Ian Allsop sums up what’s been happening in the charity world during the summer break.
The world of charity management could never be described as dull, except possibly when a new Sorp is on the table. And lately it has been more colourful than Camila Batmanghalidjh’s party dress at a crayon factory.
Since I last wrote, what with the summer break, a lot has happened.
Fundraising regulation
We had friend of this column, Chris Grayling, suggesting some nonsense or other recently. In truth I could write that sentence every month without any specific need to check whether he had, or fear of being wrong.
But his latest outburst was (I think) basically bluster about the government introducing legislation to impose self-regulation of fundraising, or some such paradoxical mangling of both law and English. I may have got that wrong, but he started it.
Whatever – whoever is daft enough to take on chairing the Fundraising Standards Board will have a plateful of tough steaks to chew through over the next couple of years, as well as deciding whether they should edit this sentence so that the fourth word reads ‘heroic’ (for those who missed the news, Charity Finance editor Andrew Hind is to hang up his pen and decamp to the FRSB later this month).
Rob ‘Ninepence’ Wilson continues to really raise the bar for ministers showing no understanding or empathy, let alone sympathy, for the people he is supposed to champion.
I could write a whole column on his comments about conservation charities straying from their mission (though they did at least elicit the response from RSPB of how they “ruffle a few feathers”).
However, those who have accused him of being a tuppenny-ha'penny minister have clearly underestimated his value. I can only assume that he donated the proceeds of his not-at- all-frivolous 9p expense claim for a 300-metre car journey to the local homelessness charities he has cherished in the past.
In fairness to Wilson, he is right to say that all of the short trips he makes and submits claims for add up, and shouldn’t be treated in isolation. In reality he is only setting a positive example to charities about the importance of administration and full cost recovery.
Anyway, I think that wraps things up. Nothing much else to talk about. But hang on; what’s that you say? Kids Company?
Ah yes. You may have heard about this. The story here is different depending on who you believe – but, in a nutshell, a high-profile charity doing lots of valuable work has collapsed due to poor management, or was allowed to fail because some in government were uncomfortable with it speaking out on things that made the same government look bad.
It will take time to fully understand where the fault lies, but one thing that is clear is that Camila Batmanghjelidh – who as such a self-effacing commentator as Sir Stephen Bubb observed in a wise blog post last month – had an approach which relied heavily on her force of character and charisma. So in some ways, as a self-publicist, she will be delighted that she has been all over the papers.
Agonising fallout
In the agonising fallout, the term ‘political football’ has been kicked about like a political football. This confused David Cameron as he had to say that supporting Kids Company was the right thing to do, before changing his mind and claiming West Ham United was his favourite organisation controversially receiving public money.
The whole episode reflects badly on pretty much everyone. Aside from any of the ongoing political machinations and possible criminal consequences, I am caught between sympathy for a committed charity run by passionate people, and frustration that what should be well-established principles of robust financial management and governance appear to have been left behind in the whirl of good intentions.
While I am saddened at the charity’s collapse, as an editor at heart, there are some positives. For a start, I have always had a nagging thought that Kids Company needs an apostrophe in its name somewhere.
And, let’s be honest, Camila Batmanghelidjh is a tough name to spell – as I have twice deliberately shown earlier in this column.
Ian Allsop is a freelance editor and journalist, and regular contributor to Charity Finance.
