Savanta and the Beacon Collaborative carried out qualitative research with millennial wealth creators around England, Scotland and Wales who are already giving some money, but with the right motivating tools could give more now, or in the future. These are the voices of our #YoungGivers.

It’s something that just resonates with my heart.   _London

Just being able to help and raise funds, and know that your money’s going to a good cause and you’re making a difference to people’s lives, makes you feel better about life and less guilty when you’re enjoying your own life.  _{South West}

I feel as well that with small charities, the work they do tends to be a bit more targeted and it’s easier to follow up on your donation, to see exactly where it’s gone and what they are doing.  _London

The overall research showed that this generation are, at heart, generous and want to do more. They understand how lucky they are to be in their situation but sometimes the other, seemingly more immediate, pressures of life have to take priority and giving takes a back seat.   However, when challenged to think about giving they are engaged and thoughtful, wanting to know more and make plans that fit into their lifestyle and longer-term family plans.

I think having to think about why you do what you do or what you get from it was quite tricky, I think we all do it to get the satisfaction that you’ve done something good but probably don’t think of it that way unless asked to look deeply.   _North

So, what can be done to fit giving into the routine of busy lives, or to motivate these young wealth creators to do more?

In a world dominated by easy access information and short sound bites, charitable organisations can streamline their communications to be front and centre of a potential giver’s thoughts.

We found that charity is thought of as local and personal.  Some charitable activities, notably the arts and advocacy, are not really thought of as charitable when a young wealth creator is making a donation decision.   Sometimes it’s personal as they know someone who has been through a trauma or had a disease.  Sometimes there’s a “there but for the grace go I” empathy.  Charities not on the radar of givers need to do more to show that they are charitable and how they directly impact lives.

However, there is a sense of fatigue at the number of sponsored events that happen, especially in large workplaces and the feeling that then charity is done.  There is also a need to know where the donation will go and that it will be useful, therefore charities that appear wasteful are rejected.

The go-to charities have solid reputations and easy-to-understand messaging.  They produce images and stories that resonate on a personal level.  They show the outputs of their work in smiling faces and stories of named people.  They show the direct impact of a donation to a person or activity that the donor can visualise easily.    They provide tech enabled giving solutions that allow forgive-and-forget giving but that can be the start of regular giving over a long time period.

As yet these busy young people have not had time to fit giving decisions and planning into their lives.  They do think carefully about their environmental impact and the social justice in their surroundings, but it is not associated with “charity” but behaviour and is not part of considering a holistic lifestyle.  However, when their thoughts are provoked, they have the desire to contribute more, on their terms.

Successful interventions fit into their lifestyle and are relevant to professionals on a career path.

So how can charities engage better?

Our participants responded well to…

• Localised stories where people were humanised, with names and faces
• Clear objectives and the way that a donation or act creates change with suggested amounts and what that would achieve
• Tech enabled (text message, direct debit sign up) but not complex methods to give
• Suggested support beyond the financial – items that people really need that can be donated
• Something that they can be proud of even if they don’t speak about it

I’m grateful that I’m not in a position that I’ll need to use any of the charities that I donate to or any of the causes.  _North

When you’re under real pressure, you don’t think, ‘What I’m going to add to my really busy day is, that I need to do something for charity today.’ It’s usually when you find a gap in your schedule.   _{South East}

I think it would be good for potentially some charities to showcase and highlight ways that people could help them as well, rather than it potentially just being all money.  _Scotland

What can charities and their fundraisers do to engage?

• Help them understand the system – what fundraising is, why capacity building is necessary, how charity structure works
• Attributing funding to direct actions to direct impact on individuals
• Celebrate individual contributions
• Utilise skills and explain the value of them
• Make it part of a greater plan, for the donor and the charity
• Use language that is not NGO tech speak but ordinary every day terms that people understand
• Help make it part of everyday life – fit giving in with all the other activities

I’ve always wondered how people can help a charity through connections and expertise, but the amount of time, it’s almost like another job.   _Scotland

You’d feel a bit rewarded, at least you feel a little bit good.   _London

At the end of the year, I tend to make a bigger contribution from my own personal money. …..We tend to get a bonus at the end of the year and I really see that as money that I wouldn’t expect to get if I worked for anyone else, so I use a proportion of that, basically, to fund a few charities of my liking.   _{South West}

I had an example of researching a charity, and looked to see from the accounts what the director’s pay was like, and they weren’t all paying themselves a fortune…Looking to see that as much of the money as possible can go to the cause that you’re interested to support. I think it also gives you a feel of the ethos of the charity, you know, are they there for themselves?   _{South East}

What do they want to do and hear?

