This week’s RADAR, fresh from failing its A Levels, takes you on an extremely selective tour of the last 5 days. Warren Buffet’s op-ed on taxing the wealthy, a Young Foundation report on whether youth charities are ready for social investment, families with multiple problems, advocacy in 2020, and a couple of bits.
Warren Buffet
Warren Buffet’s op-ed in the New York Times on Sunday didn’t take long to spread far and wide on the internet. The title of the piece (‘Stop Coddling the Super Rich’) and the final two sentences (“My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”) give a good indication of its central argument. That this piece comes from one of the most famous contemporary philanthropists means its content is hardly surprising, but its timing is immaculate, coming at a time when the economy looks set to decide next year’s general election in an increasingly fractious and divided political climate. Read it here.
Youth Charities and Social Investment
The Young Foundation report ‘Growing Interest’ was published this week. The report focused on mapping the market for social finance in the youth sector in the UK, and in particular considers the “potential for social finance to not only address under-capitalisation, but also to grow the capacity and entrepreneurialism of the sector”. The headlines were made by the finding that only one in ten of the charities surveyed felt ready for social investment, despite around 20% expecting to get some income from social investment in the next three years. To read the report and an introduction on the Young Foundation website click here, and to read a Civil Society article on the report go here.
Families with Multiple Problems
This piece from New Philanthropy Capital looks at David Cameron’s speech which claimed families with multiple problems as one of the key causes of last week’s riots across England. The piece argues that while that may be the right focus, it needs to be a long term commitment in order to be successful and that the government doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel as many such projects already exist. Read the full piece here.
The Future of Campaigning
Following on from last week’s NCVO piece on future trends in the sector, this week NCVO Foresight featured Tom Baker’s take on what advocacy and campaigning might look like in ten years’ time. The piece references many other reports and articles about the future of volunteering, and outlines 5 particularly important trends for campaigners to be aware of: Be ready for external shocks, Put members in charge, Specialise in coalitions, Expect failure, and Be storytellers. Read the full shebang here.
And finally
This website from eating disorder charity BEAT won a newcomer award at Nominet Internet Awards this week. The website, My Personal Best, is an online community managed by young volunteers and used by them to share their experiences. (via Civil Society).
This website, called Fiery Spirits, which takes a look at how to prepare for and cope during difficult times. Particularly interesting for its stories about how communities have dealt with events like Hurricane Katrina, floods and the credit crunch. (via Guardian Society Daily, 18.08.11)
