Charity news

British Museum secures £10m Lottery investment
Today, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced confirmed funding of £15.5m for four heritage projects in London, Stirling, Penzance and Birmingham. The projects are: completing the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre at the British Museum (£10m); telling the story of the Battle of Bannockburn through state-of-the-art 3D technology (£3.94m); rejuvenating Porthcurno Museum in Penzance, once the world’s largest cable station £1.4m);

New report puts forward recommendations for growth of social investment market
A new report sets out recommendations for catalysing the growth of the social investment market. The report, which has been put together by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (NCVO) Commission on Tax Incentives for Social Investment, explores the current market and makes recommendations for strengthening its role in building a strong economic future whilst also delivering social returns.

Public sector news

Government 'upsets' ICT teachers
Michael Gove has 'washed his hands' of ICT, leaving schools to fend for themselves, warn frustrated IT teachers

It's easy for Osborne, just copy Canada ...
It's obvious how the UK could be well on the way to faster growth with lower national debt, says report

Ofcom boosts 4G coverage to rural "not-spots"
Ofcom extends proposals to boost mobile internet coverage to 98 per cent of the UK

Schools suffer 'chronic lack' of ICT specialist teachers
Some teachers in UK schools have a lower understanding of ICT than their students, warns Royal Society

Hospitals adopt 'potentially dangerous' booking system
Patients in two Bristol hospitals wrongly booked onto operations and others have missed their operations, say reports

Government faces cross-border cyber stalking problems
Protecting people from online harassment is a 'challenging international problem', says minister

Charity comms news

Red Cross received most press and broadcast coverage in 2011
Catherine Wright of media analysis firm Metrica says world events have the most impact on press coverage

Uncertainty over postage costs hampers direct mail campaigns, agency warns
Nick Pride of DMS says fundraisers won't hear new prices until the end of February

Variety Club changes name to Variety, the Children's Charity
Former chief barker Malcolm Brenner says the rebrand is intended to raise the charity's profile

Lobbyist register 'must not deter political engagement'
NCVO head Sir Stuart Etherington fears proposal might put smaller organisations off lobbying

Fundraising news

'Live simply so that others can simply live' urges student film
A 21-year-old music student has highlighted the issues of greed and wastefulness in the light of other people's poverty in a 5-minute film called 'Live Simply'.

RNLI announces 41 redundancies
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has cut 41 staff, citing the challenging economic climate for charities that rely on public donations.

Charities need to engage with users to improve online giving, says report
Almost half of users who start an online donation fail to complete it, according to a new report which urges the sector to adopt a more personal approach to online donations.

More charity fundraising news, jobs and blogs

Campaigning news

Red Cross received most press and broadcast coverage in 2011
Catherine Wright of media analysis firm Metrica says world events have the most impact on press coverage

Uncertainty over postage costs hampers direct mail campaigns, agency warns
Nick Pride of DMS says fundraisers won't hear new prices until the end of February

Variety Club changes name to Variety, the Children's Charity
Former chief barker Malcolm Brenner says the rebrand is intended to raise the charity's profile

Lobbyist register 'must not deter political engagement'
NCVO head Sir Stuart Etherington fears proposal might put smaller organisations off lobbying

More charity communications and campaigning news, jobs and blogs

Volunteering news

Eric Pickles to intervene in Nottinghamshire voluntary sector cuts
The communities secretary will write to the county council about its disproportionate cuts to the voluntary sector

Beatbullying project granted £1.3m from Social Action Fund
Civil society minister Nick Hurd is 'impressed' by We're Altogether Better, which aims to support half a million children

Museum volunteer told to work unpaid at Poundland
Cait Reilly was told she otherwise would lose her Jobseeker's Allowance

Former Citizens Advice volunteer demands to see report on her dismissal
Gillian Brocklehurst is using the Data Protection Act in a bid to see the document

Tesco chooses Cancer Research UK as charity of the year
Charity hopes to raise more than £1m through link with the supermarket

More charity volunteering news, jobs and blogs