Grant Seeking

You can now monitor the progress of GuideStar programmes around the world through the GuideStar Google map. Background information is provided for each country.

I was researching grantmaking trusts last week and when I checked up on some newly registered trusts, I came across the website of Dorset Community Action (www.dorsetcommunityaction.org.uk).

Why do grant-makers:

1. prefer innovation to ‘tried and trusted’,
2. then decline truly innovative projects because the results are uncertain,

I occasionally write a blog on the development of charity registers around the world, often based on news I glean from GuideStar.

GuideStar Korea has posted basic information about 3,355 “Public Service Corporations” on the GuideStar Korea website. The information was obtained from the National Tax Service (NTS) website.

The demise of a grantmaking trust is not usually a good sign, but the imminent closure of the Anglo-German Foundation is indeed a positive development.

As if the current recession was not tough enough already for trust fundraisers, the threat to the Lloyds TSB Foundations and the winding up of the J. Paul Getty Jr. Charitable Trust sound an altogether more worrying note for charities that rely on trusts.

Over 12000 grant awards and almost £85m awarded since 1985 to charities working in Scotland and overseas. The reason for their extraordinary decision not to accept any new funding applications?

Simple. Lloyds Banking Group - now partly owned and funded by the bank of you and me - wants to sweep away everything that makes the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland unique. Oh, and haven't actually got round to giving them any money this year.

I have just had a trial of “Phi”, a new product from Factary (www.factary.com). It is a database of donors and supporters (trustees, patrons, etc) which currently contains over 100,000 records.

j4b (www.j4bcommunity.co.uk) is offering registered users Full and Free access to its community funding database until 30 September 2009.