Following the recent monetary penalties and notices of intent issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Fundraising Regulator has produced specific guidance aimed at helping charities to become fully compliant and better understand their responsibilities in relation to donor consent, legitimate interest and data protection.

The guidance has been published alongside 6 case studies from charities at different stages in the process of achieving full data compliance. There is also a consent self-assessment toolkit and an actions checklist. Feedback on the guidance is welcomed.

The Government has published its White Paper which sets out the Prime Minister’s plans for exiting the EU. The PM also introduced a Great Repeal Bill to end the supremacy of EU law in the UK. Small charities may have the opportunity to influence how laws which impact them, such as those on VAT, will be formulated.

Through the Small Charity Index, FSI are conducting a Brexit Temperature Check to see how small charities are feeling and dealing with Brexit, which will form part of our research, Brexit: One Year On. If you have any points you’d like to feedback to us on funding and freedom of movement of people, then please email olivia@thefsi.org

On top of FSI’s training for small charities, they also offer a bespoke consultancy service. Comprehensive Organisation Strengths Review undertakes a review of your organisation and provides a clear, concise overview of which areas you are performing well, and which areas may need to be developed or refreshed.

Visit FSI’s blog: How effective is your charity? 7 questions to ask to see if consultancy is necessary for your small charity, or for more information email admin@thefsi.org or click here.

If you tune into a BBC station on 9th February, you might well hear a feature about charities, as Acevo have been working with the BBC to stimulate discussion of the charity sector. If your local radio station is running anything on charities, feel free to phone in and join the discussion to talk about the work of your organisation.

NCVO is also keen to let the media know about all the work that charities do to make a difference locally, nationally and internationally. If you’d like to help get your charity’s work in the news, get in touch with NCVO’s  Constructive Voices programme – click here.

The Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Service (DAWS) and Change Grow Live (The Alcohol Service) have created a digital map across Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea to showcase activities/services that fall under the categories of the 5 ways to wellbeing: Give, Learn, Connect, Be Active, Take Notice.

We would like to give community organisations the opportunity to add to the map. The only thing that we ask is that the activities you add are on offer for a period of 6 weeks or more. We would also love for people to benefit from using the map.

To access the map click here and to find out how to use and add to the map click here.