Scots more charitable than the rest of the UK, research finds

They are more likely to donate to or give time to charity than the UK average, according to figures published by the Charities Aid Foundation

Scottish people are more generous and more likely to get involved with charities than the UK average, according to new research from the Charities Aid Foundation.

In its report Scotland Giving 2017, which is CAF’s first annual overview of charitable giving in Scotland, CAF found that Scots are more likely to donate money to charity than the UK average, with 65 per cent of Scots saying they donate to charity each year compared with 61 per cent of people across the UK.

The report, which is based on a monthly tracking survey involving more than 700 people in Scotland carried out by the research company YouGov, also found that people in Scotland donated £813m to charity in 2016, accounting for 8.4 per cent of the £9.7bn donated to charity in the UK that year.

To put that figure in context, the population of Scotland is 8.2 per cent of the total number of people in the UK.

Scots are also more likely to volunteer than the UK average, with 19 per cent of people in Scotland saying they give time to charity compared with 17 per cent across the whole UK.

The report says that Scots are more likely to donate goods to charity, with 58 per cent doing so compared with the UK average of 56 per cent, according to the report.

Scots are also more likely to sponsor a friend or colleague who is raising money for charity, with 40 per cent doing so compared with 37 per cent nationally.

Young people in Scotland are more likely to be engaged with charity than young people across the UK as a whole, with 94 per cent of Scottish 16 to 24-year-olds having taken on some form of charitable activity in the past year compared with the UK average of 89 per cent.

Martin Sime, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: “Through our own work over the years we’ve had a strong sense that people in Scotland are very supportive of charities, and it’s encouraging that in a number of areas this new research shows the picture is indeed somewhat rosier in Scotland than in the rest of the UK – for example in volunteering, and donations.”

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Chief executive of Cancer Research UK to stand down

Sir Harpal Kumar has been leading the charity since 2007 and plans to take some time to decide his next career move

Sir Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, is to stand down in the spring after more than 10 years in the role.

A CRUK spokesman for the charity said Kumar would take some time to decide his next career move.

Kumar was appointed chief executive of Cancer Research Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CRUK, in 2002 before becoming chief operating officer of the parent charity in 2004. He has been chief executive of CRUK since April 2007. 

Kumar, who was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours list for services to cancer research, said in a statement today he “always believed that organisations benefit from refreshed leadership every so often and CRUK is no exception”.

CRUK is the UK’s largest fundraising charity and had an overall income of £679.2m in the year to the end of March 2017. 

A statement from the charity said it had made significant strides in the fields of cancer prevention and early diagnosis under Kumar’s leadership.

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, chair of CRUK, said: “I would like to thank Harpal for his tremendous contribution to the charity over the past 15 years. CRUK is a truly remarkable organisation and even more so because of Harpal’s inspirational leadership.”

He said the charity had begun the search for Kumar’s successor and planned to make an appointment to coincide with his departure. 

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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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Дефицит пенсий приводит к потере £ 1 млн для Cancer Research UK Group

<В эту историю были внесены поправки; См. Окончательный пункт

Cancer Research UK Group в прошлом году потеряла 1 млн фунтов стерлингов из-за своего дефицита пенсий, несмотря на значительное увеличение общего дохода благотворительной организации, показывают последние данные благотворительной организации.

Группа CRUK включает благотворительность и ее дочерние компании, которые включают в себя технологию исследований рака и исследование рака в Великобритании.

. На своих счетах за год до 31 марта 2017 года, которые были опубликованы в Доме компаний ранее на этой неделе, общий доход группы CRUK составил 679,2 млн фунтов, по сравнению с 635,2 млн фунтов стерлингов в предыдущем году.

Учетные данные показывают, что это частично связано с 32 миллионами сделок с недвижимостью от продажи Clare Hall за 14,5 млн фунтов стерлингов и переселением благотворительной организации из Ангела, Лондона, в Стратфорд, что спасло благотворительность в размере 17,5 млн фунтов стерлингов.

Но актуарная потеря на пенсию в 33,9 млн фунтов стерлингов привела к убытку в размере 9,1 млн фунтов стерлингов за благотворительность, при этом общий объем средств составил 347,6 млн фунтов стерлингов, свидетельствуют счета. Это сопоставимо с прибылью в размере 5,3 млн фунтов стерлингов за благотворительность в предыдущем году.

Общий объем средств для группы CRUK составил 383,5 млн фунтов, что на 1 млн фунтов меньше, чем в предыдущем году.

Счета показывают, что общие расходы в CRUK выросли с 629,8 млн. Фунтов стерлингов до 665,6 млн. Фунтов стерлингов, а расходы на благотворительную деятельность составили 472,6 млн. Фунтов стерлингов этой цифры.

