Category Archives: Charities

Conservative Party tries to reach out

Posted on October 7, 2015 by ianchisnall

Behind all of the gloss and brouhaha in the Conservative Party conference the news that the party has appointed a Director of Outreach may well have been missed by Newsnight and the Radio4 Today programme. The person concerned, Colin Bloom is someone … Continue reading →

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A bizarre debate

Posted on September 27, 2015 by ianchisnall

This afternoon, 100 or so delegates from the Labour Party conference, safe behind their protective steel barricades are debating a vital issue – “when did the war on poverty become a war on the poor”. The debate is taking place in the … Continue reading →

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William makes it up

Posted on September 23, 2015 by ianchisnall

The news this morning of the Etherington review of charity fundraising is a disturbing reminder that the charitable sector needs to ensure it has clean hands and it can demonstrate them. This review is into the fundraising activities of around 30-50 of some of the largest … Continue reading →

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When were you planning to consult us?

Posted on September 15, 2015 by ianchisnall

For several years the City Council here in Brighton & Hove have been involved in discussions with their colleagues in Adur & Worthing, Mid Sussex and Lewes to explore a concept they call the Greater Brighton Economic Area. The idea … Continue reading →

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Complete chaos

Posted on August 27, 2015 by ianchisnall

According to news reports yesterday, George Osborne wants people running Nurseries and Pre-Schools to come up with ideas to help him achieve his promise to double the amount of free childcare available to working parents of three and four year to 30 hours … Continue reading →

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Too feted to fail?

Posted on August 17, 2015 by ianchisnall

The stories of Government interventions that are emerging from the ashes of Kids Company show that long before the doors were closed on the charity, that too many strings were being pulled in secret using our money. Whilst in time I … Continue reading →

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Change is in the hear

Posted on August 11, 2015 by ianchisnall

I have blogged from time to time about the importance of installing good quality hearing loops in public buildings and indeed in any setting where visitors or residents rely completely or partly on hearing aids or cochlear implants to interact with … Continue reading →

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Paternalism and hindsight

Posted on August 8, 2015 by ianchisnall

Whilst experts and the opinionated pore over the lessons to be learned from the demise of Kids Company in terms of what the charity did right or wrong, the real challenge for all of us is how to ensure society can … Continue reading →

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Closing down a charity

Posted on August 6, 2015 by ianchisnall

The closure of Kids Company has been written about by others much more erudite than I, in particular my friend Andy Winter wrote a very good piece yesterday. However the tragic story has reminded me of an earlier time when … Continue reading →

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Some initital reflections on the demise of the Kids Company

Posted on August 5, 2015 by ianchisnall

Originally posted on Andy Winter's Blog:
The collapse of the Kids Company raises many questions. Already in the media some commentators are saying it is a disaster for the charity sector as a whole. I really don’t agree. Few…

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