Views are formed by own experience, use that to harness people’s engagement, both personal and professional: people are much more sympathetic when they see something organically by going through life and have sympathy and anger for the root causes of the issues

They are happy to talk about it if they were part of a team that helped, repeating a story they have heard but less so if they are “just” donors.  So, give them stories that they can remember and tell, and give them pride in their contributions.

Bring together peer donors who don’t know each other – mini giving circles to talk together about doing more and guide the discussion

Be honest about failures as well as successes. If there’s too much hype it becomes unbelievable

Volunteering is seen as a much bigger deal, more serious and a bigger sacrifice than giving money – more thought goes into it. Make volunteering easy, match it to a financial value, match the person to the commitment, then make sure they have stories to tell about volunteering.   Make volunteering a qualification that can be used on a CV, something that can be using professional skills, harness skills that have a value to the charity.

For the long-term future:

Established giving is not aspirational for most people, it’s “almost like another job”.

• Help them to think of giving as an integral part of their financial planning
• Provide online tools to calculate what can be given when
• Make birthday and Christmas gifts more enticing to be done through charities or as donations on others’ behalf
• Encourage intergenerational conversations about giving and charity
• Show how much effect long term engagement/multiyear pledges can make to planning and future security

And I think it’s about having that discussion with a financial advisor to say ‘Maybe you can get a return on this, but this is done in a charitable way’, versus, ‘Why don’t you just donate this amount? And, actually, you can offset that against your tax, and this is how you would do it’. So, it’s just putting it in a bit more of a structured way.   _{South East}

The time is now.  These young wealth earners are intelligent and thoughtful, conscious of the issues that surround them but need to be engaged more to enable wider understanding of the interplay between social issues and behaviours and the impact that can be had when acting in a holistic way.  With targeted communications now there is the potential for these young wealth earners to be engaged major donors of the future.

I thought it was a real thought provoking session…..it’s made me want to look into giving and volunteering more than I do.   Southwest

I was going to say actually after this past hour or so I don’t think I am doing enough, I think I could give more.    Scotland

Top 10 needs of millennial donors

(…and how to meet them)

Download the guidance

Millennials are now becoming established in professional careers and beginning to earn more money. As they become wealthier, it is imperative that we expose them to charitable giving to help them embark on their philanthropic journey.

In April 2021, Beacon and Savanta published the #YoungGivers research to fill the gap in knowledge about their philanthropy. Funded by Arts Council England, the research sought to shed light on the giving habits and attitudes of wealthy young people from around the UK.

We learnt that much of what we assumed about their philanthropic activity is wrong. Instead of developing long-term strategies, they largely give in the moment; they see technology as a shortcut for ‘real’ interaction, not a replacement; they don’t use words like ‘impact’ in the same way that charities do.

We realised that charities could improve their interactions with young donors if they understood the needs of this demographic better. In this infographic, based on our insights from the #YoungGivers research, we explore the Top 10 things we learned about millennial donors and suggest how you can meet their needs.

 

How businesses can inspire millennial philanthropy

A ‘cheat sheet’ showing four actionable ways businesses can stimulate charitable giving from the next generation.

Download the guidance

Research published by Beacon Collaborative and Savanta in April 2021 filled a gap in knowledge about millennial philanthropy. The report revealed insights into the ways wealthy young people give and their attitudes towards philanthropy.

One revelation was that young people – who are still overwhelmingly in the money-making phase of their careers – feel anxious about giving big amounts of money to charity. However, they do show great enthusiasm for being engaged in philanthropy in ways which are convenient and are proportionate to their wealth level. Many participants told us they would value their employer making it easier for them to give.

