CAF enquiry calls for a government ‘dossier’ of best practice and taskforce on digital giving
Howard Lake | 10 June 2014 | News
The government should set up a “dossier of best practice in giving”, according to the report of CAF’s parliamentary inquiry into growing giving, which focuses heavily on the future role of digital giving, especially as a way of engaging with younger donors.
The Report – Creating an Age of Giving – says the dossier would contain “successful examples of engagement” and would be updated regularly to include information about “new techniques and mechanisms that are making giving easier for donors and charities”.
Citing the donations to spontaneous viral campaigns such as the ‘no make-up selfie’ on Twitter, the flood of giving to Stephen Sutton, and online initiatives such as #GivingTuesday, the report calls on the government to build on these developments.
“The Cabinet Office in particular has the ability to compile information about the latest developments in giving,” the report says. “Harnessing the knowledge and resources available to the Cabinet Office and using its outreach and interaction with the sector to highlight best practice – updated regularly to reflect ongoing developments – would help to ensure the continual development of giving practices and techniques.”
Innovation in Giving Fund
CAF’s report also says the government should work with the Innovation in Giving Fund – launched by the Cabinet Office in 2011 in partnership with NESTA – to establish an new digital giving taskforce.
The taskforce – which would be made up of “technology and social media leaders and experts” – would “drive developments in digital giving, investigating how mechanisms can be reformed to make donations go further”.
It would also explore how new digital practices can be “harnessed as a force for social good”.
However, the report says that the growth of digital media “does not mean that other of media should be ignored”, adding that radio, newspapers and television are still “vital methods of communications that can be used to encourage people to give”. One recommendation is for the licences for all TV channels to stipulate a “modest” amount of broadcast time for programming aimed at fostering charitable giving.
The report also endorses payroll giving and says that “steps must be taken to increase participation in payroll giving to match interest in this area”.
But it makes not mention of how charities could or should improve other currently successful forms of mass donor acquisition and retention, such as street and doorstep face-to-face, telephone and direct mail.
The full list of other recommendations from the report is:
Education
* A social action section being added to UCAS forms
* Student Unions increasing their promotion of volunteering programmes
* Younger people being given more opportunities to shadow charity trustees
* National Citizen Service to focus on “entrenching social values”.
Business
* Businesses should create and promote giving models, such as the Young Philanthropy Syndicate
* All MBA courses should contain a module on philanthropy
* The job descriptions of senior executives should require leadership in “creating a socially responsible corporate culture”
* Will makers prompting clients by mentioning that they can use their will to leave a legacy to charity.
Government
* The introduction of US-style Living Legacies – which provide people with tax effective ways to give to charity while they are still alive.
* A post-careers advice service being set up for older people
* Treasury to promote matched giving schemes.
The Growing Giving Inquiry – led by Rt Hon David Blunkett MP – was established following the publication of research commissioned by CAF in 2012 showing that fewer households are participating in regular charitable giving.
The full report and summaries of evidence can be downloaded from the Growing Giving Campaign website.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.