We all know money is tight. Demand is up in the voluntary sector, funding is down and charities are having to find new ways to survive and bring in an income.
So, what does the future of charity finance hold? Will the sector need to look at alternative finance, refocus its fundraising strategy or seek out new grants and funding? Join us on Friday 12 December between 12 and 1.30pm to discuss.
During the debate we will be touching on:
• alternative finance – will tools such as crowdfunding change the face of charity finance?
• where to look for grants and, with the level of competition, are they still a viable source of income?
• the role of public service contracts
• how to make the most of social investment and social impact bonds
• priorities for the future and shaping your fundraising strategy.
If you would like to leave a question, please do so in the comments section below, or come back to ask it live – and follow the debate – on Friday 12 December, from 12 noon till 1.30pm GMT.
To take part you need to register for a Guardian ID and log in prior to the discussion. To create an ID, click here.
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Panel
Danyal Sattar, development director– Big Society Capital
Danyal Sattar is development director at Big Society Capital. Danyal has a long background in social investment. Prior to joining Big Society Capital, Danyal worked at Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, where he held a range of roles, including fund manager of Esmee’s social investment fund. He has worked for a range of social investment organisations including Charity Bank, the International Association of Investors in the Social Economy, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association and Aston Reinvestment Trust, as well as the New Economics Foundation. Danyal is a trustee of the Ethical Investment Research Services Foundation and the T’ai Chi Foundation.
Alice Casey, senior development manager– Nesta
Alice is a senior development manager at Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation, which works with charities, funders, startups and voluntary sector organisations to understand how we can use digital to help solve social challenges. Alice is currently leading on a portfolio of work looking at how the web is transforming communities and civic life, and exploring how new types of alternative finance, such as crowdfunding, are being used by charities.
Jack Sheldon, team lead– Yimby
Jack heads up the team at Yimby.com, the community crowdfunding platform by JustGiving. He’s passionate about how the web is transforming the way we support the causes we care about, and how crowdfunding gives every one of us the potential to make good things happen in our community. Yimby launched in November 2013 and has already seen over 1,300 community projects raise over £1.8m from the crowd.
Steve Mallison, chief executive– Local Giving
As chief executive, Steve heads up the Localgiving team, with the aim of helping local charities across the UK to achieve financial sustainability. Following an executive background in international telecoms and technology, his passion for the third sector and CSR led him to join Localgiving in May 2014. Steve strongly believes in the power of technology to help solve social problems. He considers innovation within the online fundraising sector crucial to helping local charities engage with alternative funding channels, develop new projects and become sustainable.
