Can the charity sector become a sexy business
Can the charity sector become a sexy business
With the exception of this years’ impending Children in Need, the third sector, or charities to you and me, have long been associated as the ‘Ugly Betty’ of business; a frumpy image, no sex appeal and a conspicuous absence of prominent admirers and long-term partners. This is no longer the case as she has had a makeover, ditched her specs and flicked back her hair. The result is that corporate donors, billionaire philanthropists and political parties are now beating a path to her door. According to the Sunday Times Giving Index, £1.2Bn has been donated by the top 30 philanthropists this year alone.
With the recent speculation about a possible general election, the same old argument is being waged between public service investment and tax cuts. All parties now agree that the expansion of the third sector is vital to deliver effective public services. The future could be more to do with how the charities are funded. One way is to switch tax-payers’ money to charities ensuring that best value is achieved. Another is for individual and corporate donors to supply their expertise as well as their money to charities. A compelling reason is that this approach may just be the holy grail of being able to provide tax cuts from reduced government spending but without the pain of falling standards of public services. Donors would also benefit as they can demonstrate their corporate social responsibility credentials in a climate of increasing public scrutiny. Whatever the outcome, the only certainty is that charities must become more business-focused to take advantage of this new found attention. .
The Business School at BU is at the forefront of this research. Through a recent Knowledge Transfer Partnership, we helped to significantly improve the business performance of local charity Bournemouth Churches Housing Association which provides support for homeless and vulnerable members of society. BCHA are now on a much sounder business footing and well placed to win future funding bids. This amazing transformation has been achieved without losing their proud caring identity. The project has now been short-listed for the DTI’s UK national prize and is setting a precedent that other charities will follow.
Manville, G.
aa951f4a-a8dc-4579-88e4-28f06d97fe62
24 October 2007
Manville, G.
aa951f4a-a8dc-4579-88e4-28f06d97fe62
Manville, G.
(2007)
Can the charity sector become a sexy business.
Bournemouth Daily Echo, (24 October).
Abstract
With the exception of this years’ impending Children in Need, the third sector, or charities to you and me, have long been associated as the ‘Ugly Betty’ of business; a frumpy image, no sex appeal and a conspicuous absence of prominent admirers and long-term partners. This is no longer the case as she has had a makeover, ditched her specs and flicked back her hair. The result is that corporate donors, billionaire philanthropists and political parties are now beating a path to her door. According to the Sunday Times Giving Index, £1.2Bn has been donated by the top 30 philanthropists this year alone.
With the recent speculation about a possible general election, the same old argument is being waged between public service investment and tax cuts. All parties now agree that the expansion of the third sector is vital to deliver effective public services. The future could be more to do with how the charities are funded. One way is to switch tax-payers’ money to charities ensuring that best value is achieved. Another is for individual and corporate donors to supply their expertise as well as their money to charities. A compelling reason is that this approach may just be the holy grail of being able to provide tax cuts from reduced government spending but without the pain of falling standards of public services. Donors would also benefit as they can demonstrate their corporate social responsibility credentials in a climate of increasing public scrutiny. Whatever the outcome, the only certainty is that charities must become more business-focused to take advantage of this new found attention. .
The Business School at BU is at the forefront of this research. Through a recent Knowledge Transfer Partnership, we helped to significantly improve the business performance of local charity Bournemouth Churches Housing Association which provides support for homeless and vulnerable members of society. BCHA are now on a much sounder business footing and well placed to win future funding bids. This amazing transformation has been achieved without losing their proud caring identity. The project has now been short-listed for the DTI’s UK national prize and is setting a precedent that other charities will follow.
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Published date: 24 October 2007
Organisations:
Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
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Local EPrints ID: 343102
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/343102
PURE UUID: 48bba012-5e22-4716-8f84-370eeb80b0c9
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Date deposited: 02 Oct 2012 15:45
Last modified: 22 Jul 2022 18:13
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Author:
G. Manville
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