, a digital consultancy that helps NFPs implement innovative solutions to improve fundraising and communications. This article suggests three ways to improve and maximise your email database to boost the ROI of your email marketing strategy:
1. Audience first, you second
2. Organise your database: structure, process, lists
3. Maximising on automation emails
Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) / “Protect Your Charity From Fraud – A Guide for Charities”
And a factsheet of the top 10 tips for fraud prevention
See the ACNC website HERE / The ACNC’s guide to protecting charities from fraud is essential reading
Pro Bono Australia / “Associations not ready for the future”, an article on the findings from the Australian Associations National Survey
Pro Bono News, 31 May 2016
See the article HERE / A total of 1,000 associations were contacted as part of the on-line Australian Associations National Survey (see HERE http://www.newsmaker.com.au/releaseFile/view/id/34057/Australian+Associations+Survey+Results.pdf), with emails sent to CEOs, board directors and department heads of large, medium and small member serving associations across 60 sectors. The survey is the first of its kind to benchmark the challenges and opportunities facing Australian associations. The survey also identified the challenges currently holding associations back from peak performance.
Findings from the Australian Associations National Survey revealed that government funding/policy and changing member needs ranked as the two biggest future threats facing member based associations across 60 diverse industry and professional sectors.This was followed closely by increasing competition, with nearly all associations affected by one of the three.
The worst four traits of association performance were future focus, managing change, innovation and commercial growth – with 80 per cent of associations ranking themselves as poor or mediocre on commercial growth.
National Council of Volunteer Organisations (NCVO) / UK Civil Society Almanac 2016 – Motivations and Barriers to Volunteering
Published 11 April 2016
See the Almanac HERE / The Almanac provides recent on the reasons people give for volunteering – among those who had formally volunteered at least once in the last 12 months, the most frequent reasons given for volunteering were to improve things/help people (60%) and that somebody has to do it.
People stop volunteering because of changing circumstances and practical reasons
§ By far the most commonly cited reason for respondents to stop volunteering was lack of time due to changing home/work circumstances (48%).
§ The least frequently mentioned were issues relating to volunteer management, including not feeling that their efforts were always appreciated, over-bureaucracy of volunteering, bad organisation of the group/club/organisation and not getting asked to do the things they’d like to do.
NVCO and Inspiring Impact / Measuring up tool – to assess your organisation’s impact
Access the tool HERE / Inspiring impact is managed and delivered by seven UK voluntary and charitable organisations. Measuring Up! is a straightforward, step-by-step self-assessment tool that allows you to review and improve your organisation’s impact practice – that is, the way you plan, evidence, communicate and learn from the difference that your work makes.
Measuring Up! has been designed specifically for charitable organisations and social enterprises, whatever their size, sector or budget. This means that Measuring Up! can be used by organisations large and small, newly-founded or well-established, and by people who are new to, or experienced in, thinking about their impact.
Philanthropy New Zealand / “The contribution of Non-Profit institutions in New Zealand”
Statistics New Zealand
See HERE
Published 14 June 2016 / This publication provides an overview of the activities of non-profit institutions in New Zealand, including:
· Non-profit institutions contributed $6 billion (2.7 percent of the total) to New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the year ended March 2013, Statistics New Zealand said today.
· When the value from the labour of volunteers ($3.5 billion) is included, non-profit institutions contributed $9.4 billion (4.4 percent) to total GDP.
· In 2004, the non-profit sector (including the value of volunteering), had contributed $7 billion (4.9 percent) to New Zealand’s GDP.
· The total number of non-profit institutions was 114,110 in 2013, up from 97,000 in 2004.
· The culture and recreation group had the largest number of institutions in 2013, including 17,990 in sport (up from 14,910 in 2004). Social services, development and housing, and religion were other significant activity groups.
Giving USA - The Giving Institute / The Annual Report on Philanthropy in the USA for the year 2015
By Giving USA Foundation and The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Released 14 June 2016
The 2016 Annual Report is available HERE ,at a cost of US$119.95.
Giving USA 2015 Report Highlights, which provides an overview of key 2014 data, is available free HERE / The Annual Report provides current statistical information on the US philanthropic sector.
The Highlights publication provides an overview of key data from the Giving USA 2015 annual report, including:
· Total giving estimates for 2014
· Pie charts showing giving by Sources and Uses
· Changes in giving by source
· Graphs showing total giving
· Total giving as a percentage of GDP over the prior 10 years
· Summary of key factors that affected philanthropy in 2014
The Foundation for Social Improvement (UK) / Collaboration: more than the sum of the parts
Pauline Broomhead, Simone Walters, Olivia Lam
June 2016
See the report HERE / The authors of this report conclude that not enough small charities are committing sufficient resource to the development of significant collaborations when the benefits of doing so could prove vital to the continued successful delivery of services and improved impact on beneficiaries.
This may be due to limited resources, passionate but overworked teams or the reluctance of Trustees, who are themselves working in an ever increasingly challenging environment, to explore the possibilities and take opportunities that may carry a financial risk.
“The reality is that if we fail to collaborate we are at risk of losing sight of the end game a more effective and sustainable Small Charity Sector equipped with not only the solutions but also the resources to implement change for the most vulnerable in our society.”
The report considers five types of collaboration – networking; strategic alliances; formal partnerships; joint ventures; and mergers.
The Guardian / “Small charities miss out on donations because public unaware of them”
This article by David Brindle on 13 June 2016 (see HERE) references research produced by TSB to coincide with the UK Small Charities Week –
Small but vital – Local charities matter
June 2016
See the report HERE / Small and local charities are a critical part of any thriving community. This study, commissioned by TSB,
reveals the huge challenges local charities face
to secure the resources necessary to stay open and
serve the communities to which they belong.
TSB questioned 301 charities and 1000 members of the public and found they face three serious challenges: the awareness vacuum; competition for funding from bigger charities; and a skills gap and insufficient resources.
The Conversation / ‘Is signing an online petition really volunteering?’ by Tyrrell Golding (The Open University)
Read the article HERE. / Micro-volunteering has micro-benefits. This article argues that it’s better to get into volunteering for the long term.
The Conversation / ‘Ten things you should know about volunteering’s immeasurable value’ by Melanie Oppenheimer (Flinders University)
Read the article HERE. / Special article to recognise National Volunteer Week. Volunteering has 10 core features that should be considered to understand this integral part of society.
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