Judges at the Charities Online Financial Reporting Awards say charities must understand that the internet is a powerful fundraising tool.
Charities begin online
The last few years have been difficult for the charitable sector. Caught between the fallout from the economic crisis and unprecedented demand for their services, charities are currently working on a ‘financial knife-edge’.
It is surprising, as the judges of the institute’s annual Charities Online Financial Reporting Awards (COFRA) discovered, how comparatively few of them pay enough attention to what is one of the most powerful – and cost-effective – tools in the fund-raising box: the internet.
‘Older people are becoming increasingly tech-savvy – using smart phones and iPads to read things rather than paper,’ said Graham Ward, who chaired the judging panel. ‘And all charities are trying to attract younger donors too. So online makes sense.'
Interestingly, it is the smallest charities (income below £250,000) that are consistently ahead of the pack when it comes to innovation. Once again the judges were impressed that limited resources did not seem to present a barrier to vibrant design and presentation.
Indeed, had there been an overall prize winner for the whole awards, the winner in this category – Aberdeen Strathspey & Reel Society – would have won. ‘I think,’ Ward added, ‘that both charities and businesses – and perhaps even member organisations – can learn from their example.’ In contrast, the judges took the view that none of the charities in the £1m-£5m category exemplified best practice. Generally, they said, charities failed to exploit the relationship between income and charitable endeavour; they assumed that a straight pdf document was enough; and they gave little thought to how the narrative is ultimately supported by the numbers.
Download the full article of 'Charity begins at home' (PDF 83KB/1 page), August 2011.
COFRA recognise charities’ online reports and accounts that demonstrate the highest levels of accuracy and transparency, and which communicate most effectively with their beneficiaries, donors and stakeholders.
ICAEW The winners
Top 100:
- 1st Oxfam
- 2nd Charities Aid Foundation
Income over £5M:
- 1st Action on Hearing Loss (formerly the Royal National Institute for the Deaf)
- 2nd None
Income £1M-£5M:
No winners
Income £250,000-£1M:
- 1st Cecily’s Fund
- 2nd South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau
Income below £250,000:
- 1st Aberdeen Strathspey & Reel Society
- 2nd Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society
The judge's top tips
- Quick access to online reports is essential – ideally in three clicks.
- Check for basic omissions. Failure to sign the accounts is the most common cause for exclusion.
- Help get your message across with ‘at a glance’ summaries. Give readers a snapshot of key achievements, comparatives, and illustrations of how the finances link to comparatives. Show how you achieve value for money.
- Adopt a simple approach to narrative reporting – ‘this is what we said we’d do, this is what we’ve done and this is what we’ll do next’.
- Reconfigure your reports to html rather than rely on pdfs or cutting and pasting. If you insist on pdfs, break them up.
- Charities need to consider how to cater for handheld, as well as desktop, devices. Blackberry and iPhone users may need a different interface with websites.
- Security is vital. Protect your data.