Listening
to Faith Based Charities
Our
register of charities shows over 22,000 religious charities
of all shapes and sizes working in England and Wales today,
playing a vital role in society. As a modern regulator,
it’s important the Charity Commission has a clear
understanding of the context in which faith-based charities
work. We want to hear their experiences of working with us
and look at ways to encourage effectiveness in this unique
part of the charity sector.
So we have set up a programme of events to visit mosques,
churches and temples all over the country to listen to the
experiences of faith communities and use this information
to improve the services we provide.
We’ve defined faith-based charities as not only those whose
sole aim is to advance a particular faith (e.g. Islam or
Sikhism) but also those where a particular faith is the
driving force behind the charitable activity (e.g. to
advance education or relieve poverty). Following our
successful consultation with independent and black majority
churches, we have also held seminars planned for Bolton,
and London. Other events for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jewish
and minority faith groups are also planned.
This project will involve several thousand charities and
will continue throughout 2006 and we’re looking forward to
hearing the views of such a wide range of faith-based
charities. A report of our findings from these events will
be published later this year.
Attendance at the seminars is usually by invitation but if
you’re from a faith-based charity and interested in
contributing your views or would like more information on
our work in this area please contact our press office on
0207 674 2333
www.charitycommission.gov.uk/
