Twenty-eight large charities will test new ways to increase giving, by adopting approaches to innovation used in the commercial world, as part of the Cabinet Office and Nesta’s Innovation in Giving Fund.

Over the next three months, the 28 charities will receive coaching and peer support to develop new innovations in giving before being invited to submit proposals to take the ideas to scale and receive funding support. Successful applicants will then be selected later this year to receive a share of £1.5m funding from the Innovation in Giving Fund, as well as non-financial support, to implement their ideas.

The programme will encourage successful approaches to open innovation that are increasingly common in commercial organisations.

Helen Goulden, director of Public Services Laboratory, Nesta said, “The Open Innovation programme sets its sights firmly on working with charities who have identified big challenges they want to work on to increase giving. The charities that have been selected into the programme have demonstrated a real appetite and ambition to work with people and ideas from outside the sector to develop high-impact solutions and take great innovations in giving to scale.”

The Innovation in Giving Fund was launched in September 2011 by Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, as part of a £34m package to increase levels of giving. The fund has supported a range of projects aimed at increasing giving.

The charities selected to participate in the first phase of the Open Innovation Programme are -

• AGE UK
• Ambition (Formerly Clubs for Young People)
• Asthma UK
• Beat Bullying
• British Museum
• Catch 22
• CSV
• Food Cycle
• Groundwork
• Macmillan
• Marie Curie Cancer Care
• Mencap
• Mind
• National Trust
• NCT
• NCVO
• NSPCC
• Riverside
• RNIB
• Save The Children
• Terrence Higgins Trust
• The Art Fund
• The Children’s Society 
• The Prince’s Trust
• United Response
• Wastewatch / Keep Britain Tidy
• WRVS
• WWF