The former Chief Executive of HOPE worldwide – UK, Ian Joseph, has recently joined Rockpools, one of the UK’s leading executive recruitment consultancies, to further strengthen the firm’s third sector offering.

Having spent more than six years as Chief Executive of HOPE worldwide, Ian has extensive experience working within the homelessness, addiction, mentoring and international development fields. In this role, he also oversaw the creation and development of subsidiary organisations in Afghanistan and Pakistan both pre- and post- September 11.

Ian’s policy experience includes contributing to the Conservative Party’s Social Justice Policy Group and to consultations on ending homelessness led by the umbrella body Homeless Link. As a successful fundraiser, Ian has also been responsible for raising approximately £¾ million a year and personally raising funds for organisations such as the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Rayne Foundation.

Ian said: “Rockpools’ name is widely known and highly regarded within the third sector – both for their outstanding track record in recruitment of senior managers and trustees and their strong partnership with acevo. I’m looking forward to working with their not-for-profit team to further develop their offering to the sector.”

David Fielding, Head of Rockpools’ Not-for-Profit practice, said: “Ian has extensive hands-on experience in the third sector as an outstanding leader, fundraiser and policy-maker. There is no doubt that he will add real value and immense expertise to our rapidly-growing third sector practice, building on the successes we have already had in sourcing, developing and placing talent within the sector.”

Rockpools’ Chairman and Senior Partner, Hamish Davidson, said: “I’m just delighted with Ian’s hiring. His background and experience is both inspirational and humbling – and he also happens to be a damned nice guy. I have no doubt at all that he will add new depths to our third sector practice and, indeed, our entire business. I wholeheartedly welcome him on board.”

Ian is a member of the Institute of Fundraising and is a founding member of the European network of third sector leaders (EUCLID). He sits on the development team of NCVO’s strategic online database and has authored a case study for NCVO’s Strategic Management Toolkit published in 2004. He also sits on the board of an international NGO working in Afghanistan. He holds a masters degree in Voluntary Sector Management from the Sir John Cass Business School and a degree in Business Information Systems.

Derwent Delivers – an Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) training provider - has launched a new Understanding Social Enterprise course which will help people get under the skin of exactly what it takes to set up and run a successful Social Enterprise.

The 3 day course will lead to a Level 5 qualification and is for anyone who is involved in the social enterprise sector (businesses that operate for the benefit of the community), whether as a manager, consultant or business advisor.

Ellie Harris, manager of Derwent Delivers Training Division explained:
‘Whether you’re new to the sector or an experienced practitioner who wants a qualification as evidence of your knowledge in this area, the ILM understanding social enterprise course provides the key knowledge and understanding to enable you to become highly effective in your role within the social enterprise sector and even open up new career routes for yourself.

‘Many people have different understanding as to what a social enterprise actually is. We believe that the values of social enterprise include altruism & mutual self-help combined with business trading. What is unique about the Derwent Delivers course is that it includes a visit to an existing Social Enterprise as well as using case studies of Social Enterprises that have succeeded alongside some that have failed. This provides an insight into the reality of Social Enterprise and the mistakes that can be made and makes it real.’

The course will be delivered by an experienced management staff from within a Social Enterprise and there is currently a reduction of 15% for the first courses run.

Kim Parish, CEO of ILM welcomed the new course:

‘This is an excellent example of an ILM centre which is itself a successful Social Enterprise drawing upon their real world experience in order to make the qualification practical and relevant to those looking for more knowledge in this area. There is no better way to find out what it’s really like than from someone who has been there and already walked the path.’

For more details please visit www.derwentdeliverstraining.btik.com <http://www.derwentdeliverstraining.btik.com/> or contact:

Ellie Harris on 01332 676666 or 07966 924 867 email: ellie.harris@derwentdelivers.co.uk

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Further information
ILM: The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) is part of the international City & Guilds group.

ILM is the largest provider of management education qualifications in Europe, building the skills of over 80,000 managers and leaders each year.

