The new edition of Who's Who on CD-ROM is now available. An essential tool for fundraising researchers, the disk contains biographies of over 110,000 people "from all walks of life who have contributed to the political, economic, scientific, social and artistic life of Britain and the world."
What's the point of charity? Helping the destitute or puffing up the ego of the donor? The answer may explain how the mix of US charitable donations has changed over the years. Dan Seligman asks Is philanthropy irrational? in Forbes magazine (1 June 1998).
Stephen Lee has resigned from the Institute of Charity Fundraising Managers. He will leave at the end of August, following ten years at ICFM.
He will become chief executive of a new fundraising support unit at chartered accountants Kingston Smith, and also a senior research fellow in voluntary sector management at South Bank University.
UK Fundraising's founder Howard Lake is described by The Guardian as "one of the sector's high-tech pioneers." The quote appears in an article by David Ball on Internet fundraising in the special Fundraising supplement published by the Guardian on 29 June.
In a recent interview with UK Fundraising, fundraising consultant Gerry Beldon confirmed that the Internet was proving very useful to him in his work. Beldon, recently elected to the ICFM North East executive committee, said "I am picking up a not inconsiderable amount of work via newsgroups and the Web."
Should fundraisers be paid on a commission basis? Graham Collings, a committee member of the ICFM Consultants' Group, addresses this issue in this month's ICFM Update. He concludes that there are too many problems that can arise, hence the disapproval of the practice by the Charity Commission and the ICFM.
His arguments against paying fundraisers on commission are:
To coincide with the ICFM Annual Convention, The Guardian will be carrying an article by David Ball on fundraising on the Internet.
With the latest stories on who has raised funds successfully and gained valuable experience, the article also carries an interview with Howard Lake, publisher of UK Fundraising. Buy The Guardian on Monday 29th June to read the article.
International Development Secretary Clare Short accused the Red Cross and other agencies of launching pointless fundraising appeals on the back of international disasters and emergencies.
ICFM members are being asked to vote for members for the ICFM Executive Committee. Nine nominations for the five vacancies have been received. Ballot papers have been sent to members, and completed papers should be returned to ICFM's offices no later than 16th June.
