Charities and education newsletter - Winter 2008/09

Welcome to our first e-newsletter part of our communication strategy to 'go faster and greener'.
 
Recent weeks have been extremely turbulent for the economy and this initiative has enabled us to communicate to you on a timely basis with briefings on matters such as the Icelandic banking crisis and its implications for charities as well as highlighting some of the key implications of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator's Rolling Review report. We hope you find these useful, if you feel others within your organisations would like to receive our briefings, please direct them to our registration page on the website.

Articles

The new online register of charities
The Charity Commission recently launched its new online register providing details on the 190,000 charities in England and Wales. 
 
Gift Aid: A real opportunity
UK charities are estimated to be missing out on £700 million of gift aid benefit each year.  In the current economic climate your donors' available capital and income is falling and uncertain, but are you maximising and protecting your charity's income? 
 
Charity 40 Group
Baker Tilly's Charity 40 Group is a networking and discussion group for top 250 charities.  The name is derived from the fact that the charities represent roughly 40% of the sector's resources.  The Group provides trustees and senior executives with a forum to consider the key issues and challenges they face.  Read more about Charity 40 Group and the discussions.
 
2008 Governance Survey highlights need for strong leadership and governance
The Baker Tilly and CharityFinance Voluntary Sector Governance Survey 2008 will help you benchmark how you compare with other charities. The survey highlights that many charities are concerned that the recession will have a significant impact or may even result in their organisations failing. 
 
Public benefit reporting – where are we now?
Press coverage of the Charity Commission's approach to and consultations on public benefit seems never ending. However, the deadline for inclusion of a statement on public benefit reporting in the trustees' report of audited charities' accounts is fast-approaching.  Are you up to speed? 
 
Do you have effective trustee meetings?
How many times have you sat in a frustrating trustees' meeting, particularly one that is poorly chaired? We examine the role of the chairman and provide some hints and tips to help charity trustees make the most of the precious time spent in meetings.

There may be trouble ahead
Over half of survey respondents to The Baker Tilly and CharityFinance Voluntary Governance Survey 2008 thought the economy will have a significant impact over the next two years and 4% feared closure, it is a concern that only half of boards surveyed receive any cash flow analysis and a third do not get a balance sheet.  Read the full article to see what simple steps you can take to prepare for challenging times ahead.