I’m recently back from Dubai having tried to get to Afghanistan to do some shows in Forward Operating Bases with James Blunt and comedians Jim Davidson OBE, Clive Cooper and Greg Cook. It was a great line-up and would have delivered a great show – Clive is in the current series of Shameless and Greg was in the Ken Loach film Looking for Eric. (more…)
Continue readingThe Charity sector, no different to any other, is in a bit of a mess. The quality and quantity of provision for those in need has never been better however the market place is so congested that all shop windows are obscured from view. This is to the detriment of the customer.
In 2010 I would like to see a real political determination to look at all Charity legislation and get rid of what is defunct and outdated before any new legislation is brought in. Many compliance guidelines and laws are old and contradictory and need contemporising. They can start with addressing the contradictions in SORP.
Official Bodies that have a legal duty should stop giving advice, as it confuses everyone as to what the law actually is. They should merely help enforce and interpret (clearly) the law. There is too much innuendo and misinterpretation, especially from Lawyers and Auditors.
We have so many new charities being formed, which are duplicating work and effort already done elsewhere. The Charity Commission needs to check that those forming a new charity are aware of the sector they are joining and the experience of those in it. They then have to convince the Commission that they are offering or have the potential to offer something new, of better quality and better value. Every new charity implies a failing somewhere.
Sectors should get together with Government and the Commission to produce a Kite Mark for the charities that work in support of the Sector.
A clear definition of who is the Public and how they may benefit in regard to ‘Public Benefit’ would be nice!
Large charities with massive reserves should be prevented from fundraising until the reserves are reduced and small charities should be encouraged to build up reserves.
All Charities should seriously try to amalgamate or merge with at least one other charity in the year.
I write from the perspective of The Erach and Roshan Sadri Foundation, The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, The Armed Forces Charity Advisory Company and the British Forces Foundation.
Mark Cann
Director of The British Forces Foundation
(These are the personal views of Mark Cann and not necessarily those of the Charity)
BFBS Radio, Luisse Shaw, 20th November 2009
· Report from the Aldershot Garrison theatre on the show, organised by the Army Benevolent Fund in association with The British Forces Foundation, for the families of those deployed on Operations.
To hear the radio report click below:
Continue readingOn Tuesday a brilliant idea was launched in the form of ForcesDeal.com – an insurance comparison website set up by a group of professionals who will donate 70% of its profits from fees to ForcesDeal.com Foundation. This foundation will be arms-length grant-giving charity for other Armed Forces charities, and therefore a unique source of funding for the community of those serving and ex-serving military personnel whom we all admire so much.
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I was interviewed about this last week in regards to the almost vicious criticism the Prime Minister received for his letter of condolence. I believe this was blown out of proportion and used by elements of the media to kick a man when he’s down rather than it being a credible story in its own right.
I do think we have to be very careful not to disrespect our politicians at a time like this. The hardest decisions of all are actually made by politicians – not by the press, not by senior officers, not by civil servants but politicians from the government we elect. I do not believe for one moment that they take the decision of going to war or exposing our Armed Forces to danger lightly, and I also know that they feel very deeply when a consequence of their decisions involves the injury or death among our fantastic servicemen and women. We cross the line when criticisms of politicians imply that this is not the case.
Mark Cann
Director of The British Forces Foundation
(These are the personal views of Mark Cann and not necessarily those of the Charity)
