Communications

Good communications are integral to the running of a modern charity, particularly those operating nationally or internationally.

Advances in communication technology in recent years, such as improved video conferencing and mobile applications, have helped charities to stay in touch with employees wherever they are working.

Displaying 1 to 27 (of 27)

Blogs

Time management: execute with excellence

Finance | John Tate | 2 Feb 2012

Tags: Human resources | IT strategy and management | Leadership and strategy | Communications

Allocating time appropriately between strategy and operations is, says John Tate, the key to business success.

Blogs

App-solutely fabulous: Charities embrace the smartphone generation 2

IT | Kirsty Weakley | 1 Nov 2011

Tags: Communications technology | Communications | Mobile technology

Charities have shown no shortage of imagination in the range of smartphone apps they have launched into the market. In this rolling blog, civilsociety.co.uk brings you some of the highs (and lows) from the latest app developments in the charity sector.

News

Oxfam is first International NGO to publish eBook

IT | Niki May Young | 21 Oct 2011

Tags: Communications technology | Communications | Campaigns

Oxfam has published a digital edition of its report, Growing a Better Future: Food Justice in a resource-constrained world, for Kindles and other readers, making it the first international non-governmental organisation to publish an eBook.

News

NCVO overhauls member helpdesk

IT | 17 Mar 2011

Tags: Communications | Membership | Websites

NCVO has agreed a deal for social enterprise Connect Assist to provide a new multi-channel helpdesk for its members, a solution which will have an increased emphasis on giving online assistance.

News

Green party candidate clones RAF Trust website

IT | Niki May Young | 14 Jul 2010

Tags: Communications | Law

The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust received an unwelcome imitation when Green Party candidate Kevin Lister cloned its Air Tattoo website in an attempt to deter visitors to the show.

News

Video showcase website See the Difference goes live 4

Fundraising | Gareth Jones | 15 Jun 2010

Tags: Websites | Communications

See the Difference, the video-based website aiming to showcase the work of UK charities, launches today.

News

Outside the stadium: There's more than one tournament in the World Cup

IT | 14 Jun 2010

Tags: Websites | Communications | Films

World Emergency Relief is holding a parallel World Cup tournament, right outside the gates of the South Africa stadia. The charity has published a film of the tournament alongside a series of short films documenting life "outside the stadium", which look at growing up in the townships, the local passion for football and the challenges facing South Africa.

News

Nick Hurd says ThankQ

IT | Niki May Young | 3 Jun 2010

Tags: Social networking | Communications | Communications technology

Nick Hurd has leant his support to a new twitter topic aimed at thanking members of civil society. The minister made his comments in support of the launch of ThankQThursday, a creation of i-volunteer launched to help charities and individuals show their support for those within the sector.

Reviews

Product review: Vocus PR management software

IT | Mark Walker | 24 May 2010

Tags: Communications | Social networking

Mark Walker and Julie Harris run the rule over Vocus PR management software.

Case studies

Case study: NSPCC's helplines development programme

IT | Gareth Jones | 21 May 2010

Tags: Communications | Communications technology

Gareth Jones hears how NSPCC’s helplines development programme brought about an up-to-date, multi-platform counselling service.

News

Compassion UK makes £250,000 with customer experience software

Fundraising | Gareth Jones | 21 May 2010

Tags: Communications

Poverty-relief child-sponsorship charity Compassion UK claims to have increased its income by more than £250,000 in the first year of using cloud-based customer experience software from RightNow.

Case studies

Case study: Stroke Association opts for online solution to create printed materials

IT | Gareth Jones | 26 Apr 2010

Tags: Communications

Gareth Jones hears how the Stroke Association saved £30,000 a year by using a web-based publishing tool for its printed marketing leaflets.

News

Millcaster Tales 'video' version vies for Archers fame 4

IT | 14 Apr 2010

Tags: Communications | And finally

KnowHow NonProfit has upgraded its Millcaster Tales soap opera from a written to a “video” production in the hope of becoming “the Archers of the voluntary sector”, with the aid of one of ITV’s drama writers.

Case studies

VSO revitalises its international communications with video conferencing

IT | Gareth Jones | 13 Apr 2010

Tags: Communications

Gareth Jones looks at how VSO went about implementing a managed video conferencing service, and the benefits it brought to the development charity.

News

Greenpeace viral evades Nestlé's grasp

IT | Gareth Jones | 24 Mar 2010

Tags: Web technologies | Communications

Nestlé has been forced to admit defeat in its attempt to suppress a YouTube video created by Greenpeace.

Case studies

The trials of getting back online

IT | Roger Chester | 1 Mar 2010

Tags: Communications

Roger Chester tells the story of a phone bill audit which had unexpected consequences.

News

Charity CEO launches campaign against Apple donation policy 2

IT | Gareth Jones | 10 Feb 2010

Tags: Communications

An anti-bullying charity is leading an online campaign to try to force Apple to allow charities to include donate buttons in iPhone applications.

News

Charity scheme reduces hospice’s telephone charges by four-fifths

IT | Stefan Marseglia | 5 Feb 2010

Tags: Communications

St Luke’s Hospice in Basildon has seen an 80 per cent saving in its phone bill by working with Support Telecom, a partner programme set up by a local entrepreneur to reduce charities’ phone bills.

Blogs

Bull in the China shop?

IT | John Tate | 1 Feb 2010

Tags: Accountability and transparency | Communications

Google’s decision to stop censoring search results in China is a backward step, say John Tate.

Case studies

Rethink cuts down on travelling time with video conferencing technology

IT | Gareth Jones | 26 Nov 2009

Tags: Communications

In this case study, we look at how mental health charity Rethink approached the implementation of video conferencing technology.

New Business Wins

Targeted communications

IT | Gareth Jones | 23 Oct 2009

Tags: Communications

The world society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) claims to have increased online donations by nearly 50 per cent with a campaign powered by on-demand email and one-to-one marketing solutions provider ExactTarget. It ascribes this success to its ability to tailor email content to the preferences of its supporters.

Case studies

Creating a knowledge transfer partnership

IT | 1 Sep 2009

Tags: Communications

A three-way knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), the University of Reading and a qualified graduate helped the disability charity to shift all its business from manual to electronic systems during 2006-7. Dr Paul Naylor, KTP adviser, explains how.

News

New intranet for Children's Society

IT | Tania Mason | 1 Mar 2009

Tags: IT strategy and management | Websites | Communications

The Children’s Society is set to implement a Content Managed Intranet to improve internal communications and engage all staff. The charity has teamed up with Unified Solutions to develop the intranet based on Percussion Rhythmyx 6.5 CMS. The pair previously worked together relaunching the charity’s website in 2007.

Interviews

It's good to talk with Bonny Young

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 27 Mar 2008

Tags: Budgeting | Communications

The Community Network is expanding. Vibeka Mair talks to Bonny Young, the network's deputy chief executive, about paying the bills, rural isolation and the importance of social telephony.