I recently caught up with Karl Wilding, Director of Policy and Volunteering at NCVO, We covered a lot so this episode of the podcast is a little longer than the others. You’re probably already following Karl on Twitter so you know the deal – he knows a ridiculous amount about the sector.
We talk about:
- NCVO: what it does and how
- Trust in charities, how that conversation is playing out across the sector and how we should approach it
- The challenges of being a membership organisation representation of members versus leading members through change
- Diversity in relation to the Comic Relief / Stacey Dooley saga
- Grant-making: how funders strengthen or drain charities and some initiatives and practices that are seeking to address this
The highlights for me:
- Trust in charities. We need to make changes to our practice and then demonstrate these changes (as has been done via fundraising regulation) rather than simply broadcasting to the public
- Knowing when to contribute to a conversation. Do you have the expertise to make a meaningful contribution? Paraphrasing a bit here, but useful to consider when you have Twitter open on your phone and you see the Daily Mail has published something negative about the sector *again*
- Grant-making information. A chat about funders building capacity versus draining charities’ resources through their funding model, and a few people and resources to have a look at.
A few things you might want to have a look at:
- Vu Le and his NonprofitAF blog
- My book review of Unicorns Unite: How non profits and foundations can build epic partnerships
- Julia Unwin‘s Grant Making Tango: Issues for Funders
- Phil Buchanan – President of the Center for Effective Philanthropy in the States
- Association of Charitable Foundation‘s Stronger Foundations blog (that link is for a recent blog by Gina Crane from Esmee Fairbairn and is worth a read!)
You can listen on SoundCloud, iTunes. I hope you enjoy it – if so, do share on social media and I’d love to hear your feedback.
Beth Crackles 