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Seven Gloucestershire-based soldiers march through Wiltshire as part of a bid to raise cash for charity.

The Community Foundation for Ireland have released a report “Philanthropy, the views of those who advise the rich“.  This is Ireland’s first ever survey of professional advisors focusing specifically on philanthropy.

A must read for all fundraisers in the Irish market. Some of the key findings that struck, and shocked me a bit, were the facts that:

1. many advisors are still unsure how to deal with philanthropy and are uncomfortable raising the topic
2. many advisors are unclear about the philanthropy vehicles available for would-be philanthropists

Small businesses are being offered the chance to win awards of up to £40,000 to help fund innovative ideas to tackle climate change. The Shell Springboard programme, now in its fourth year, is offering up to six awards in each of three UK regions - north, central and south. Last year, oil and gas giant Shell handed out maximum £40,000 awards to five businesses for their projects, which had to prove they can lead to greenhouse gas reductions and be commercially viable. “SMEs are a vibrant and creative sector of the economy, so they’re ideally placed to be climate change entrepreneurs,” James Smith, chairman of Shell UK, said. “Shell’s planning scenario planning suggests that in the future we will be reliant on a mix of a number of different energy sources and energy saving technologies. Grassroots innovation from small businesses could be a crucial factor in driving the development of this mix.”

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20 August 2008

Thousands of pounds of donations from Children in Need were used by July 7 London bombers to fund propaganda activities

Campaigns by Elephant Family, The Dogs Trust, Crimestoppers and Mary's Meals feature.

Scottish charities are offering fundraisers more creative salary packages than the third sector elsewhere in the UK, according to the first survey of fundraising salaries north of the border.

Legacy promotion consortium Remember a Charity is launching a campaign that urges charities to step up their legacy fundraising.

Two major UK charities, the NSPCC and the British Heart Foundation, are backing a decision by the Fundraising Standards Board to increase its membership fees as part of a new phase of development announced last week.

Individual donations from the public are not expected to drop during the credit crunch, but legacy income could fall away, sector fundraisers have predicted.

The Big Lottery Fund has made further revisions to the amount of money it will award to the voluntary sector in the coming year.

Teenagers in West Yorkshire claiming to have an interest in protecting Britain's birdlife have been using official RSPB sponsorship forms to ask for money for a bogus charity walk.

Millions of pounds poured into boosting number of volunteers have had no discernible impact, says thinktank.

I just received an email from Oxfam with the most unusual ask I think I can ever remember getting from a charity: To knit a square for a giant, knitted petition.

Unltd are calling for applications from young people aged 17-21 who could use up to £5,000 to run a sport or recreational project in their community?

UnLtd have 15 more awards to give out to young people in Northern Ireland who could use sport to make a positive difference to the lives of other young people in their community.

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Who's wowing their donors? Not very many of us, apparently. Recent research by Campbell Rinker found...
While most charities are doing a good job of meeting donors' expectations, few are actually exceeding them....

(Reported at the Prospecting blog: Few Charities Wow Donors During Process of Giving.)

Some of the numbers:

• 83% of charitable donors consider the giving experience to be what they expect.
  
• 13% say the charity they supported went beyond their expectations.
  
• 66% said they occasionally recommend one of their favorite charities to a friend or family member.
  
• 19% said they frequently do so.
  

If this tells you anything, it's this: Do something to amaze and surprise donors, and you'll stand out in the crowd.

It also tells us how important word-of-mouth is in the charity sector.

And these two things are very closely linked.

Technorati Tags: service, WOM

Written by Tim Saunders

At the age of 19, Phil Keoghan nearly drowned during a dive to a shipwreck. The near miss inspired him to reevaluate his life, and he is now one of the best known reality TV presenters in the world.

Although millions of people know Keoghan as the host of the Emmy Award-winning hit The Amazing Race and CBC’s No Opportunity Wasted, millions more have been inspired by his philosophy of living life to the full. After surviving his diving accident, Keoghan set himself a “wish list” of all the things he wanted to do before he died – he checked off the first item straight away by returning to the shipwreck on the very same day of the mishap. From renewing his marriage vows underwater to changing a lightbulb on top of New York’s 700-foot Verrazanno Bridge to setting world records for group bungee jumping, Phil Keoghan is well on his way to checking off every item on his list.

But the 41-year-old also uses his experiences to inspire others to lead the lives they want to lead, to achieve the things they have always hankered for but “never had time for”. He uses his No Opportunity Wasted (NOW) philosophy to cut through the excuses and get people motivated. He urges that everyone should write their own “wish list” and forget about the excuses – we only have one life, and we should live it NOW. “The more I live, the more I want to live, and the more I want to help others live their once-in-a-lifetime dreams,” he told Oprah in 2001.

Look To The Stars was lucky enough to catch up with Phil recently and ask him about his thoughts on making the world a better place.

You sponsor a cycling team in LA that rides to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. What led you to support TeamVRC and the issue of MS?

I actually bought my wife a cycling program and her coach happened to be one of the founding members of VRC, Eddie Monnier. As we got to know more about the team we loved their mission statement of bringing awareness to MS as well as helping under 23 [year-old] riders, and when an opportunity came up to be the title sponsor we decided that NOW (No Opportunity Wasted) was the perfect fit. The NOW MS team is one of the biggest fundraisers for the annual MS ride. The MS Society is extremely well organized and we always have a great turn out.

What other charities and causes do you support?

I am constantly getting requests for donations for all kinds of charities from all over the world. It would impossible to support all of them. As a professional speaker I have provided my services and spoken to a number of educational groups and institutions. I believe sharing the NOW philosophy is the best way for me to give something back.

What would you say to someone who wants to help a cause but doesn’t know where to start?

