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'Great advice' - Dragons' Den's James Caan. 'Insight for any donor' - The Body Shop. 'Freakonomics for charity - but with better cartoons' - charity CEO
Author Archives: carolinefiennes
Why I’m delighted to be working with Innovations for Poverty Action
Innovations for Poverty Action, the most influential charity you’ve never heard of, tackles poverty in less developed countries by rigorously investigating the effectiveness of poverty-reduction programmes, and supporting the expansion of the best. Its main investigative tool is the randomised … Continue reading
Posted in Promoting giving
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How can we best support charities?
Charities are not equally good. Neither are techniques for finding and supporting them. Giving Evidence advises donors – individuals, families, foundations, companies, governments – on the ways of giving which will achieve the best ‘returns’, by a fanatical devotion to … Continue reading
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Why I don’t back the Give It Back George campaign
Charities are furious about the government’s proposal to give them less money via the tax system. Well, they would be, wouldn’t they? Hence they’re campaigning frantically to block the proposal. But people interested in effectiveness and impact – and who … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving
Tagged Charity, Donation, Donor, Donors, Evaluation, Gift Aid, giveitbackgeorge, Giving, Impact, philanthropist, Philanthropy, tax, tax relief
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The government’s raid on giving makes no sense
The UK government recently announced that it would cap tax relief on charitable giving. The surprise move has met a furious response, and makes no sense whichever way it’s intended. It’s a shame, because the charitable world has plenty of … Continue reading
Posted in Promoting giving
Tagged budget, cap, Charity, Charity Commission, Donor, Donors, fraud, giveitbackgeorge, Giving, philanthropists, Philanthropy, regulator, tax
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Giving Evidence: not all charities are the same
Charities are not equally good. Neither are techniques for finding and supporting them. Giving Evidence advises donors – individuals, families, foundations, companies, governments – on the ways of giving which will achieve the best ‘returns’, by a fanatical devotion to … Continue reading
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Application and reporting processes keep 3m children out of school
Avoidable waste from foundations’ reporting processes is ~£100m every year, enough to fund the whole of Barnardo’s or the British Red Cross. Another ~£150-250m is wasted in reporting to public sector funders, plus there’s plenty of avoidable waste in application … Continue reading
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Charity credit cards: generate 33 x as much for charity anyway!
Lloyds TSB is withdrawing its charity credit cards. Actually this doesn’t matter because you can actually generate MORE money for charities through your credit card. Here’s how: 1. Get a credit card which gives you cash-back on your purchases. The … Continue reading
Posted in Promoting giving
Tagged Charity, charity credit cards, credit card, Donation, Donor, Donors
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Understanding impact of a corporate giving programme
I’m currently evaluating the ‘community projects’ programme of the Guardian News & Media group (i.e., the series of ~12 partnerships which GNM has with voluntary organisations near its London HQ). In this article in the Guardian, I explain what we’re … Continue reading
Forget business: philanthropy needs to learn from tons of other disciplines
Philanthrocapitalism, social return, social investment, Absolute Return for Kids… Business is the analogy most commonly used for philanthropic activity. Though that’s not wrong, it’s dangerously narrow for solving what Warren Buffett calls ‘problems which have already resisted great intellects and … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving, Promoting giving
Tagged behavioural economics, business, Charity, Charity performance, Charity results, comparative charity, Donation, Donor, Donors, Evaluation, Giving, Giving behaviour, hiring, philanthrocapitalism, Philanthropy, physics, psychology, Randomised control trial, Randomized control trial, recruitment, science, staff
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Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to prison?
Inspiration inside I’d have felt more at home on the moon. I mean, nothing says ‘welcome’ like a fifteen foot wall topped by razor wire. And yet, my trip to HMP Pentonville was surprisingly inspirational. I was there just before … Continue reading
Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes 