Cost of living squeeze on charity giving
Julian Lomas
This short article explores in a little more depth the impacts of the cost of living crisis on charity giving and what charities might be able to do to respond.
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Stay up to date with developments in the sector and our latest thinking on issues affecting charities and social enterprises.
Why delegated authorities and financial controls matter for charities
Julian Lomas
Robust (and proportionate) financial controls and delegated authorities policies are essential for protecting your charity, its Trustees, staff and volunteers but many small and even medium sized charities don’t have them in place. This short article explain why these policies are so important.
Read MoreCovid-19 mission drift amongst small and medium sized charities
Julian Lomas
While the pandemic has been a tough time for many charities, others have been hugely successful in winning new funding and work over the last two years. Has this resulted in mission drift for those charities and is a course correction now needed for some?
Read MoreTrends in charity fundraising
Julian Lomas
This short article explores some emerging trends in charity fundraising following the volatility of the last two years during the pandemic, particularly in individual giving and grants from trusts and foundations.
Read MoreDo your charity Trustees understand their duties?
Julian Lomas
Do your Trustees understand their legal duties? Our experience is that in small charities they often don’t and this can lead to problems. This article provides a simple synopsis of charity Trustee duties..
Read MoreData protection changes that will make charity fundraising easier
Julian Lomas
4 years on from GDPR and new Data Protection legislation is in the offing. What will this mean for charities and fundraising in particular?
Read MoreWhy governance health checks are important for all charities.
Julian Lomas
With continued concern about the governance of charities clear to see in the press and Charity Commission publications, this short articles explores why all charities should regularly review the health of their governance arrangements.
Read MoreOur Corporate Social Responsibility accreditation
Julian Lomas
We are delighted that Almond Tree Strategic Consulting’s long-standing commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently been recognised through renewal of our CSR Accreditation, this time at the Gold award level.
Read MoreCharities Act 2022: what does it mean for small charities?
Julian Lomas
The Charities Act 2022 became law in February 2022 and the Government has recently published its implementation plan for the new Act. But what will it mean for small charities?
Read MoreSupporting small charities and social enterprises: a perspective from Clarion Futures
Julian Lomas
In the third blog in our series we reflects from Emma Hale, Grants Manager at Clarion Futures on the work we have been doing with their partners since late 2020 and the impacts of their Recovery and Resilience Programme on both the foundation and their partners.
Read MoreOur impact in supporting small charities and social enterprises through the pandemic
Julian Lomas
This is the second in a short series of blogs reflecting on the work we have been doing support small charities and social enterprises on behalf of Clarion Futures. This blog focuses on the findings from the evaluation of our work.
Read MoreSupporting small charities and social enterprises through the pandemic
Julian Lomas
This is the first in a short series of blogs we will publish in the coming weeks reflecting on the work we have been doing support small charities and social enterprises on behalf of Clarion Futures.
Read MoreShifting the culture from crisis to calm
Julian Lomas
Pandemic nor not, charities operate in a constant state of crisis. In this guest blog, William Roberts offer four principles to move your charity from crisis to calm.
Read MoreIs cashless fundraising the future?
Julian Lomas
Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has stimulated a large and sustained increase in cashless giving and the received wisdom appears to be that it is here to stay. But is there evidence to support the receive wisdom? It seems there may be.
Read MoreFinding, engaging and retaining volunteers in 2022
Julian Lomas
The voluntary sector has gone through as much change as any over the last few years. In this guest blog, Ashley Staines of Volunteero provides some tips around how best to acquire, onboard, engage and retain your volunteers
Read MoreHow to address disputes between charity trustees
Julian Lomas
Sometimes, when we are asked to help with a governance review or strategy development, we quickly discover that the underlying trigger for the charity asking for help is that there is disagreement or even conflict between trustees. This short article explore why this happens and what can be done about it.
Read MoreWishing you a restful Christmas and New Year
Julian Lomas
We wish all our clients, and everyone working to sustain vital charity services, a restful and enjoyable Christmas and New Year and look forward to working with you in 2022
Read MoreHow charity funders have (mostly) stepped up to the challenges of Covid-19
Julian Lomas
In previous blogs we’ve explored what charity fundraising might look like post-Covid and the impacts on grant funding in particular. This article applauds funders for (mostly) stepping up to the mark to keep the sector afloat and meet the needs of vulnerable people during the pandemic.
Read MoreIt's long past time to get serious about Trustee diversity
Julian Lomas
Diversity on Trustee Boards has been on the agenda for a long time and yet the sector still isn’t stepping up to the mark. This short article explores this critical issue for the sector in a little more detail.
Read MoreWhy charities need a good policy framework
Julian Lomas
We frequently get asked to help small charities put in place a fit for purpose policy framework. Unfortunately this often starts out as a box-ticking exercise but it should be so much more important than that.
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