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About us - at a glance
WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT charity-advisory website. Our mission is to help you give happily and with confidence. We are funded entirely by donations, and aren’t beholden to anyone in the voluntary sector. It’s only thanks to your generosity that we can keep going - so please consider supporting us.
We have a journalistic bent informed by a strong background in research. Our major benefactor, Peter Heywood, was a journalist, and so was our founder, Dave Pitchford. This inspires us to explain the complex, sometimes mystifying world of charities as simply as possible. Our experience working in research also makes us keen to bolster our pronouncements with facts. Of our three staff, two have masters-level research qualifications, from the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge.
The full-time staff is assisted by some exceptional volunteers and remarkable contractors. We are based in the offices of the Young Foundation in Bethnal Green, east London.
> More about us
> Our annual report
> The team
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What are we doing?
Keep up to date with goings-on in the
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What are we doing?
Facebook
For more informal and recent information, join our Facebook group.
Some comments
We've had some interesting feedback over the past year or so since our launch - some of it not printable on a family website. But amidst the outrage we've had more than a couple of positive responses:
"I wanted to thank you for introducing me to Tree Aid and Health Unlimited, and for reminding me why I support Save the Children. All 3 charities have benefited from your website and my cash." - A site visitor.
> More (including people who don't like us)...
"I'm a keen supporter of your approach to rooting out the truth behind charities claims… For too long the sector has a collective 'don't probe to much' approach, yet would be donors really do need to understand the reality." - An animal-charity worker.
"I want to praise you ... I think your website is great - it is so refreshing to see a fun way of thinking about giving." - A charity umbrella-group employee.
"Your site is inspiring us to improve our reporting!" - A small-charity worker.
"Hi, just want to say the website looks great, and as a Charity CEO it makes me want to improve the way we tell people what we do, so we have a higher percentage rating on your site. Thanks, and keep up the good work." - The boss of a medium-sized charity.
"I am pleased to see that your site gives some recognition to all the hard work and effort that goes into the preparation of our Annual Report and Accounts." - A fundraiser from a very large charity.
"Very interesting and a great concept – some of the charities’ information is a bit sparse but then I guess they have to rely on the information contained in Annual Reports. Overall useful – I would use it before donating." - An Intelligent Giving user
"I love your site and I think what you are doing is very useful. Unfortunately it is not so very useful for people in Germany (like me) because you are rating English charities. Do you plan to "export" your model to other countries? I know "export" is a strange word for a website, but I hope you know what I mean..." - A German Intelligent Giving user
"Thank you for bringing such a fun, informative and impartial resource to the sector. Having worked for a large organisation that did (badly in my view) what you seem to be doing with ease, it's restored my faith in good guys." - An Intelligent Giving user
Negatives
"This callous cry for attention from an obscure group is a foul slur on an organisation that, as a trustee, I know to be scrupulous in all its dealings." - Sir Terry Wogan on our coverage of Children in Need.
"Design wise, the site's a bit bland; it doesn't draw me in or engage me enough to make me want to know more. I guess I feel like I've seen it before." - An advertising guru.
"Can't find the for charity section - your site is not very user friendly" - A fundraiser from a small charity.
"How ill-considered. It has made me very sad to read your report and see the negative headlines in every national paper. Every person who turns away from BBC Children In Need because of these headlines will impact very negatively and directly on children who need help the most." - An employee of BBC Children in Need.
"You have given my organization a mediocre 61 out of 100 points and put it in large letters on a website. There's not one question on your list we wouldn't answer without reservation." - The communications director of a medium-sized charity.
"Following national newspaper coverage in the last two days, the Institute [of Fundraising] believes that irresponsible and inaccurate use of information by organisations like ‘Intelligent Giving’ does not enable charities to become more accountable and transparent." - Institute of Fundraising press release.
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> More about us
> Contact us
> What one of our interns thinks
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