Civil Society News is bringing you a festive countdown in the run-up to Christmas. On the fifth day we look back at the ten most popular blogs of 2014.

1. 'How the sector responded to the Dispatches investigation into telephone fundraising' by Jenna Pudelek

In August Channel 4’s Dispatches got the fundraising community hot under the collar over its investigation into telephone fundraising. With accusations of biased journalism and concerns about the impact it could have on fundraising, Jenna Pudelek rounded up some of the highlights from the online debate.

Later Ian MacQuillin, of think tank Rogare, appealed to the sector to take the criticism seriously, even if the programme was a "hatchet job masquerading as investigative journalism". 

Channel 4 wrote a response to the criticism of programme, arguing that it was an "important piece of public service journalism".

2. 'Six issues with social impact bonds' by David Ainsworth

In the spring the government pulled the plug on its social impact bond pilot at Peterborogh prison but also launched a £30m SIB fund for Neets. David Ainsworth, deputy editor of Charity Finance, thought this could appear as though like the government was sending out mixed messages and decided to take a closer look at at some key issues.

He wrote: “Given that it’s a format designed to promote evidence-based contracting, it seems curious the government has launched so many without waiting for any evidence about their effectiveness. But actually, there are strong reasons to believe that SIBs are really powerful tools, if they are constructed effectively.”

3. 'Not everything that matters can be measured' by Debra Allcock Tyler

Never one to shy away from an opinion, Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change, started the year railing against the growing demand for charities to provide evidence that what they do is helping.

She wrote: “There’s something ridiculously patronising about the notion that day after day a bunch of charity sector workers and volunteers turn up to work with no idea at all if what they’re doing is helping!”

The blog generated some interesting debate ‘below the line’ with some commenters applauding her stance, while David Pritchard, head of measurement and evalution at NPC, saying: “We must not confuse current poor practices of measuring impact with its purpose.”

4. 'One of the bugbears of every fundraising director is haggling over bits of income' by Lucy Caldicott

Lucy Caldicott, director of fundraising at Clic Sargent, on the thorny issue of preventing fundraisers from to squabbling over exactly where money has come from and at the same time making sure care about meeting and exceeding targets.

 “I work hard to make sure my teams work effectively enough with each other so they plan for the inevitable crossovers in advance, so they work in support of each others' objectives, not in competition with them,” she wrote.

A difficult sentiment to argue with.

5. 'Why I didn’t accept an ice bucket challenge' by Kirsty Weakley

While the rest of the world, including several members of staff at Civil Society Media, was bending over backwards to have a bucket of ice poured over them, Civil Society News reporter Kirsty Weakley was a little bit more cynical.

She argued: “The social media challenge has become the modern-day equivalent of the chain-mail letter, and while I applaud that instead of avoiding seven years' bad luck (or whatever superstitious drivel failure to comply entailed) it now involves a few charities raising money, the peer-pressuring factor is the same, and I for one refuse to have any part in it.”

Unsurprisingly the fundraising community was quick to defend the craze. Adrian Salmon commented: “The fact that 56 per cent of people didn't donate is really neither here nor there. In fact I'm sure that if the challenge had been put together either within ALS and the MND Society, or for them by an agency, there would definitely have been a projection figure in there for non-donating participants. This is not news to fundraisers! What matters is the amazing number of people who did, and how the recipient charities now work to delight them.”

6. 'Why I hate charity fundraising events' by Tobin Aldrich

After being told that events are the key to cracking the US fundraising market Tobin Aldrich, director of global fundraising at Sightsavers, explained why he believes that they actually “fail all of the principles of a good fundraising programme”.

“They are one-off, by their very nature. They are high-risk. They are very expensive not just in money but in time and effort. And the focus isn’t on the cause -  it’s on the venue, the entertainment and the guests,” he added.

Catherine Demetriadi, head of development at Royal School of Church Music commented to offer a five-point defence of gala fundraising and said: “If you don't like certain kinds of fundraising, don't participate in them. But try not to trash them, either!”

7. 'Which health charities have the most fundraising success?' by David Ainsworth

An nfpSynergy report that suggested fundraising success of medical charities was not linked to the number of people with the condition got David Ainsworth, deputy editor of Charity Finance, thinking about which factors do have an effect.

After taking apart the report’s methodology Ainsworth concluded that: “In short, I think there is a fairly fixed ranking system for how easy it is to fundraise for a charity, but it’s not based on sufferers, and it doesn’t correlate exactly with mortality rates. And I’m not sure how much you can do, as a fundraiser, to improve your charity’s standing.”

8. 'How "I wish I had breast cancer" could have gone further' by Celina Ribeiro

In February Pancreatic Cancer Action’s campaign ‘I wish I had breast cancer’ attracted a lot of criticism, mainly from breast cancer charities, for implying that one type of cancer is worse than another.  However, it wasn’t the content of the campaign that irritated Celina Ribeiro, editor of Fundraising Magazine, but the lack of integration.

“It’s a bold campaign. Not nasty, not bitter, not combative. But what I did find disappointing is that the while charity has gone strong on this message, and defended it robustly, the message is absent from its website,” she wrote.

9. '#nomakeupselfie: Vanity versus philanthropy' by Jenni Cahill

The viral fundraising craze in March was the #nomakeupselfie cancer awareness campaign. Civil Society Media’s Jenni Cahill gave the donor’s view.

“Having passively noticed many of my friends’ bare-faced posts, I have to admit I had mixed feelings when I woke this morning to find that I too had been nominated. Alongside the general wave of support sweeping the internet, I have also read many disparaging comments dismissing it as ‘boring’, ‘ineffective’ and most vehemently ‘a self-indulgent display of vanity’,” she wrote.

10. 'Charities can't avoid being political' by Leon Ward

During his short spell as minister for civil society Brooks Newmark managed to alienate the sector with comments that charities should “stick to their knitting” and “stay out of the realm of politics”, later clarifying that he meant “party politics”. But regular blogger Leon Ward argued that the line between ‘politics’ and ‘party politics’ is so thin as to be virtually invisible.

“Of course, it’s impossible for charities to stay out of politics. Charities get government funding, they are commissioned to run services, and they are asked for advice by politicians. They are de facto involved in the realm of politics, especially when things go wrong. Politicians are also involved in charities, both in seeking their support and criticising them when things go wrong,” he wrote.