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.

Moving Forward…

And what an exciting time it is proving to be with three great pieces of news…

Firstly we are delighted to announce that we have been successful with our lottery bid and have been awarded a Big Lottery grant to develop and advance Giving World Online across the nine English regions.

Big Lottery Press Release:

‘The final England-wide project to receive funding today is Konnect9 Worldwide to develop an existing online project matching surplus items to disadvantaged and hard to reach people across the country. These items are donated by companies and include clothing, toiletries, toys, educational materials and computer equipment. Konnect9 aims to benefit children and families, isolated groups including homeless people and vulnerable groups such as people fleeing violence. And an environmental aspect to the project is that it means fewer items being sent to landfill.’

Though it is all very exciting now the work really begins! So we have been busy working on creating new systems and adapting processes to ensure they provide the necessary support for us and effectively measure outcomes. We have started recruiting to a Programme Board, an Advisory Committee and new staff.

Secondly we are really pleased to welcome on board Dr Colin Morgan as an Ambassador for Giving World Online. Colin will work with us to recruit professionals, companies and individuals to spread news about Giving World Online.

Colin has years of Corporate Responsibility experience as Head of Corporate Responsibility & Internal Communications for Gala Coral Group. He has developed and managed a network of relationships with regulatory, government, education and third sectors.

He is currently the Mayor of Daventry and also supervises PhD students at the Greenwich School of Management who are undertaking research on CR in African countries.

And last but not least…

As part of our tenth anniversary celebrations we have produced a special celebratory magazine that records the history of the charity and the road to going on line with Giving World Online.

How time has flown!

It all began ten years ago when we set about distributing the first donation of paper and card to local community groups and charities. The paper did not become yet more landfill but made it into the hands of children to paint, draw and make things with.

Fast forward ten years on and we have helped 300,000 vulnerable people. We have gifted warm clothing to homeless people, toiletries to women fleeing violence, baby clothes to teenage mums and toys and educational materials to disabled children and low income families. Receiving life essentials for free has a high impact in the daily lives of those most in need.

New Beginnings for All

It is hard to believe quite how quickly time has flown past and that it is now a year since our Future Job Fund (FJF) team joined Giving World Online.

We started with a team of 13 young unemployed people in April 2010, and recruited a further 9 people in May.

They were all were originally employed on six month contracts but luckily many of these contracts were extended to cover a full twelve months.

Meanwhile in the natural course of things, and the reason why FJF was set up in the first place, some staff quickly moved on to pastures new.

Some left to take up permanent jobs; some have returned to full time education; one has set up his own business and one person has left due to educational commitments but continues to donate their time in a voluntary capacity.

This was the whole purpose behind FJF, to help young unemployed people gain skills and work experience for the future, and we are really happy to see that the experience of working at Giving World Online has enabled them all to take a step forward on their chosen career paths.

Their contribution to Giving World Online helped us move forward in a variety of ways.

Good luck to all concerned and thank you for your contribution

On a TV Near You

As the saying goes some things in life are worth waiting for. The Giving World Online advert will be premiered on April 1st on Discovery Channel, Discovery History and Discovery Science.

If you can, sit down and tune in at 5pm to Born Survivor with Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel and watch our first national television broadcast.

Our Giving World Online advert (with a voice over by David Mitchell) is aimed at raising awareness of our free service and its many benefits to businesses and will be broadcast over the coming months.

Discovery Networks will be featuring the advert on ‘The Loop’ which can be found at http://www.discoveryuk.com/the-loop, so if you can’t be in front of the television or are unable to receive Discovery programmes, you will be able to view our advert at your leisure.

You’ll also be able to see it below, on our website http://www.givingworldonline.com/ and on our Youtube Channel.

Time for a Spring Clean!


At this time of year our minds turn to the promise of brighter and warmer times ahead, and of course, spring cleaning.

We can help you to find good homes for all those items cluttering up space in warehouses and offices around the UK.

If your organisation is planning to have a clear out, don’t forget that there are millions of people in need supported by thousands of charities and community groups all working to make a difference to people’s lives.

Your unwanted items could be the very thing that is vital or needed – why waste when so many people in need can benefit from your unwanted items.

You are just a few steps away from contributing to help those in need so why not register and make a big impact. Read how John Lewis Leicester are doing just that.

One Hundred and Eighty Tonnes and Counting……..

Giving World Online has hit a significant target of redirecting 180 tonnes of surplus stock away from landfill and onto benefit people in need.

Thanks to the latest donation of 3000 single bed mattresses we are now past our 100 tonnes milestone and working towards our next Giving World Online big target - 300 tonnes redirected from landfill.

Meanwhile many of the mattresses are being redistributed to hostels and refuges around the country, providing homeless and isolated people with a safe, clean and comfortable place to sleep.

Giving World Online has now seen over £700,000 worth of company donations touch the lives of 175,000 vulnerable people.

Director, Rama said: "This has been a great year for Giving World Online and hitting this milestone is the icing on the cake at this time of year. Thanks to all the companies and organisations that have made this possible; they have all contributed to making a really positive impact on the lives of many of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society."

The DEFRA Waste Review

Recently the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, announced that the Government would undertake a full review of waste policy in England. Preliminary findings are due to be announced by Spring 2011.

The current Waste Review will be looking to implement measures to cut landfill waste which could have a big impact on businesses. According to Defra, for every tonne of household waste produced, commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce another six tonnes.

One of the ways the government intends to help businesses reduce waste and increase recycling is through voluntary responsibility deals.

Announced by Environment Minister Lord Henley the voluntary responsibility deals on waste will remove the need for further regulation and will lead to less waste and more recycling with the added benefits of businesses saving money and helping to protect the environment

The good news is that companies donating goods through Giving World Online save money on storage and disposal costs whilst meeting Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility goals. Giving World Online is ideally placed to offer a solution for companies with quality goods to dispose of and it doesn’t cost a penny.