Look for something that has personal meaning. Focus your energy in one direction.

How could a charity attract your support?

It’s tough for me to commit to every request. I would find a celebrity who has a personal connection to your charity. Perhaps they are from the same state, went to the same school, have a family member who is fighting a particular medical challenge. Connect the dots.

Why do you think it is important to reach out and help others?

We will all need help at some point in our life, in the end it truly is more rewarding to give than take.

If you could start a charity, what would it be?

I feel we have our own charity in NOW. We just financed two international riders to join the NOW MS team in US and sharing the message of NOW is our way of giving back.

What do you think are the biggest problems facing the world today, and how can one person make a difference to solve them?

The biggest issue we face is that we continue to take the world’s resources without giving enough back in return. It’s a little like having a credit card and spending at large without thinking about how to your going to pay the bill. The solution will come from finding financial solutions to our environmental challenges. Right now many of those answers are locked away in the minds of young people. I have faith that we will find a way to create change.

Can you give our readers a final message on how they can make the world a better place?

Identify your passion. Write your own NOW Life List – a list of the things you want to do before you die. It’s only by bringing your real passion to something that you can be your best. It doesn’t matter whether that is through art, music, charity work, inventing … we have all been put on this earth with a purpose. The Life List will help you identify yours.

Look To The Stars would like to thank Phil Keoghan for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. To find out more about writing your own NOW Life List, visit www.noopportunitywasted.com.

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• Pitt and Jolie Among Time's Most Influential People
• Oprah's Big Give Delivers A Surprise Ending

Want to write for us, or help with our research? Find out more about contributing.

Copyright © 2008 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.

Written by Tim Saunders

Colombian pop star Shakira proved hips don’t lie when she received an ALMA award on Sunday for the humanitarian work she has been doing for Latin America’s impoverished children.

The American Latino Media Arts awards – hosted by Eva Longoria – celebrated the achievements of Latin American performers, with accolades going to America Ferrera, Linda Ronstadt, and Charlie Sheen.

Shakira, who is a UNICEF Ambassador and recently took part in concerts to bring a stop to civil unrest in Colombia, received the award for her work to improve the lives of children in Colombia and Latin America.

“I feel unworthy to accept this award because we have only scratched the surface,” said the singer. “There is still so much to be done.”

Shakira founded Pies Descalzos – a Colombian charity that runs special schools for poor children – in 1997. She has taken part in a multitude of benefit concerts and has visited many people affected by natural disasters, including the victims of Hurricane Sidr in Bangladesh. It was revealed at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative that she had donated a massive $40 million to help the victims of natural disasters around the world. Earlier this year she acted as Chairperson for the Global Campaign for Education’s Action Week to generate awareness about the Education for All Act, during which she spoke with a number of world leaders to promote a move towards Global Education.

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• Terry Venables To Speak At Cancer Charity Gala
• Hayley Westenra Records PSA For UNICEF
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Copyright © 2008 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.

I had mixed reactions when I saw the new weather stings on TV3 and RTE.

My first reaction was “Isn’t it great that Glanbia/Avonmore are putting a marketing budget behind their 3 year partnership with Barretstown”. But then this was swiftly follwed by disappointment with the sting: “Why is there no call to action”

This latter reaction was somewhat put to rest last night when I was watching the TV3 weather last night and spotted a new website address on the stings www.sendmorefamilies.com. Clearly someone at either Glanbia or Barretstown had the same thought...here we are supporting a charity, asking our customers to support it…but we havent told them how to do it! So it is good to see it included on the stings.

These 10 second stings must be doing Barretstown the world of good and will help them in so many other ways over and above the 2 million Glanbia hope to raise. I still think that the call to action could be stronger in the ad, maybe adding the words send more families into the copy, and the website could do a bit more…how about allowing me sponsor a family or raise the money to send a family. Maybe that will come with time and for now I certainly wouldnt be critical of Glanbia as they seem to be really engaged in this partnership. Couldnt find anything on the Barretstown site though!!!

Check out the stings here:

Hello everyone, We are looking to appoint a Legacy marketing co-ordinator who is passionate about fundraising - have outstanding communication, presentation

Written by Tim Saunders

Anybody in the market for a new set of clothes should head over to www.clothesoffourbacks.org to pick up some hand-me-downs from the stars.

The Isabella Oliver Celebrity Maternity Fashion Auction has just kicked off to bring a little style and panache to the wardrobes of pregnant women. Bidders have the chance to own the heather grey Isabella Oliver Kimono Top signed by singer Gwen Stefani, the sea colored Isabella Oliver Portrait Top and Isabella Oliver jeans donated from the set of the upcoming feature film Labor Pains starring Lindsay Lohan, the oyster colored Isabella Oliver Funnel Neck Jacket worn by Teri Hatcher on Desperate Housewives, a cranberry/sand Isabella Oliver Duo Sleeveless Wrap Dress donated by Minnie Driver, a grey Isabella Oliver Cut Away Ruched T signed by television host Samantha Harris, an Isabella Oliver Cap Wrap Around Top signed by television host Nancy O’Dell, a green Isabella Oliver Cut Away Wrap Top donated by actress Jeri Ryan, and clothes from Lisa Marie Presley, Melissa Joan Hart, and many more.

Also up for auction on the site is the black Donna Karan Collection gown that Rachael Ray wore to the 35th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards and Barbara Walter’s black Chanel handbag.

Bidders must be quick – the Maternity Fashion auction ends on August 27 and the other items must go out the door by August 29.

All of the proceeds from the auctions will be donated to Clothes Off Our Back’ selected charities, which include America’s Second Harvest, The Art of Elysium, Hope North, and H.E.L.P. Malawi.

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Want to write for us, or help with our research? Find out more about contributing.

Copyright © 2008 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.