Initiatives such a match-funding drives, payroll giving and strong business-charity relationships were celebrated by our young givers. Based on their feedback, we have collated a one-page ‘cheat-sheet’ for businesses, explaining four implementable steps they can take to increase millennial philanthropy.

Our research suggests that following these steps will lead to happier and more engaged young employees, who feel enabled and encouraged to embark on their philanthropic journey.

 

Meet the experts engaging young wealth holders in philanthropy.

A new generation of young wealth holders is becoming increasingly aware of the amazing role charitable giving can play in making change happen. In fact, Beacon research recently identified that the millennial age group had the highest median donation level of any demographic at the start of the UK’s first lockdown.

Despite this, most wealthy millennials are still at the start of their giving journey and many lack the experience and confidence to take their giving to the next step. With this in mind, new organisations are helping millennials to bridge the knowledge gap and develop a greater understanding of philanthropy.

We spoke to Yasmin Ahammad, Jade Brudenell and Kydd Boyle to learn about the giving barriers of young wealth holders and how these can be overcome.

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Yasmine Ahammad, Climate Advocacy and Philanthropy Manager, Impatience Earth

Impatience Earth offers philanthropy advice services pro-bono to wealthy individuals and foundations who are new to funding climate causes or looking to increase their giving to the climate sector. While not explicitly targeted at the younger generation of donors, their combination of education, advice and peer-to-peer support is particularly resonant for those looking to take their first steps into giving.

How do young wealth holders engage with the course?

Like donors of any age, we encourage younger clients to spend time building up their confidence and expertise around the climate crisis so they can make informed decisions on how to channel their funding in a way that feels meaningful and impactful to them. We help them learn about the climate emergency and how their money can lead to significant positive change through workshops, meetings with experts and introductions to co-funders. Part of our approach is to help donors explore how climate change compounds existing social inequalities, and young people seem to be particularly adept at understanding this.

We have also noticed that younger donors are excited to work in peer-to-peer learning networks and to share ideas. If we can encourage them to create lasting peer networks, we think this will lead to a sustained uptick in climate philanthropy.

Are there barriers to engaging young donors in climate philanthropy?

The most common barrier is that they are initially overwhelmed by the scale of the climate crisis. When young donors see the amount of work required to mitigate the effects of climate change, they often wonder if their donation will simply be a drop in the ocean.

This concern is usually overcome when we show them the inspiring real-world impacts that even a relatively small donation can have. Once they understand this, their despair turns to optimism and a ‘roll your sleeves up’ attitude. This is why it is so essential to demonstrate impact for people early-on in their giving journey; they need to know they are making a difference in order to continue giving.

What pointers would you give to young people looking to get involved in philanthropy?

You have the opportunity to play a catalysing role in making change happen. It’s far easier to start giving than you think and you don’t have to do it alone – there is plenty of help out there, including our pro-bono support. There is the opportunity to engage with peers of your age-group who are on the same journey. 

Also, there is a misconception that you need lots of money to make a big difference – this isn’t true. Even small, regular contributions can support incredible climate-saving initiatives, especially in the Global South. And it’s better to start now and learn along the way – the biggest risk is doing nothing at all.

^{Visit Impatience Earth – Yasmin Ahammad on Twitter}

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Jade Brudenell, founder, The Conservation Collective

The Conservation Collective is a network of funds around the world which are using philanthropic donations to help protect and preserve the natural environment. They exist to enable local communities to maximise their positive environmental impact.

How do you get young wealth holders engaged in conservation?

Many young donors have never given to the environment before. If you suggest getting involved in, for example, stopping deforestation, they often think “wow, that’s huge. That’s a job for the UN, not for me.” But if you say “have you noticed a lack of insect life in your local area?” they start to become intrigued and far more receptive.

It’s the visual, small-scale initiatives that make early-stage donors want to get involved, because they can envisage that their money will have an impact. A good example is something like a seabin, which goes into a port and collects rubbish from the surface of the water. Even though its impact is nominal and its use is typically more to do with raising awareness than true conservation net gain, it’s a fantastic way to begin conversations with new donors.

