This website uses cookies for anonymised analytics and for account authentication. See our privacy and cookies policies for more information.





The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

10 things your charity should and shouldn’t do according to the public

This list is almost 9 years old
 

​The public has spoken (well 1,000 people on research consultancy nfpSynergy’s Charity Awareness Monitor have) and these are the 10 things they think charities should and should not be doing ...

1. Charities should never have a London office

1. Charities should never have a London office

It doesn’t matter if there is a ‘Pret’ on every street corner for lunch - 68% of people surveyed described London offices as “wasteful”.

- I guess they have a point if it’s an exclusively Scottish charity but if you are part of a UK wide organisation then I’m not so sure there is a problem.

2. Your charity should get staff to work a day a month for free

2. Your charity should get staff to work a day a month for free

Break into your savings - one in ten of those surveyed said they think staff should work a day a month for free.

- One in ten people clearly don’t have bills to pay like the rest of us.

3. Your charity should never rebrand

3. Your charity should never rebrand

Put down the pens and pencils and stop drawing a fancy new logo - 67% of people surveyed didn’t see the point in rebranding.

- Bit of a sore one for Breast Cancer Now but personally I think it is a good thing when similar charities rebrand and come together to strengthen the work they do.

4. Your charity should lobby

4. Your charity should lobby

45% of those surveyed think it’s “worthwhile” for charities to lobby government or other organisations.

- I’m surprised it’s not higher.

5. Your charity should never travel 1st class to meetings

5. Your charity should never travel 1st class to meetings

Get back in cattle class - 51% of people surveyed said they don’t like to think of staff travelling first class on expenses.

- Can’t really argue with that!

6. Your charity should advertise

6. Your charity should advertise

Not every charity can afford a billboard but 56% of those surveyed are happy for the charity they donate to, to spend money on advertising.

- If you are trying to raise awareness of your cause then advertising can help you do that.

7. Your charity should never pay staff more than £50,000 per year

7. Your charity should never pay staff more than £50,000 per year

No more fat cats - 45% of those surveyed said they would feel more confident if the charity they donated to didn’t pay any staff more than £50,000 a year.

- This debate has been around for a while - I will happily keep out of it.

8. Your charity should allow volunteers to have a big say in how things are run

8. Your charity should allow volunteers to have a big say in how things are run

49% of those surveyed would feel confident if charities were run mostly by volunteers.

- Volunteers are crucial to almost every charity but so are paid staff.

9. Your charity should never pay for the staff Christmas party

9. Your charity should never pay for the staff Christmas party

​Cancel Christmas - 21% of those surveyed said they would feel more confident if the charity they donated to didn’t pay for staff to have a Christmas party.

- Bah humbug!

10. Your charity should have a decent website

10. Your charity should have a decent website

61% of those surveyed are happy for the charity they donate to, to spend money on developing a website.

- Like advertising, websites are a great way for a charity to get their message out there.

 

Comments

0 0
Glasgow
almost 9 years ago
Remember - volunteers don't stay for long, and some will stay too long, how well a charity delivers depends on paying - and keeping - talented individuals to give a charity passion, drive to succeed as well as a sense of stability and continuity. Keeping ppl costs. Plus there are different sizes of charities and the top person carries a lot of risk which at the end of the day you need to pay for if you want to keep staff. However do believe that for most charities £80K -£100K should be the maximum paid out.
0 0
Farflung
almost 9 years ago
These observations are interesting but I find some of the comments added below either misguided or worse. It is no longer esssential for any charity, UK or otherwise to have a London head office. The idea about staff volunteering one day a month is a great suggestion. And too many charities are driven by staff, sometimes serving their own interests rather than the volunteers and board - which is why Chirstmas parties etc should never be paid by the charity. Encouraged by the relatively high number that support lobbying. Agree that too much rebranding is done.. but of course if there are mergers, joint campiagns, this is necessary.
Commenting is now closed on this post