The Blagrave Trust’s Post

The results are out... and we're pleased to have been rated a 'B' score by this year's Foundation Practice Review. This annual review of randomly-selected UK Foundations looks to enhance practice in terms of Diversity, Transparency, and Accountability. It's been a positive process, and gives us a baseline to work from - and from which to improve. https://lnkd.in/equ_Tk3X

Join us for this year's Foundation Practice Rating Report launch on Thurs 14 March, 2-3pm, via Zoom. The Foundation Practice Rating assesses & aims to enhance funder practices in terms of Diversity, Transparency, & Accountability. ✅ Diversity – The extent to which a foundation reports on the diversity of its staff and trustees, and how well it caters for people who prefer/need to communicate in a particular way. ✅ Transparency – Does a potential grantee have access to the information that it needs to be able to contact the foundation and decide whether to apply for funding in advance of any grant application? ✅ Accountability – How anyone who wants to examine the work or decisions of a foundation can do so, and make their voice heard. Save your space ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eG9UAXjm

In the ever-evolving world of grant funding, nonprofit organizations face increasing demands for transparency and accountability. Today, potential funders are not only interested in the projects and programs they support but also in the tangible impact these initiatives have on the communities they serve. In our latest blog post, Jacquee explores the growing importance of data-driven reporting and outcome evaluation in grant applications, and discuss best practices for demonstrating impact to potential funders. #DataDriven #ImpactDriven #GrantWriter #GrantWriting

We're always thinking about the intricacies and challenges of evaluation capacity building, but how I'm framing it these days is that **capacity** is downstream from **incentives**. So that even if you build out your evaluation capacity, it will diminish over time unless your incentives are structured properly. The sector often doesn't reward it by default, but boards or executives have the ability to establish those incentives internally for the organization. Having worked in the fundraising space for almost a decade, it's not lost on me that charities often have expertise in both statistics and in data quality, but those expertise (typically) exist in the fundraising department, not the evaluation department 🤨 🤨 🤨 Anyway, go read this cool issue on Evaluation Capacity Building in the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (https://lnkd.in/eieh5-j8 and look closely at where incentives might pop up to bedevil our best intentions e.g. "A small number of evaluation studies (n = 21) reviewed in the Bourgeois et al. (2023) study indicate that when individual capacities to do evaluation increase, factors within organizations (e.g., lack of time to engage in evaluation, financial resources) can still present barriers that affect the ability to embed, sustain, or enhance evaluation practice within the organization."

The latest IHE/Hanover survey of higher education CBOs provides some interesting findings. Notably, 78% of private nonprofit CBOs are optimistic about their institution's prospects over the next three years, yet only 49% anticipate reporting a positive financial margin next year. Considering their reliance on increased enrollment and improved net tuition revenue as primary growth drivers, this raises a question about potential over-optimism within the response group.

What are your biggest cost recovery challenges currently? I’ll be part of the panel for this and want to focus on what matters most to folks like you.

𝐖𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬. Currently, the International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance (#INPAG) framework doesn't fully support NPOs in measuring #financialsustainability through their annual audited accounts, which causes a significant gap. Building an appropriate level of #generalreserves is essential for non-profits, as it creates a buffer to protect against financial shocks and helps manage gaps between grants. Strengthening this aspect is vital for enhancing #financialresilience across the sector. 💰 📹 We encourage you to watch this 7-minute video: https://lnkd.in/e6c8tC_U which dives deeper into this issue. We have also highlighted responses to two key questions in the ongoing INPAG Consultation (Exposure Draft 3 survey): ➡ Q7: How important is it to disclose unrestricted net current assets as a measure of financial sustainability? (Our suggested answer: Very important) ➡ Q16: How important is it to disclose the split of non-current assets between funds with restrictions and funds without restrictions? (Our suggested answer: Very important) 🔗 You can fill the survey using this link: https://lnkd.in/e7gzKNV6 IFR4NPO Samantha Musoke ACA

RICS publishes updated Valuation Standards (Red Book) UK Supplement at 10:00 BST today. These changes will come into effect on 1 May 2024. Updates to UK VPS 3 introduce a compulsory rotation cycle for valuation firms and responsible valuers valuing an asset for regulated purposes. This ensures that valuations relied upon by investors remain relevant and trusted. The rotation requirements include: * a maximum single engagement period of five years,  * a maximum period of ten years before the rotation of a valuation firm - this might include multiple engagements,  * a maximum period of five years before the rotation of an individual ‘responsible’ valuer,   * a minimum three-year break after rotating off an engagement,  * a two-year transition policy (simplified from the consultation version),  where there are truly exceptional circumstances, a carefully controlled option to deviate from the requirements with notification to RICS Regulation. In addition to the rotation policy, UK VPS 3 sets standards for terms of engagement and instructions, preliminary advice, draft reporting, and client discussions. #rics #valuations #ricsregisteredvaluer #mrics #commercialrealestate https://lnkd.in/eh7DdYxf

Register for July Intake: Reaching growth and effectiveness is the ultimate objective for individuals, organizations, and communities. https://lnkd.in/dYq789qn

Check out the latest edition of our Business and Industry Quarterly Newsletter! Dive into valuable insights on SBDC workshops, grants, and more! To read: https://lnkd.in/g9RYnxwu