Free research: 2004

A representative sample of the UK population was asked to identify which of a variety of groups involved with charities was paid or unpaid. The results showed that while the public was right about whether directors and chief executives were paid (around 90% thought they were definitely or probably paid) far less accuracy was seen for trustees and fundraisers (only 8% thought trustees were definitely unpaid and only 6% thought fundraisers were definitely paid). Indeed more thought that trustees are paid than fundraisers.

This toolkit goes with our 'Innovation Rules!' report, and contains practical guidelines and exercises through which an organisation can increase the quantity and quality of its innovative solutions.

Too few people have specifically addressed the voluntary sector's potential for innovation and the voluntary sector is often left feeling that the only time they can afford the luxury of innovation is when a funder specifically asks for it. It is our hope that this report will provide charities with a greater understanding about what innovation could do for them on a day-to-day basis. The report includes sections on issues such: innovation myths; innovation versus creativity; reducing the barriers to innovation and how innovation is linked to mission and vision.

This report is a culmination of four years of research into UK charities' use of the internet since the initial Virtual Promise report in 2000. The report is separated into three main sections. The first features the results from a 2003 survey of charities. The second section consists of a detailed write-up of a set of interviews conducted in mid 2004 amongst charity internet managers. In the third section we sum up the findings of this year's results, offer up some recommendations on areas of improvement for charities, outline the advantageous position in which the third sector could find itself and make some predictions for the future.

A representative sample of the UK population was asked to think about charities and the work that they do and pick up to five issues from a prompted list that they found 'off-putting, worrying or irritating'. The biggest single response was 'concerns about the amount that goes to the charity' - 68% and only 5% of respondents said nothing irritated or concerned them.

A research report on the use of share giving by charities, a policy introduced in April 2000 which allows individuals to give shares and offset the value of the shares sold against their income tax liability and reduce their capital gains tax liability. This report is the result of research into the ways that charities are using share giving (alongside Gift Aid, covered in a separate report) and their success in promoting it. A questionnaire was mailed to 500 charities in October 2003, yielding 139 respondents.

A research report on charities' attitudes to Gift Aid and its marketing which shows charities are not making enough of Gift Aid. Questionnaires were sent to over 600 charities ranked by income. 136 completed questionnaires were received.