We see ourselves as a gateway drug, attracting donors with ‘quick-win, small-scale’ projects and guiding them down the road to more strategic and long-term programmes designed for systemic impact.

Are young donors more hesitant around giving money?

It depends on each giver’s personal situation. That said, the younger group is definitely an interesting one. One of our funds currently under development is looking at the possibility of setting up a young donor sub-group. This is because many young donors want to get involved in causes but don’t yet feel they can give much money.

The sub-group will look at other ways they can contribute while donating a more modest amount of money. A lot of the time, young people don’t realise that abilities they have developed at university – say accountancy or law – can also hold huge value for a network like ours. The idea is to get people involved at a level they feel comfortable with, and develop long-term, highly fruitful relationships which contribute considerably to conservation efforts.

_{Visit Conservation Collective – Conservation Collective on Twitter}

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Kydd Boyle, co-founder, Horizons 

Horizons is a global network of millennial investors looking to connect, share opportunities and have impact together. With most of the community coming from wealth-owning families, many in the network want to integrate positive social impact into their own investment and leadership style. They are keen to learn from experts and from each other, as they recognise that they have outsized potential to have a positive impact on society.

In your experience, are young donors focused on a specific issue?

There are a range of different interests between our members, but the common denominator is the desire use their wealth for good. Taking a meta-view, I would say mental health, decarbonisation and diversity are the most poignant themes for our community members. 

What works to engage young wealth holders in philanthropy?

We believe in encouraging people to understand their own values and the issues that are most important to them, and then empowering them to feel like they can be a part of the solution. Too often individuals are reactive when it comes to their philanthropy not proactive, this can lead to a sentimental rather than strategic decision-making process – which ultimately limits the scale of their giving. 

What is the biggest barrier to young people giving?

Few of our network members have the autonomy to give away meaningful sums from their own pockets – it is largely money from a family fund that they are distributing. Sometimes there are competing priorities between the older generations of the family and the young donors, so that can be tricky.

There are still many young and wealthy people who are not really doing anything philanthropic at the moment. That’s not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know the first step to take. In my mind this is a huge opportunity for the charity sector to build new and effective long-term engagement strategies for potential donors. Getting this right would bring infinite possibilities. 

What lessons should young wealth holders learn to get more involved in philanthropy?

Meeting a peer group is absolutely vital for both philanthropy and investing. If you go it alone, it can feel like you’re venturing out into the wilderness and it’s difficult to know who to trust. Becoming part of a community allows you to build relationships with people that have shared interests and circumstances. Try to lean on friendship to lean into philanthropy. This builds lasting foundations and an intent to do more – together.

A good example of this is Big Change, who we recently partnered with. Founded amidst the London riots, a group of six millennial philanthropists threw ideas at a white board for how they could genuinely help. They quickly concluded that education was the root cause of all the inequity they saw around them and began a shared mission to look at the problem differently. After false starts, pivots and lessons learned, today Big Change invests in nascent educational ideas and organisations that have the potential to change the sector. To me, this exemplifies the impact young donors can have when working together.

There is an oft-quoted proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. My biggest piece of advice for prospective young donors is to connect with like-minded individuals and hatch plans together.

_{Visit Horizons – Kydd Boyle on Twitter}

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These examples highlight that while young wealth owners may have a strong interest in social impact, they still need support and help to realise their potential. The future of philanthropy is in their hands and meeting their needs for knowledge, peer support and tangible impact is an investment in that future.

On April 22nd, Beacon is launching brand new research into the attitudes of wealthy millennials towards philanthropy. Find out more and join the launch event here.

Your philanthropic journey:

What we can learn from the father of modern philanthropy, Andrew Carnegie.

Written by Ben Morton Wright. More about the author at bottom.

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At the beginning of the year, Elon Musk made waves on Twitter when he tweeted, “Btw, critical feedback is always super appreciated, as well as ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems).” We often think of the donor journey from the perspective of fundraising but what about the philanthropic journey? How many potential philanthropists feel like Elon Musk, that it’s harder than it seems to donate money?

