New Free Guide to Analysing Charities

In the UK, New Philanthropy Capital has released The Little Blue Book: a free guide to analysing charities, for charities and funders.

The purpose of NPC’s charity analysis it says is to provide greater insight into what a charity does and to identify ways in which it might be improved.

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) is a consultancy and think tank dedicated to helping funders and charities to achieve a greater impact.

NPC’s The Little Blue Book is set to assess the effectiveness of a charity’s work, that is, a charities’ ability to improve people’s lives and to create lasting change for the better.

NPC says to be effective, charities need to focus on activities that achieve a real difference; use evidence of results to improve performance; make good use of resources; and be ambitious to solve problems. All of this requires high-quality leadership and staff, and good financial management.

The guide contains examples of how charities and funders benefit from analysis, and explains NPC’s charity analysis framework, which looks at how charities can assess their effectiveness in six areas: activities, results, leadership, people and resources, finances, and ambition.

NPC authors John Copps and Belinda Vernon say that at a time when many charities are having to make tough decisions, The Little Blue Book can help assess their own performance, to identify successes and failures, and to understand how they can improve.

They says it can also help funders make thoughtful funding decisions, by better understanding charities’ strengths and areas for development.

There is also a note of caution. NPC says although anyone can use this guide, a full analysis may require professional judgement and experience. It is also time-consuming. An experienced analyst can thoroughly analyse a charity in five days, but for a less experienced analyst, it takes longer. For large, complex charities, it can take up to 20 days to get a sound understanding of its activities.

The little blue book is free and available to download online.

Download the book (58 pages) www.philanthropycapital.org/utilities/login.aspx?page=/download/default....

*Editor’s note: You will be required to set up a free login to the site but it only takes a few moments.