Do you ever feel some big charities don't actually do anything?

[Cinderellaspumpkin]

Do you ever feel some big name charities don't actually do much more , when scratching under the surface, than signposting, ( often to other organisations that signpost), and "raise awareness," of the cause.

Nimbostratus100 if you'd like to PM I'll tell you.

There is a charity that is involved in direct giving - people can post what they need, like a new bed, or a fridge. Relatively small items. It seems to work. I wish I could remember the name.

Many years ago, I was a temp secretary at Cancer Research. We sat around all day chatting and mid-afternoon would be given huge volumes of handwritten notes or audio to knock up into typed reports and presentations, taking hours into the evening - on overtime rates -

It was totally normal practice for them

@AnnaMagnani @Babyroobs the 12-24 month roles gives us enough time to collect evidence to put together a business case to ensure longer term nhs funding but they remain MacMillan nurses with access to training. We had a research nurse post which is why I thought they did research too. I think the model is sustainable. Roald dahl’s marvellous charity is the same.

You are not wrong OP. They are a money making mafia.

@Theeyeballsinthesky I think perhaps you need to check your facts on the funding of Social prescribing, plus similar roles (ARRS) They are fully funded by NHS England on a reimbursement scheme and no funding from councils etc.

I sit on my local social prescribing joint strategy group made up of the local authority, the NHS & the voluntary sector. My local authority has chosen to fund social prescribing roles alongside those of the NHS to increase capacity of local social prescribing. That’s my local authorities choice - it’s not one I agree with.

I work as a social prescriber and love it. My background is as a registered nurse and midwife though so it gives me a unique perspective.

However I believe the jury is still very much out regarding how cost effective social prescribers are so it's disconcerting to see it being pushed as an answer to reducing GP contacts.

I think the problem is that the millions pumped into social prescribing hasn’t been matched by millions pumped into local community services. So all the social groups/clubs/exercise classes/ art classes/cooking classes/support groups/befriending schemes etc which are often run by small local charities are struggling along on the same or less funding whilst more & more people are being ‘prescribed’ them. Result is waiting lists & frustration all round.

Acts435.org.uk maybe?
Wonderful charity imo.

Yeah, I rang them asking for help once. They said no. They took my details though and called me every so often for next the few months asking me to sign up for a direct debit donation. After a few times I told them to take me off their list and not contact me again!

Just to add another point...in my experience they are also so so badly managed...an example being i.was involved in tendering for a product to be sold by the charity where they would receive commission. It would be targeted toward people in thier specific area of concern. We were told they wanted an all inclusive, wide ranging product and price wasn't too much of an issue, the quality of the product was key.
We met after the first initial presentation and were told they were going to sign up with a rival "because the price was better"
Now what fucked me off was

1. Price wasn't meant to be important
2. The product they went for was very inferior to what others offered...not just us
3. There was no discussion of "well we are now more concerned with price" 4 ) The lack of professionalism...they'd signed before we even presented
4. The unethical nature of their marketing of the product after they launched...talking about the great product!
5. The amount of commission they wanted per sale...40%...the norm was 20-25%

Exactly that.

Extremely high standards are, rightly, expected of a charity. I'm a trustee of a charity, and when I joined the board my mind was blown by the amount of background work that has to be done to ensure safeguarding, financial security and integrity, fundraising, HR etc.

The nature of my organisation's work is such that it costs a lot in what is considered admin, and we don't need to spend a lot on 'items'. But the service that our staff deliver is absolutely vital to some of the most vulnerable people in the country.

But it's not cute or sentimental stuff. We're not paying for medicines or homes or food. So anyone looking at our accounts (which are publicly available of course) wouldn't be impressed. Because it looks as though the vast majority of our finding goes to salaries. But it's the staff and volunteers that are the resource for our the service we give. Not 'things'.

Consequently we don't get a lot of funding from the general public. We apply for grants from corporate funders and family trusts, who understand the sector and don't look for their money to translate into a photo of somebody being given for, water, clothing or medication.

Not being able to see something, doesn't mean that the help isn't of value.

Me too. I used to fund raise for them. Never again.
I used to get so angry at their adverts, the ones with a nurse running to catch the falling patient. Bollocks.

I agree.

Yes. Ones like Brest Cancer Now seem to do absolutely nothing except pay people to raise money which then goes on paying people to raise money…

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen

Age concern run lunch programmes, benefit help sessions and a minibus here

If projects/services are funded by the local NHS Trust or Health Board or Local Authority (and other funders will have the same requirements) quarterly monitoring should be part of the conditions of the funding to show objectives are being met.

There could, of course, be a discussion about how effective that monitoring is, what questions are asked and how the answers are arrived at.

(And given that a number of people have mentioned Mind - I would not work for national Mind, I have heard way too many horror stories. On the other side of things, as a service user, I wouldn't touch my local Mind with a barge pole, but I'm not dismissing all of them, others seem ok.)