Your philanthropic journey: it might not be a journey of time and space, but it can be one of the most enjoyable journeys you take. Whether you are at the start of your journey or are further down the path, there are steps which can be taken to increase the enjoyment in giving. No matter how you measure your philanthropy, the ultimate measure should be that your philanthropic giving is the best thing that you have ever done. 

 

5 lessons we have learned about the importance of philanthropy 

There has never been a better or more important time to have this discussion. This is philanthropy’s moment – and it is a needed moment – the world events of the last year have been profound and what has become very evident is why philanthropy is important. 5 lessons we learned in the last year are:

1. 1. We are all interdependent in a way that we hadn’t appreciated before.
   2. We have learnt how important philanthropy is and will be in our response to national and global crises.
   3. We now have much higher levels of inequality between the wealthy and poor across the world.
   4. The largest intergenerational wealth transfer ever is just about to happen.
   5. Governments across the world simply will not be able to do it all – philanthropy will have a critical role.

 

What can we learn from history’s greatest philanthropist?

Andrew Carnegie was one of the most successful businessmen and most recognised philanthropists in history. “He may be the most influential philanthropist in American history. The scale of his giving is almost without peer: adjusted for inflation, his donations exceed those of virtually everyone else in the [US] nation’s history.” (Philanthropy Roundtable)

^{Photo Source: The Carnegie Corporation of New York}

As Carnegie put it, “It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place.” Having worked closely with philanthropists from around the world with net worths from a few million to several billion; I have observed that the best drivers for philanthropy come from within – it is not something you can rush and it takes time to get it right.

In Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth, he discusses what he sees as the increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor with the growth in industrialisation. He sees this gap as being a natural part of innovation and modernisation, however, he also believed that “surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.” Carnegie had the insight to see how philanthropy could help close the gap and lift-up the poor which would thus lift everyone up in society. This has similar parallels to the inequality we are seeing today, and philanthropy can have the same level of impact as in Carnegie’s time.

In my view, there are 3 critical drivers which maximise impact for the philanthropist:

1. 1. Be creative.
   2. Regard how you give as an investment.
   3. Giving should be the best thing you ever do.

Carnegie, who died well over 100 years ago, knew how to tap into the above internal drivers and even now we can see the impact his philanthropic contributions have made. Let’s look at these three drivers one-by-one:

 

1. Be creative with your giving strategies

Spend time to think creatively about where and how you would like to give. What personal experiences or values connect with certain areas of philanthropic need? When we look at Carnegie’s legacy, you can see his creativity in the development of libraries across America. 

“Carnegie is best known for the nearly 3,000 public libraries he helped build. As a young man in Allegheny City, Carnegie spent most of his evenings at the library of Col. James Anderson, a prosperous local businessman who gave working boys free access to his 1,500-volume library. It was clearly a formative experience, and one which [Carnegie] hoped might be of similar benefit to others.” (Philanthropy Roundtable)

 

2. Regard how you give as an investment

Philanthropy is an investment of your resources and, when done correctly, it has a positive emotional response. Consider who you want to give to and what you want to give. You then need to think about how you would like to give. You can deploy much of the same tools of investing to philanthropy in order to do it well.  If you were investing your money into a company, you might ask – 

• • Is this business sound? Is this the best organisation for my investment?
  • How can I deploy the money, so it is well spent?
  • How can I evaluate the success of my investment / gift?

When we look at Carnegie’s investment into public libraries, we see that he took the same approach as a business investment. “Starting in 1885, Carnegie began funding the construction of thousands of libraries… To ensure that communities were equally invested, he would only pay for buildings—and only after local authorities showed him credible plans for acquiring books and hiring staff.” (Philanthropy Roundtable)

You should feel good about who you give to and how your gift is used. This takes some time, research, and evaluation to figure out – just like a business investment would.