Доходы, за исключением прибыли от имущества и торговой деятельности, составляют 545 млн фунтов стерлингов, по сравнению с 539,9 млн фунтов стерлингов в предыдущем году, согласно данным счетов. Это было связано главным образом с увеличением пожертвованного дохода на 8 млн фунтов.

На счетах также показано, что доход от наследства CRUK увеличился почти на 9 млн. Фунтов стерлингов до 186,6 млн. Фунтов стерлингов, но есть наследие в размере 22 млн. Фунтов стерлингов, которые не включены в данные по причинам, таким как коррупционные титулы или спорные случаи.

Самый высокий заработок благотворителя был исполнительным директором, сэром Харпалом Кумаром, который заработал до 250 000 фунтов стерлингов, по данным счетов.

В целом, благотворительная организация потратила почти 1,6 млн фунтов стерлингов на исполнительную команду, включая зарплаты и пенсионные взносы. На счетах было 188 человек, которые зарабатывали более 60 000 фунтов стерлингов в год.

Карли Вудхаус, глава отдела финансов Cancer Research UK, сказал, что дефицит в 1 млн фунтов стерлингов на групповых счетах вызван актуарными потерями по пенсиям. «Как и большинство крупных работодателей, мы предложили пенсионный план с установленными выплатами нашим сотрудникам, который сейчас закрыт. Мы приняли меры со стороны попечителей схемы, чтобы снизить уровень годового взноса и ожидать, что дефицит будет искоренен в течение 10 лет. Будут компенсированы резервами группы Cancer Research UK Group ».

<Первоначальная история неправильно заявила, что зарплата главы исполнительной власти составляет 244 миллиона фунтов стерлингов, но фактическая цифра составляла 250 000 фунтов стерлингов в год. Дальнейшие изменения были сделаны, чтобы было ясно, что цифры относятся к групповым счетам благотворительности.

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Most donors would not opt-in to future fundraising, research shows

Research by nfpSynergy found members of the public are suspicious of how charities use their data

Just 16 per cent of people would opt-in to being contacted about future appeals when donating to a charity, research by the consultancy nfpSynergy has revealed.

NfpSynergy conducted a set of focus groups in May this year to explore how the general public felt about the implications of the General Data Protection Regulation on charities and combined it with quantitative research from its quarterly public opinion tracking survey.

The GDPR is due to come into force in May 2018 and will require charities to prove that people have opted in to being contacted.

In a blog post published yesterday afternoon, Jo Fischl, head of public audiences research at nfpSynergy said the quantitative research had found that when people were asked to imagine they had just donated to their favourite charity and to fill out a consent form about the future use of the data.

Less than half (47 per cent) of respondents said they would opt in to hear more about what the charity did with their money, and only 16 per cent opted in to be asked to donate to future appeals.

Just 5 per cent said they would be willing to have their data shared with other, carefully chosen charities.

The research also found that in general the public believes that charities should be treated just as stringently as businesses if they break data-protection rules.

Fischl said the research shows the public unease about the use of data and demonstrated the vastness of the challenge of encouraging opt-in.

She said there was a tendency for people to feel that they are being taken for a ride by organisations over their data and that charities were not immune to such perceptions which creates “default position of suspicion when charities ask for personal data”.

She said that with donors reluctant to opt-in to contact, charities’ databases were likely to shrink and their incomes fall under GDPR.

Charities need to create a culture of transparency in order to navigate this, she said, in order to dispel the public’s suspicion and encourage them to donate.

The full report, GDPR – The Change That Charity Donors Want, is due to be made publically available in September.

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Charities less trusted than hairdressers and scientists, research finds

A study of 2,000 people by Pro Bono Economics, finds that charities are trusted by 26 per cent of respondents

Charities are less trusted by the public than hairdressers, scientists and television newsreaders, new research indicates.

Research with a representative sample of more than 2,000 UK adults commissioned by the charity Pro Bono Economics found that 26 per cent of respondents said they trusted charities compared with 28 per cent for newsreaders, 45 per cent for hairdressers and 52 per cent for scientists.

Participants were asked to choose which from five possible responses best described their attitude towards 20 professions or sectors. Possible responses were trust, cautious of, suspicious of, distrust or hate.

Doctors came out top with 69 per cent of respondents saying they trusted them, followed by teachers on 56 per cent.

Politicians scored lowest, with 4 per cent of people saying they trusted them.

Charities ranked higher than members of the clergy, who were trusted by 23 per cent of respondents, civil servants, on 19 per cent, and economists, on 14 per cent.

Pollsters were trusted by just 9 per cent of those surveyed, slightly ahead of journalists on 7 per cent.