All ILM qualifications are designed to deliver practical business benefit to the individual, their team and the organisation they work for.

ILM’s qualifications are delivered by 2,000 further education colleges, universities, training providers and companies in the UK and globally.

ILM is the professional membership body of choice for forward thinking managers and leaders providing a wide range of member benefits, support and development opportunities throughout their career.

Further information about ILM is available at www.i-l-m.com <http://www.i-l-m.com/>

Usable Websites is a new Glasgow-based charity that has been set up to give away to other charities and not for profit organisations, professional looking websites that are very easy to update completely free of charge. Read the rest of this entry »

Charity shops harness the power of eBay to build profits

Charity shops’ incomes have dropped by 53%[i] in the past decade due in large part to the proliferation of low cost retailers like Matalan and Primark and the rise of internet auction sites. Charity shops also face challenges in attracting donations of high value goods as many would-be donors believe the shops would only get a few pence on the pound for the items. However, a new UK company by the name of Blue Ocean Solutions is harnessing the power of eBay and other internet auction sites by auctioning items on behalf of charities – at no cost or risk to the charity.

EBay has attempted to redress the balance by offering “eBay for Charity”, a facility available to charities that offers a reduction on eBay’s normal auctioning fees. Unfortunately, most charities are failing to access this opportunity due to lack of eBay ‘understanding’ and of trained manpower in charity shops.

Blue Ocean Solutions provides a turnkey service for charities by providing extensive personnel training, regularly updated manuals and a full service for charity shop paid staff and volunteers. The company educates staff on how to identify items suitable for internet auction and then collects the items from shops on a regular basis. The items are professionally valued, described in detail, photographed and listed in the best categories on eBay or, in the case of rare or valuable books, on Amazon.co.uk.

Charities receive a cheque for the items successfully auctioned at the end of each month. The Blue Ocean service is provided free of charge. Instead, the firm take a small percentage of the final sale with around 65% of the money earned going to the charity. Blue Ocean Solutions aims to achieve far more through internet auctions than charities would ever achieve through a conventional shop, thus covering their fees and then some.

The service is designed to allow all UK charities with retail outlets access to the global buying audience of the internet (over 180m eBay members worldwide) without having to train or hire additional staff, invest in equipment or acquiring know-how.

Two UK charities, Barnardo’s and MIND, are already making extensive use of the Blue Ocean Solutions eBay service. In total, 78 UK charity shops are using Blue Ocean Solutions services and the company plans to establish a network of over 200 shops by the end of 2006 making it the largest eBay retailer in the EU.
Richard Lancaster, CEO of Blue Ocean Solutions comments “The success of eBay can now be cost-effectively harnessed by all charities. Blue Ocean is there to provide 100% support and the professional infrastructure for charities to use eBay and other internet auction sites at no cost to them. We believe that Blue Ocean has the potential, with its eBay solution and other retail concepts now taking shape, to help charities greatly improve shops’ performance.”
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For further information or comments on Blue Ocean Solutions, please contact:
Richard Lancaster, tel: 07798 622679, e-mail: ral@blueoceansolutions.co.uk
For press enquiries (not for publication)
Lana Wrightman, tel: 020 3022 5063, mob: 07725 951310, e-mail: pr@lanawrightman.com
Note for editors:

Blue Ocean Solutions:
Blue Ocean Solutions is a new company dedicated to helping charities make the most of their donations by auctioning high value items on internet auction sites. It offers a turnkey service that provides charity shop staff with training and IT skills. The company then collects high value items from the shops and regularly auctions the items through eBay and other internet auction sites. Its services are offered at no charge to the charities and the charities receive c.65% of the final sale price of the item. This price is typically far higher than what a charity could achieve for the item sold through a charity shop.

The company was founded by Richard Lancaster, a marketing and business management consultant, and Maggie Semple OBE, Director of The Experience Corps with a long and distinguished history in educational welfare. They are part of a new breed of “social entrepreneurs” striving to bring business and charities together.