Bans on unpaid internships ‘an assault on volunteering’, says nfpSynergy founder

A blog by Joe Saxton says it can be difficult to differentiate between a volunteer and an intern, and any ban on unpaid internships should be resisted by the sector

Restrictions or bans on some internships are “an assault on volunteering by the back door” and should be resisted by charities, according to Joe Saxton, driver of ideas and founder of the research consultancy nfpSynergy.

In a blog post published yesterday on the nfpSynergy website, Saxton says it can be difficult to differentiate between a volunteer and an intern, and charities should therefore be concerned at attempts to outlaw some internships.

His warning comes as new polling data released by the Social Mobility Commission on Monday says 72 per cent of the public back a change in the law on internships, with 42 per cent of respondents saying they strongly support a ban on unpaid internships lasting longer than four weeks.

The poll contacted 5,000 people and was conducted by YouGov, the Social Mobility Commission said. The commission is an independent body that monitors progress in improving social mobility.

A private member’s bill proposing a ban on internships that exceed four weeks is due to be discussed in the House of Lords on Friday.

But Saxton’s blog says that restricting volunteering to the over-30s, with under-30s classed as interns, would affect people who volunteer at a young age and work abroad or because of a religious or political conviction.

Saxton writes: “Perhaps one way would be that we ban internships with companies, but charities are OK. What about volunteering vs internships with the NHS? Or an MP? Or a party political campaign? Or a campaign group? Are those OK? So it’s OK to intern for anything as long as it’s not a company?

“Of course we should encourage any organisation which can afford to pay interns to do so. But the idea that unpaid internships should be banned is an assault on volunteering by the back door. And the voluntary sector should resist it with all its might.”

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It’s a boom time for major giving, says nfpSynergy report

The Major Donor Giving Research Report gathers together the findings of research on major donors from the past five years

The UK is experiencing a “boom time” for major giving, an nfpSynergy report that collates available research on major donors has concluded.

The report, Major Donor Giving Research Report: an updated synthesis of research into major donors and philanthropic giving, published today by the research consultancy, summarises the findings of research on major donors from the past five years.

The study points out that much has changed since nfpSynergy compiled a similar report five years ago, particularly in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union. But despite fears about the impact of Brexit on the economy, the number of billionaires has increased to record levels since the vote, the report says.

“Whilst data on major donor giving since the Brexit vote is not yet available, major donor fundraising continues to be a fast-growing element of UK charity fundraising activity, and a small proportion of ‘major’ donors disproportionately shape giving in the UK,” the report says.

“There is now credible year-on-year data to substantiate claims of it being (at least pre-Brexit) a ‘boom time’ for UK philanthropy.”

The report draws on the Coutts Million Pound Donors Report 2016 by University of Kent academic Beth Breeze to support its conclusions, and also highlights recommendations from Breeze’s report in collaboration with Theresa Lloyd, Richer Lives: why rich people give, both which called on charities to address their lack of confidence in their own competence at asking for major donations.

Joe Saxton, co-founder of nfpSynergy, said: “Most people I talk to would say that major donors are going to be a bigger part of the funding mix because the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation will make it hard to talk to large databases of donors.

“Major donors will be more likely to feature in people’s work and thinking going forward.”

The report points out that there is no set definition of what constitutes a major donor, although Breeze suggests £5,000 as an industry standard, and instead says they are more generally defined as people who make large personal donations to charitable organisations

It takes into account research from the US, which it concludes remains significantly ahead of any other country in terms of giving, having given $258.5bn (£197bn) to charity in 2015, compared with $17.4bn (£13.2bn) in the UK. This might be due, research suggests, to differences between the tax regimes and the tendency for giving in the US to be more public than in the UK.

But the report says there is more to large-scale philanthropy than money.

“It remains easy to define major donors in financial terms, yet this is to underestimate the breadth of engagement that major donors may offer the charity sector, whether this is time, advice, expertise and contacts,” it says.

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More young people are volunteering, says nfpSynergy research

But levels are falling among those aged over 45, according to the consultancy’s latest figures

Volunteering levels among the younger generations are increasing, but falling among middle-aged people, new figures from the consultancy nfpSynergy show.

Its latest statistics on volunteering, based on surveys involving thousands of people since 2004, the consultancy says that the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who volunteer has increased significantly over the past 13 years, rising from 15 per cent participation to 29 per cent in August this year.

The research shows that there has been a similar rise in the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds volunteering over the same period, with 26 per cent of respondents to the most recent survey saying they had volunteered over the previous three months, up from 14 per cent in 2004.

The research shows that volunteering rates peaked at 33 per cent among 16 to 24-year-olds in 2013/14, but the rates for 25 to 34-year-olds are doing so now. According to nfpSynergy, this might show that people who volunteered at school and university are continuing those habits as they get older.

The figures show that 16 to 34-year-old men are now one of the most likely groups to volunteer, closely followed by women of the same age.

But volunteering rates appear to be falling among 45 to 54-year-olds and 55 to 64-year-olds, the figures show. In 2012, 20 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds volunteered, as did 22 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds, according to nfpSynergy.

This fell to 14 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds and 15 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds, according to the most recent research in August.

Both of these age groups have not been targeted with any major initiatives to increase volunteering rates, which nfpSynergy said could be contributing to the decline in volunteering.

The gap in volunteering rates between men and women has closed significantly in recent years, with increases in the proportion of men volunteering over the past 13 years.

Overall volunteering rates have remained generally stable at around 20 per cent, the figures show.

Joe Saxton, co-founder of nfpSynergy, said he did not think the National Citizen Service, which includes an element of community work, was responsible for the rise in volunteering rates among younger people.

He said schools and universities were better at encouraging people to volunteer and it was a more important part of building a CV than it used to be.

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Большинство спонсоров «не разговаривают с бенефициарами до предоставления финансирования», – говорит nfpSynergy

. Согласно отчету организации, 68 процентов не сообщают до предоставления денег, а 65 процентов после предоставления финансирования

Две трети спонсоров не сообщают со своими бенефициарами до предоставления финансирования, согласно докладу о грантах по предоставлению грантов, подготовленном консультантом nfpSynergy.

В докладе говорится, что 68 процентов спонсоров не разговаривают с бенефициарами до предоставления финансирования, а 65 процентов не связывают с ними после предоставления финансирования.

Отсутствие коммуникации является «настоящей нагрузкой» для многих благотворительных организаций, говорится в докладе.

В докладе добавлено, что 44 процента бенефициаров вряд ли расскажут своим спонсорам, если у них возникнут проблемы с ними.

. Выводы получены из существующих исследований процесса предоставления грантов, включая отчет «Прослушивание изменений: две стороны одной и той же монеты» выпущенные Благраве Трастом в начале этого года.

Средний размер индивидуального гранта в Великобритании составляет приблизительно 10 000 фунтов стерлингов, говорится в докладе, и существует 8 000 грантовых грантов в Великобритания дает около 3 млрд фунтов стерлингов в год.

Географическое распределение британских грантов коррелирует с плотностью благотворительности, а не уровнем лишений, говорится в докладе, а это означает, что Большой Лондон получает 30% всех региональных финансов в Англии.

. Для сравнения, только 7,1 процента регионального финансирования направляется на северо-восток Англии, несмотря на то, что в Большом Лондоне существуют аналогичные уровни лишений

Фонд Билла и Мелинды Гейтс является крупнейшим грантодателем по всему миру, а Wellcome Trust – вторым по величине, говорится в докладе.

Ожидается, что в этом году nfpSynergy опубликует еще одно исследование по грантовым трестам.

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