Friday 1 July 2011

What's Happening in the Sector!

It is nearly a year since David Cameron launched his vision of the Big Society in May 2010 but it remains unclear quite what an impact the concept will have on charities and community projects.

What we do know is that there has been a decrease in public donations since the recession hit and that many local authorities are cutting back their funding to local community schemes as they reduce their own spending due to cuts. This in turn sees a big increase in demand for funds from other grant and funding sources.

At Giving World Online we can’t solve the funding issues but we will continue to work with companies and organisations to encourage them to pass on their surplus goods to help people in need through our network of bona fide charities and community projects.

And last month (June) saw online registrations from businesses reach to over 135. Many of the registrations have been due to the awareness raising by the Giving World Online TV advert which is currently airing on Discovery Channel, Discovery History and Discovery Science.

It is impossible to list all the companies but here are just a few of the organisations that have recently joined: Go Green Bags, E.O.N, Lismark Office Products, University of Lancashire, Loughborough University, John Lewis Bluewater, John Lewis Sheffield and the Land Registry office in Durham.

Similarly last month saw online registrations from charities reach over 1750, demonstrating how important it is that these valuable surplus resources are helping charities to meet the needs of beneficiaries.

With the current funding cuts the Giving World Online concept has become even more significant as a resource. The increase in registrations proves that access to quality free surplus items is an important medium for supporting communities and in delivering valuable services to the most vulnerable members of society.