GuideStar News and Views

A Quarterly Newsletter of GuideStar International

Strengthening Global Civil Society Through Information

GuideStar International Newsletter: July 2008

Issue Number: 08

In this Issue

Interview with Stuart Etherington (Chief

Executive, NCVO)
GuideStar Country Update
o US (Oprah's Big Give, Facebook and Federal
Decision Makers using GuideStar Data)
o UK (Interview with Lewis Temple, Director
GuideStar UK; Survey for Effective
Consultation with Third Sector
Organisations; Youth in Philanthropy
initiative)
o GuideStar South Korea Seminar
o GuideStar Europe Project Update
o Opportunities and Limitations of Voluntary
Databases - The Case of Hungary, Germany
and Palestine)
o GuideStar India Grant from the Packard
Foundation; Accepting Applications for
GuideStar India Project Manager
GuideStar International Update
o GuideStar Call for Pilot Catalogue
Participants
o GuideStar Mapping Project
Related Articles

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Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to GuideStar International's (GSI) July newsletter. We hope that you can fit a quick
read of this edition of our quarterly effort in amidst your other summer priorities. Make sure to
take time to review Keisha Taylor's conversation with Stuart Etherington (Chief Executive of
Britain‟s National Council of Voluntary Organisations and a GSI trustee). Stuart offers a lucid
and, typically provocative view about the challenges and opportunities facing civil society in the
UK and globally. You'd also do well to check out Charity Finance Magazine's interview with
Lewis Temple and Marianna Török's article about the value of voluntary CSO databases in
Palestine, Hungary and Germany have for citizen action. News about the use of GuideStar US
information in Facebook Causes and Oprah's Big Give philanthropic initiatives and by US
Federal decision-makers demonstrate the utility and versatility of GuideStar charities'
information. Reports on progress in the development of national GuideStars in Europe, Tinsley
Goad's speech on behalf of GuideStar Korea in Seoul and a set of pertinent recent reports from
the general media round out our offering for this edition. Happy reading and pleasant summer
holidays to all.

Buzz Schmidt
President
GuideStar International

Interview with Stuart Etherington

GuideStar Interview with Stuart Etherington, Chief

Executive, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
(NCVO)

GuideStar International recently interviewed Mr. Stuart Etherington,

Chief Executive at NCVO. He also sits on the board of GuideStar
International and is a member of the Advisory Council for GuideStar
UK.

In the interview he spoke about:

 Why the Office for the Third Sector should be

changed to the Office for Civil Society
 The way in which UK civil society compares with
the rest of the world
 How NCVO values the information available on
GuideStar UK
 How he thinks GuideStar can help ease the burden
of reporting on charities
 Possible opportunities for the charitable sector
with the 2012 Olympics
 The new opportunities and challenges which
charities must confront in the future

Read the full interview

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GuideStar Country Update

GuideStar US

Oprah Winfrey uses GuideStar data to inform Oprah's Big Give

Campaign

Oprah's Big Give on Oprah.com is working with partners in the nonprofit sector which includes
GuideStar to help viewers donate to the charity of their choice and find volunteer opportunities
in their community. Oprah's Big Give encourages viewers to donate or volunteer their time with
nonprofits in the US. She is using the Network for Good giving system, which allows them to
search for charities that are in the GuideStar database before deciding which ones they would
like to support. Find out more about the Big Give Campaign.

Facebook 'Causes' Did You Know?

Application using
GuideStar data According to the Nonprofit Almanac
2008, the Nonprofit sector in the
Did you know that Facebook members can create a United States is growing faster than the
cause, which organises people towards collective business or government sector. It
action on an issue. They can promote it to their employs almost 13 million people (1 in
friends and network, and raise money for nonprofits. 10 US jobs are with nonprofit
Causes, the facebook application, which facilitates organisations) and makes up 5% of gross
this, supports over 1.5 million American nonprofits national product, having contributed
and obtains information about them from GuideStar. $666.1 billion dollars to the US economy
Project Agape the organisation that launched Causes in 2006.
reported in May this year that in its first year it
registered 12 million users who had supported Read a report
80,000 non-profit causes worldwide and $2.5
million was raised for 19,445 different charitable
organizations. Have a look at CAUSES, Read the
latest release.

Nonprofit Information and Tools Now Readily Available to Federal Decision

Makers

GuideStar (US) products and services has been added to the General Services Administration
(GSA) Financial and Business Solutions Schedule. This allows Federal decision makers in the
US to select the services that best fit their needs and budgets using GuideStar's products and
services. Have a look at the news release.

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GuideStar UK

Lewis Temple (Director, GuideStar UK) Interview with

Charity Finance

“Temple‟s guiding star” is the heading for an interview with Lewis

Temple, Director of GuideStar UK which was featured in the July issue
of Charity Finance. The interview conducted by the magazine‟s editor,
Ian Asllop, gives a personal insight into what led Lewis to his position
at GuideStar UK, as well as the role he will play in the development of
GuideStar UK. He also talks about the way in which GuideStar UK is
providing a model for the development of GuideStar overseas. Read the full Interview.

