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GuideStar lands at Directory of Social Change 2

Governance | Tania Mason | 3 Mar 2010

GuideStar UK and its subsidiary trading company GuideStar Data Services have become part of the Directory of Social Change.

Ownership of the free public GuideStar website, which contains information about all UK charities, and the GuideStar Data Services (GDS) community interest company that leverages that information for use by third parties, passed from UK-registered charity GuideStar International to the DSC this week.

The DSC has pledged to maintain the free website and also to explore ways of increasing access to the data for funders, campaigners, policy-makers and organisations delivering services.

The database administered by GDS comprises more than 400 searchable fields of data on 350,000 civil society organisations. GuideStar claims it is the only sector database that is compiled by analysing both the accounts and the narrative from every annual report, work that is carried out in Sri Lanka.

The transfer of ownership will enable GuideStar International to focus its attention and resources on developing new GuideStar services around the world. GuideStar UK has always been an anomaly in the GuideStar empire – it was the only one around the world that was owned by GuideStar International. All the others are independent.

The three remaining GuideStar employees will move to the DSC’s offices tomorrow and two new IT staff will be recruited.

DSC chief executive Debra Allcock Tyler (pictured) described the potential impact of the two organisations joining forces as “immense”.

“DSC’s vision is an independent voluntary sector at the heart of social change, and GuideStar provides more tools to make this happen.  This unique factual resource will expand and deepen our knowledge. Together we will get more of the right information to the people who need it so that charities can be more effective in achieving their ambitions.”

Buzz Schmidt, founder of GuideStar and CEO of GuideStar International, said he had long admired DSC’s work as “connector, facilitator, and cheerleader” for small and medium-sized charities.  “We are confident DSC will wholeheartedly advance GuideStar’s mission to promote great public understanding of the work of charities.”

Self-sufficiency elusive

The GuideStar UK website was established in March 2004 with £2.9m from the Treasury’s Invest to Save Budget and more than £1m from other funders.

But despite further funding injections from trusts and foundations and support from GuideStar International, the organisation has always struggled to become self-sufficient.

GuideStar Data Services was created in 2007 to sell information from the GuideStar database to interested parties such as government agencies or credit providers. It was set up with a £1.25m loan that originated from US non-profit Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It was expected to break even within 18 months and eventually to cover the costs of GuideStar UK, but has not yet turned a profit.  Asked whether she was confident it could, Allcock Tyler said "absolutely".

The organisation has gone through a series of executive leaders since its inception.  The latest, Les Hems, who became director of both GuideStar UK and GuideStar Data Services last summer, left at the end of last year for a new job in Australia.

Neither DSC nor GuideStar International would disclose the terms of the deal.

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Directory: Directory of Social Change (DSC)
Who's Who: Debra Allcock Tyler