The survey found that 45 per cent of respondents said they were cautious of charities, 18 per cent were suspicious of them and 10 per cent distrusted them. Only 1 per cent of people said they hated charities, well behind social media stars and politicians, who were hated by 14 per cent and 13 per cent of respondents respectively.

Julia Grant, chief executive of Pro Bono Economics, said charities should look to rebuild trust by demonstrating their impact with independent evidence.

“They are accountable to the public, who are the people who support them, so they need to communicate their impact in a way that engages with the public as stakeholders,” she said. “Essentially, charities’ future stability and sustainability relies on their capacity to prove the importance of their work.”

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But Aidan Warner, external relations manager at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said data was not the most important factor in improving public trust in charities.

“The reality is that most people don’t think like economists,” he said. “They make decisions on feelings, not data.

“Our research suggests that the public welcome some basic figures from charities, but they shouldn’t be seen as a solution to rebuilding trust. Acting with integrity and communicating in compelling, human language will do more to promote trust in an organisation than any number of spreadsheets could.”

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Movers: Richard Piper becomes chief executive at Alcohol Research UK

Plus: Dame Helen Ghosh to stop down at National Trust and Janet Vitmayer to retire from top job at Horniman Museum

Richard Piper has been appointed as chief executive of Alcohol Research UK. Piper, who is a former chief executive of Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, will join in September from the learning disability charity Mencap, where he is director of impact transformation.

Dame Helen Ghosh is to step down in March as director general of the National Trust to become master of Balliol College, Oxford. She has led the charity since 2012.

The Anglican mission agency USPG has appointed Rev Duncan Dormor as its next chief executive. Dormor, who is dean of St John’s College, Cambridge, succeeds Janette O’Neill, who is retiring after six years in the post.

Janet Vitmayer, chief executive of the Horniman Museum and Gardens, is to retire in March after 20 years in the role.

The Lake District Foundation, a new charity that is being set up to continue and build on the work of the tourism and conservation charity Nurture Lakeland, has appointed Sarah Swindley as its first chief executive. She was chief executive of Lancashire Women’s Centres.

John Christensen, founding chief executive of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, has announced that he will retire at the end of the month after nine years in the role.

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National Eye Research Centre grant could help prevent blindness in diabetes patients 

Posted: 25th May 2017

The National Eye Research Centre has been awarded £60,000 to help fund research into revolutionary eye treatment for diabetes patients.

This research offers hope to the hundreds of thousands of diabetes patients who endure the discomfort of monthly injections into the eye to protect them from the risk of blindness.

Advancing medical research

The study, led by Professor David Bates at The University of Nottingham, is investigating whether simple eye drops could be used instead to treat patients for the condition diabetic retinopathy. If successful, the eye drops could be available to patients on clinical trials within the next three to five years.

Professor David Bates in the University’s School of Medicine said: “We are extremely grateful for the grant we have received from the Freemasons and National Eye Research Centre. Without their support, this project would not have been possible and we would not be able to find out whether drugs that are already being developed for other eye diseases could be also be used in diabetic retinopathy.

“Diabetes is the leading cause of preventable sight loss in the working population in the UK. The impact of this research means that in the future diabetic patients could be offered a better, more effective way of preventing them from losing their sight.”

“The current treatment for diabetic retinopathy is very unpleasant for the patient but also costly and time-consuming because the injection can only be performed at eye clinics by specialist doctors and nurses.

“Eye drops that patients could administer themselves would reduce both their discomfort and the financial burden which the current treatment places on the NHS.”

Around 1.2 million people are believed to suffer from diabetic retinopathy in the UK; around 750,000 of those currently experience some form of visual impairment. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) estimates that the total economic cost of sight loss including healthcare, social care and loss of employment, could be as high as £28bn per year. Globally, the condition affects in the region of 93 million people.

Find out more from Professor David Bates

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes caused by high blood sugar levels. Over time it can weaken and damage the small blood vessels within the retina which can cause haemorrhages, leaky blood vessels and swelling on the retina. This starves the retina of oxygen, causing abnormal blood vessels to grow. If left untreated over time it can affect vision and lead to blindness.

In more serious cases, the leaking blood vessels behind the eye can lead to the condition diabetic macular oedema in which fluid builds up in the macula, the part of the eye which provides us with our central vision. The condition of patients with diabetic macular oedema can decline very quickly and can lead to rapid visual impairment and blindness.

This donation boosts the £37,000 already raised by National Eye Research Centre

Philip Marshall  from Nottinghamshire Freemasons said: “We’re very pleased to be able to support this hugely important project, which offers  hope for preventing blindness in millions of diabetic patients in this country and around the world.”

Mike Daw, Chief Executive of National Eye Research Centre said: “National Eye Research Centre is immensely proud to have been able to fund this research into finding improved treatments for this leading cause of preventable blindness in the UK.”




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