Finance and funding

How donors choose charities
Beth Breeze, Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy, 2010
The strategies that donors adopt when faced by the choice of giving to competing causes.

Impact investments: an emerging asset class
Research report by JP Morgan Chase & Co., Rockefeller Foundation and Global Impact Investing Network, 2010
The report defines impact investments as investments intended to create positive impact beyond financial return where there is an intention to generate positive social and/or environmental impact. Investors considered include community development finance institutions and foundations, private wealth managers, pension fund managers, etc. Their impact objectives can range from mitigating climate change to increasing income and assets for poor and vulnerable people. Investments take the form of traditional financial structures, such as debt or equity, or more structures where returns are linked to measures of social performance. The report examines this broad landscape, what makes it an emerging asset class, expectations for financial returns, estimates of potential investment opportunities in specific sectors, and risk management and performance monitoring issues.

JUST Finance
Community Development Finance Association, 2012
A strategy document which promotes the role of community finance (loans and credit charged at a non-exploitative rate accessible by under-served markets unable to secure mainstream finance, delivering both social and economic benefits) in rebuilding the economy and of community finance members, community development funding institutions (CDFIs), as a channel through which to deliver it. 

On the Money  
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2009
This executive report and discussion guide from a US grantmaking membership organisation highlights the financial challenges nonprofits face and the ways in which grantmakers are both improving the situation and perpetuating problems.

Out of scope, out of mind: who really loses from legal aid reform
Citizens Advice Bureaux, 2012
This report tells the stories of some of the many thousands of clients who have been helped by their local CAB providing specialist legal aid advice in the last 18 months, but whose problems will not qualify for free legal help in future when, from April 2013, social welfare law will be taken out of the scope of legal aid. Legal aid advice will be withdrawn from all welfare benefit matters, debt, employment and all housing cases except those where a person’s home is at “immediate risk” or where housing disrepair poses a serious threat to health. Legal aid advice on issues involving immigration status and family breakdown will also be abolished, except where detention, domestic violence, child protection or state childcare are involved.

Scaling up for the Big Society
New Philanthropy Capital, 2010
Argues that charities have an important role to play in providing sustainable and scalable solutions to the toughest problems; it offers ways to assess evidence of social benefit, and guidance on deciding what to scale up. 

Socially responsible investment - a practical introduction for charity trustees
EIRIS Foundation and Charity Finance Directors Group, 2010
Guide to assist trustees adopting or updating responsible investment strategies.

State Aid – a beginner’s guide
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2010
BIS’ State Aid Branch has lead responsibility within the UK government for co-ordination and development of State Aid policy.

Ten ways to boost giving
New Philanthropy Capital, 2011
A practical publication that responds to the stagnation in individual giving which has remained at 0.4% of total household spending for some 20 years. Ideas and recommendations are explored to encourage banks, foundations, charities and government to play their relevant part in encouraging and supporting more generous giving. 

UK Giving 2011
CAF and NCVO, 2011
An overview by CAF and NCVO of charitable giving and philanthropy, ie who gives, how much they give, and what causes benefit. Largely based upon survey questions asked every year since 2004, it provides valuable insight into the habits of the UK's donors. They report that in 2010-11) the UK public gave £11 billion to charity. While an additional 1.1 million people donated money to charity, the average amount per month fell from £12 the year before £11. In real terms the total value of donations remained the same as the previous year and are now worth £900 million less in real terms than the amount given in 2007-8, the year before the UK entered recession. The report also has some coverage of which causes people support, the methods they use to give, and the use of gift aid.

Writing your charity’s investment policy – a guide
Charity Finance Group and Charity Investors' Group, 2012
A new support guide to help charities in writing their investment policy, which includes a model template covering all the core aspects that should be included in a charity's investment policy and a range of good practice examples. The Charity Commission will direct trustees to this guide from their online guidance, Charities and investment matters.