The results of the first Community Life survey were published with little fanfare earlier this month. We can't draw conclusions from one data point, but it felt significant that three quarters of the population described themselves as having volunteered in the past year.
Last week I visited New York. Walking around Manhattan, the only visible signs of the chaos wrought by hurricane Sandy were the piles of neatly stacked sacks of belongings from homes and products from shops that the water destroyed.
This article originally appeared Thursday 18 October in the MJ. The article can also be viewed here.
Ask any local authority Chief Executive what three things keep them awake at night. It's a safe bet that funding social care will be on the list.
Last week Nesta and the RSA published a report by Ben Rogers calling for citizens to be trained in how to stop fights and intervene in anti-social behaviour. As you'd expect, the report generated some interesting debate.
One of my favourite things about these amazing Olympics has been the Games Makers. That's the 70,000 or so volunteers that can be seen across Central London and at Olympic venues all over the country.
The search is on for more potentially game-changing innovations in giving. This week (29 May) we launched the second open call for ideas for the Innovations in Giving Fund.
Here’s an experiment. Turn to the person next to you and ask them to name an organisation delivering a cutting edge innovation.
Last Friday saw the close of the first round of applications for the Innovation in Giving Fund - a £10m fund established by the Office for Civil Society and NESTA - to invest in new ideas with the potential to bring about a significant uplift in giving and exchange of time, assets, skills, resources and money to achieve social goals.
Given the current fiscal context, it’s entirely understandable that debates about the future of public services are dominated by how to make fewer financial resources go further – how to get more with less.
The 17 community organisations involved in our Neighbourhood Challenge programme have posted their first blogs and we’ve awarded some fun prizes for the best ones.
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