Funding

All three main political leaders have announced today that they will each be giving ten per cent of their estates to charity as part of the the Legacy10 campaign.

The campaign, which our chair Martyn Lewis helped to launch in November 2011, aims to persuade more people to leave charitable legacies in their wills. In changes to the tax system introduced in the 2011 Budget, people who leave more than ten per cent of their estate to charity will pay a reduced rate of any inheritance tax due on the remainder of the estate.

We have written to all local authorities to remind them of the importance of adhering to the Best Value Guidance  set out by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

The letter (download the PDF 110 KB), written jointly with the Association of Chief Executives (ACEVO) and NAVCA, asserts the importance of partnership working between local councils and voluntary organisations and reminds councils that at least three months' notice should be given ahead of any funding reductions.

In the face of tough economic times civil society organisations are increasingly seen as a key way forward for growth in Europe. NCVO and Euclid network co-hosted an event on Monday with Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, as part of the OCS Strategic Partners programme to identify ways to unlock EU funds.

Read more.

We are launching a working group today to look at tax incentives and social investment.

The Working Group on Incentivising Social Investment will review tax incentives to stimulate the social investment market ahead of the March 2012 Budget. 

The cross-sector group will be focusing on foundations and high net worth individuals. Its work will centre around three key areas: what tax incentives exist already, where changes to tax incentives could stimulate the market and how we can use the expertise of the broader investment market.

Funding Central is a free website for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises based in England providing access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities from European, national, regional and local government and charitable sources.

We are lending further weight to our endorsement of the Charity Employees Benevolent Fund (CEBF) by encouraging our members to make annual donations to the Fund.

David Prescott, Chairman of CEBF, said that this was great news for CEBF. ‘NCVO will be asking members at their annual renewal to indicate that they are willing to add a small additional amount to their renewal to help us to fund our work and develop a sustainable Benevolent Fund for the sector.’

We have teamed up with ACEVO and NAVCA to write to all Council Chief Executives (PDF, 57KB), asking them for their views on how local authorities and the voluntary sector can work best together in the current economic climate.
 
The letter calls on council leaders to share how they are applying the three 'tests of reasonableness' in their work with voluntary sector organisations.  The tests, first mentioned by Eric Pickles at our Annual Conference on March 1, set out to provide a benchmark to reassure organisations that even in the toughest of financial climates the voluntary and community sector won't be unfairly treated.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, has today announced a package of measures to support giving. Delivering what he called a 'Budget for Growth' the Chancellor said he would introduce "a series of substantial reforms that will support giving, from the largest donations to the coins collected in the charity bucket". He said this would be a "big help for the Big Society".

We have now sent out our response to the government's Giving Green Paper (PDF, 90KB).  The Paper, which was published at the end of last year, explores how everyone can play their part in building on and stimulating greater levels of giving and participation in the UK.

In our response, we reiterate the importance of establishing a 'Better Asking' Campaign to improve the quality of fundraising, promote the work of voluntary and community organisations and develop innovative forms of 'asking' people to give their time and money to voluntary organisations.