 

3. Giving should be the best thing you ever do

Your philanthropic journey should instil a sense of pride, the gifts you give should give you a sense of accomplishment and add to your happiness. Your giving strategy should not be out of a sense of guilt or because you feel pressured to give to a certain cause. In my experience, the best way to counter guilt-giving is to do a deep dive into your personal profound drivers.

Ask yourself – 

• • What am I about? 
  • What are my values? 
  • What am I passionate about?
  • What causes do I gravitate towards? Why?
  • How could I express myself philanthropically? 
    • Remember to think creatively, nothing is off limits.
  • How do I measure the impact of my giving?

This process is complex and it is at this stage where potential philanthropists may feel overwhelmed or too busy. Like Elon Musk, the frustration leads to thinking that it is harder than it seems to donate money well. This is where a philanthropy consultant can take the frustration and complexity out of developing your giving strategy. A philanthropy consultant can bring back the joy in giving to ensure that it is the best thing you ever do.

This is what made Carnegie the father of modern philanthropy, he knew the profound personal drivers behind his philanthropy, then used these to inform and develop his overarching giving strategy.  “Carnegie boldly articulated [in The Gospel of Wealth] his view of the rich as mere trustees of their wealth who should live unostentatiously, provide moderately for their families, and use their fortunes to promote the ‘general good.'” (The Carnegie Corporation of New York). Further, he believed that “just giving away money was not enough….The problem, as he saw it, was ‘indiscriminate charity’—providing help to people who were unwilling to help themselves. That sort of philanthropy only rewarded bad habits rather than encouraging good ones.” He preferred to support charities “that strengthened and refreshed individuals so they could become more independent and productive themselves.” (The Philanthropy Roundtable)

 

The key to successful philanthropy

We speak a lot about impact when it comes to philanthropy and charitable organisations. What is the impact of your gift? What is the impact of the organisation’s programmes and mission? But have you asked yourself the most important question – how good do you feel about your giving?

It should be the best thing that you have ever done. If you achieve that, you will very much enjoy both the philanthropic journey and the point of destination. That is the key to successful philanthropy.

 

“No man becomes rich without himself enriching others.” – Andrew Carnegie

 

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About the Author

Ben Morton Wright founded Global Philanthropic in 2002. He has supervised the establishment of Global Philanthropic operations in the UK, Australia, Hong Kong and Canada. As Group CEO, Mr Morton Wright has gained recognition as a major gift strategist, an expert in structuring international campaigns and a specialist on higher education and Asian philanthropy.

Currently, Mr Morton Wright advises a number of private individuals and philanthropists around the world to help them develop a meaningful philanthropic journey and strategy.

 

About Global Philanthropic

Global Philanthropic has convened some the world’s leading philanthropic organisations and academic institutions for Talking Philanthropy: Asia-Pacific – Supporting a Philanthropic Ecosystem on May 14th 2021. The theme for the forum will bring together leaders in philanthropy from the region and around the world to focus on the structural issues around philanthropy in Asia-Pacific. 

Talking Philanthropy will provide a macro perspective on the key issues that need to be addressed in the Asia-Pacific region to allow philanthropy to grow and flourish. We will discuss the wealth distribution and the dramatic growth of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs), the roles of development organisations, NGOs, government and policy, philanthropists, and the charity sector in nurturing the philanthropic ecosystem. 

Our event partners include the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Centre for Strategic Philanthropy at Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, together with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations Foundation, and the conservation charity, BirdLife International. BILLIONAIRE Magazine is the media partner.

At Global Philanthropic, we can facilitate a reflective discussion to connect areas of interest, value motivators, and creative ideas for your philanthropic giving. It is fascinating to see how this deeper dive into your personal motivators can drive some really creative ideas of giving and drive future giving with passion.

How might your profound personal drivers inform and develop your philanthropic journey? We have tools to help you define these principles and have experience working with philanthropists in creating a philanthropic journey that resonates with their personal profound drivers. 

Learn more at globalphilanthropic.com/talking-philanthropy and join the discussion.

10 questions trustees should ask to perform a charity health-check

With many charitable organisations facing existential challenges, there is an increasing amount of guidance to help trustees navigate the decisions ahead.

