Ben Wittenberg
Ben Wittenberg is director of policy and research at the Directory of Social Change. He is accountable for all of DSC’s funding information, as well as its policy and campaigning activity. Before joining DSC he worked for national youth charity Weston Spirit, running projects in Liverpool and across the UK.
He is also trustee and vice chair of Liverpool arts charity, Urban Strawberry Lunch.
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The cost of the 2012 Olympic Games is forecast at £377m under its original budget, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced this morning, a sum that would cover almost 90 per cent of the lottery funding borrowed from its good causes fund to pay for the Games.
The campaign spearheaded by the Directory of Social Change to convince the government to return the £425m it diverted from good causes to fund the Olympics could be given a fillip tonight after it is featured on Channel 4’s Dispatches programme.
The Directory of Social Change has launched a campaign to hold the government to its promise to repay to good causes the National Lottery money taken for the Olympics, as the government reviews its original agreement to do so.
Knowing when not to write a funding bid to a trust or foundation is one of the key principles in trust fundraising. Here Ben Wittenberg shares the ten questions the DSC asks itself before it even considers putting together an application.
Trusts and foundations have been traversing troubled waters, but so far managed to stay the course with their grantmaking. Celina Ribeiro investigates how grantmakers have reacted to the downturn and how they are preparing to navigate the future.
Charities have been warned that their trust fundraising strategies could be a waste of time and money as research finds that more than a third of applications for funding to grantmakers are ineligible.
In-depth
Read the small print - Applying for grants is easier when you know what you're getting in to 7
Small print exists for a reason and charities could save precious time by taking note, says Ben Wittenberg, who is calling for a sector-wide debate on problems facing charities when applying for grants.
"We are a medium-sized organisation that offers support and training to women. We are funded mainly by statutory sources. We want to increase our influence as a campaigning charity but fears that challenging government would cost us funding are holding us back. Is it possible to combine the two and if so, how?"
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