Teaching Children about Charities using GuideStar UK

The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) programme (which is implemented in the UK by
the Institute of Philanthropy) is designed to teach secondary school pupils the basic skills of
effective giving and to highlight the positive impact they, as young people, can have on their
communities.

YPI pupils use GuideStar UK as a key resource for researching the charities in their local
community and enables each team to identify the local charity they believe is best placed to
make a positive contribution. They learn how to analyse the charity‟s management, budget,
strategy and staffing arrangements and subsequently visit and build relations with their chosen
charity. This helps to increase their understanding about the nature of the sector and the ways
in which they can be involved. The group judged to have made the best presentation about their
selected charity in each school is granted £3000 to award to their charity.

The programme has been piloted since September 2007 in ten schools in London by the
Institute of Philanthropy and based upon this experience will be rolled out to 50 schools
nationwide during the next school year and 100 schools within 3 years. According to James
Townsend, YPI Programme Manager, "GuideStar enables students to discover charities
operating in their local area and to access the key information they need when deciding which
charity to lend their support to as part of YPI". Learn more about the Youth in
Philanthropy Initiative.

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Third Sector Research Centre to use GuideStar UK data

Birmingham University and Southampton University have been selected to run the new Third
Sector Research Centre, with GuideStar UK as one of the key organisations involved in the bid.
The Centre will deliver a number of programmes which will help develop a robust base of
evidence on the work of the Third Sector and its impact on individuals‟ lives. The work of the
centre will include research into charity delivery of public services, and an annual report
covering research which is being undertaken in the sector that year.

Survey for Effective Consultation with Third Sector

Organisations

Involve and GuideStar has been commissioned by the Office of the

Third Sector to carry out a study of effective and innovative
consultation with Third Sector organisations. The study will inform a report and online guide to
help public agencies become better at tapping into the knowledge and experience of the third
sector in policy making. The guidance is due to be launched this autumn. If you are based in the
UK you can contribute to the research by taking part in this survey.

GuideStar Korea Seminar

GuideStar Korea had a seminar on June 10th, 2008 in Seoul Korea. The
seminar took place in an effort to develop a transparent accounting report
system for Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) in Korea. The leaders, scholars,
and members from various fields including finance, NPO, and laws came together and
discussed extensively about how GuideStar Korea could bring about changes for revitalizing the
NPO sector in Korea. Tinsley Goad, COO of GuideStar International(GSI), also attended the
seminar and spoke about the GuideStar International proposition. Topics discussed included:

The Role of NPO and GuideStar Korea

The GuideStar International (GSI) Proposition
Suggestions for improvements regarding NGO's transparent accounting reporting
practice
Cooperative relations between companies and NPO
The vision and future plans for GuideStar Korea

GuideStar Europe Project Update

The fourth meeting of the GuideStar European Consortium took place

in Amsterdam on the 10-11 June. 18 participants from 6 countries
gathered to discuss the progress made and challenges faced by the
Consortium. The ETEN project which aims to test the feasibility of the
GuideStar model in Europe will end in September and it is hoped that feasible plans will
emerge not only for the countries involved (Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Ireland)
but also for a European-wide initiative. Read the report on the meeting.

5
Opportunities and Limitations of Voluntary CSO reporting (Case of Hungary,
Germany and Palestine)

Marianna Török, Director Emerging GuideStar, July 3 2008

This article written by Marianna Török, Director or Emerging GuideStars talks about the way in
which the absence of a legislative framework that enables disclosure of reports by civil society
organisations is a major obstacle for countries seeking to implement databases based on the
GuideStar model. However it also examines the ways in which voluntary databases can help
overcome the problems faced and examines the prospects for Germany, Hungary and Palestine.
Read the entire article.

GSI Grant from the Packard Foundation for the GuideStar

India Project

GSI is pleased to announce that it has received a

grant from the Packard Foundation
Organisational Effectiveness and Philanthropy
Programme for $50,000 for the GuideStar
India project. GuideStar India aims to provide
public information about voluntary
organisations that enhances transparency,
thereby encouraging giving, public disclosure
and research. GuideStar India is a new
organisation incubated by GuideStar
International (London) and Murray Culshaw
Consulting (MCC) (Bangalore). A grant of
$50,000 from the David and Lucille Packard
Foundation will enable the hiring of 3 full-time
staff that will pursue the development of the
GuideStar India database and website over the
next two years.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee (Creator of the
World Wide Web) on the possibilities
for its future as its 15th birthday was
celebrated this year
"In a hundred years, 15 years will seem to be
just the infancy of the web, when the semantic
web wasn't even completely deployed. You
couldn't even find all the data in the world
immediately at your fingertips ... people are
building new social systems, new systems of
review, new systems of governance. My hope
is that those will produce ... new ways of
working together effectively and fairly which
we can use globally to manage ourselves as a
planet"

Read the news item

Recruitment of GuideStar India Project

Manager

GuideStar International is currently looking to recruit a Project Manager to continue work on

the GuideStar India Project based in Bangalore India. We are looking for a self-motivated
individual who is dynamic, thinks quickly and can take independent decisions. For more
information please visit the GuideStar International Website.