Peter Mimpriss, a veteran trustee of 33 charities, has written ’10 questions trustees should ask to perform a charity health-check’. The guide provides an overview of the essential qualities of an effective charity board.

In this article, we look at Peter’s advice, as well as pulling together other useful resources to help trustees assess the situation their charity is in.

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In the coming months, charities and trustees will experience an increasingly challenging operating environment. Indeed, many are at risk of being forced to close. To help identify challenges charities need to respond to, Peter Mimpriss has developed a simple Emergency Health Test (below).

The test sets out ten questions. If a charity can answer ‘yes’ to them all, then it is probable the charity will not be at risk of closure. If not, then it is likely that there will be a risk of closure. That risk increases depending on the number of tests that cannot be answered in the affirmative. In those circumstances, trustees need to take very urgent steps to address the problems.

 

10 questions to health-check your charity:

1. 1. Does the charity have a really good cash flow forecast that is updated every month?
   2. Does the charity currently satisfy the balance sheet test for solvency?
   3. Are there adequate free reserves for the charity?
   4. Do the trustees understand the difference between their restricted and unrestricted funds?
   5. Do the trustees know the approximate amount of the charity’s unrestricted funds and of its liabilities?
   6. Are the trustees satisfied that the charity has an effective and up-to-date risk review?
   7. Does the charity have a truly effective audit committee which enquires into potential financial risks for the charity?
   8. Does the charity have updated contingency plans?
   9. Do the trustees have the boldest fundraising strategy, which is supported by all the trustees and to which those trustees with the best contacts have committed to lead?
   10. Does the charity have excellent communications with present and past donors? Is this monitored by the trustees to ensure that it is as effective as possible?

 

Additional guidance for trustees

Association of Charitable Foundations

The Association of Charitable Foundations [ACF] identifies that efficient decision making frameworks, understanding of lived experience and diversity of knowledge and personality on boards will be important success factors.

ACF states that foundations and charities have to have strong objectives, but also be flexible in balancing long and short term. The report concludes with seven pillars of good foundation governance.

Read ACF’s full report on strategy and governance here

Pilotlight

With fears for the wellbeing of charity leaders who are taking on huge responsibilities, Pilotlight reinforced the message that support to charities is more than money. Their key messages for trustees are:

• Focus on mental health for resilience;
• Don’t smother;
• Focus on good decisions rather than perfect governance;
• Know your role and stay informed;
• Act immediately, but plan for an exit.

 

National Council for Voluntary Organisations

Not long after the crisis had taken hold in the UK, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations [NCVO] held a webinar on governing during a pandemic. The main points raised were:

• Decisions must be in line with charitable objectives;
• Severe incident reporting is not suspended: each organisation must evaluate any Covid-19 related risk;
• Develop a cash flow forecast, seek advice early and make plans;
• Any meetings taken online must be in line with governance documents, decisions must be circulated;
• Delegate more authority temporarily to the charity leaders to enable them to be nimble;
• Be open to partnerships with non-charitable organisations;
• Do scenario planning: develop plans to handle each scenario;
• Review and tweak plans regularly.

NCVO has also opened guidance on its website, which can be viewed here.

Listen to the NCVO webinar

 

Charity Commission

The UK Charity Commission has also issued guidance to trustees about financial decision making. The guidance recommends that charities consider what is in their best interest, leverage trustees’ skills and alter business models. They should go through a process that involves considering their existing financial situation. This includes looking at options for minimising costs, protecting and increasing income, and keeping operations and finances under regular review. It also gives legal guidance for if a charity has to be closed.

The guidance provides a framework for deciding between meeting urgent needs now or dialling down services in order to survive into the future. Finally, the guidance discusses whether formal structures such as managed insolvency, joint working or a merger with another charity could be the best way forward.

UK Charity Commission guidance

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^{About Peter Mimpriss}

^{Peter Mimpriss has wide experience in the charity sector, having been a trustee of twenty four national operating Charities and nine national grant making Foundations. He is also the author of The Qualities of an Effective Charity Board, which he wrote in 2016.}