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GuideStar International Update

GuideStar International Mapping Project

GSI believes that certain characteristics of a particular country's civil society sector are
important in determining the likely success and/or level of difficulty of implementing a
GuideStar-type system. We are currently researching the civil society sectors in countries
around the world and the support of national civil society experts is vital to ensure this work is
well-informed and accurate. We would be really grateful if you could fill in the 'GuideStar
Readiness' questionnaire with as much detailed information as possible. GuideStar Mapping
Questionnaire.

Invitation to Participate in The GuideStar Global Catalogue Pilot

To further our work of developing a global network of national GuideStar systems, GuideStar
International (GSI) is exploring the potential for gathering directory level information from
government registries throughout the world to populate a global „catalogue‟ of CSO information.
GSI is conducting this pilot effort to explore whether construction of such a catalogue of global
civil society activity is feasible, useful and desirable.

The participation of national partners is very important in the development of this information,
and ultimately in the development of independent national GuideStar services, and GSI seeks
support from interested individuals and organisations. If you are interested in working with
GSI to develop the catalogue for your country then please contact GSI at
info@guidestarinternational.org.

Related Articles

Index of Global Philanthropy 2008

Center for Global Prosperity, 2008

This index gives great insight into philanthropic developments this year. It looks at private and
public sector aid trends and examines how the philanthropy of businesses, charities,
foundations, and religious groups have introduced new ways to reduce poverty abroad. This
includes trends such as fair-trade, internet giving and social movements which develop through
social networking sites.

Investment in People

The Financial Times, Sarah Murray, June 7 2008

This examines the way in which hindrances between business and non-profits are decreasing
and consequently creating new models of working together to emerge such as venture
philanthropy and microfinance. It looks at how these are being embraced by nonprofits and
corporations alike.

7
The Future of the Internet Economy Website
Window
Website Window
2008 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration
Website 2008 Survey on Monitoring the
Paris Declaration Website
This website was set up by the OECD to give updates
on what has been going on with respect to the 2008
Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration. This website was set up by the OECD to
give updates on what has been going on
with respect to the 2008 Survey on
The Future of the Internet Economy Monitoring the Paris Declaration.

OECD Observer, June 2008 Policy Brief

This brief looks at how is the internet is evolving, and driving innovation, and how we can
increase confidence in the internet.

Berners-Lee: Challenge of the Web is 'creative connectivity'

Computerworld, Linda Rosencrance, June 11 2008

Berners-Lee the creator of the World Wide Web gives his views on the way forward for its
development as its 15 year anniversary was celebrated this year.

Mobile to displace fixed-line internet 'within two years'

Times Online, Jonathan Richards, June 11 2008

This article explores the prediction that the mobile phone network may become the main
avenue of internet connection in two years time.

Questions for the Third Sector

The Guardian, Matthew Taylor, June 4 2008

This news item calls for a focus on performance and accountability rather than size and budget
among charities in the UK. It argues that donors should look at whether charities are delivering
on their core mission.

Web Triggers Direct Mail Response - Benchmarking data shows huge increase
from three years ago

NonProfit Times, Mark Hrywna, July 15 2008

This article looks at the ways in which information online has become the prefered way to
source information about the nonprofit sector, as a sort of web-induced transparency,
particularly when compared to paper mail outs which has also become more expensive for
nonprofits to inform the public about their work.

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Call for News Items to be included in next issue

GuideStar International would like to promote the work of charitable and nonprofit
organisations and act as an avenue of information. You can share resources and related news
and information on issues like civil society, accountability and transparency among NGOs and
charitable organisations and nonprofit legislation etc, which may be of interest to our global
audience. Please submit articles that are no longer than 1 to 2 paragraphs (with the option of
attaching a document or a weblink for further information).

This can include:

News updates/Research results

Details of Events/Conferences with a weblink.
Opinion articles written about civil society, philanthropy, transparency, CSO legislation
and the information society (with a brief biography of the writer).
A description about your organisation or related project or organisation for our website
section.
A brief description of websites which can be included in our 'website window' which
introduces several organisations' websites in each edition of our newsletter.
A biography of someone you work with in the sector or someone you would like us to do
a brief interview with about a related issue.

Thanks for reading the GuideStar International Newsletter. We very much appreciate your
feedback and suggestions.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with others, and don't hesitate to let us know what you
think! All comments and feedback can be sent to: info@guidestarinternational.org.

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Newsletter edited by Keisha Taylor © GuideStar International 2008 Address: Queens House, 55-56 Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A3LJ. Tel:
+44 (0) 207 2696549, Fax: +44 08701123846: Email: info@guidestarinternational.org