Secondhand & Thrift
The Best Second-Hand Buys Are the Ones Nobody Brags About
Used markets price desirability, not utility. The gap between the two is where almost all the value sits.
Rupali Sondhi
Contributing writer, Goodwilly
Rupali writes about charity finances and reads the annual accounts.
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15 articles
Secondhand & Thrift
Why the Good Stuff Rarely Reaches the Shop Floor
Charity retail has quietly split into several channels, and the highest-value donations are routed away from the front of the shop…
How Charities Work
The Overhead Ratio Is a Bad Measure, and Here Is What to Read Instead
The proportion of a charity's spending that goes on administration is the most cited and least informative figure in the sector.…
How Charities Work
Reading a Set of Charity Accounts Without an Accounting Degree
Published charity accounts follow a predictable structure in most countries. Four things in them answer almost every question a…
How Charities Work
What a Charity Regulator Actually Regulates
Regulators register organisations, enforce reporting and investigate serious concerns. They do not assess whether the work is any…
How Charities Work
Trustees, Staff and Who Is Actually in Charge
Charities separate governance from management, and the boundary is where a large share of organisational trouble originates.
How Charities Work
Why a Fully Funded Charity Can Still Run Out of Money
Income and cash are different things, and the gap between them closes several organisations a year that were solvent on paper.
How Charities Work
Fundraising Costs Money, and the Sector Is Bad at Saying So
Raising a given sum has a price, and pretending otherwise has shaped donor expectations in a way that damages the organisations…
Secondhand & Thrift
Counterfeits and Misattribution in the Used Market
The used market carries more fakes and more honest mistakes than the new one. The two look identical to a buyer and require…
How Charities Work
Why a Charity's Staff Are Paid, and How Pay Gets Decided
The objection to charity salaries is intuitive and rests on a category error. Understanding how pay is set makes the real questions…
How Charities Work
The Income Mix Tells You More About a Charity Than Its Mission Statement
Where the money comes from shapes what an organisation can do, how fast it can change and who it ultimately answers to.
How Charities Work
Public Service Contracts and What Happens When a Charity Becomes a Supplier
Delivering a public service under contract changes an organisation's incentives, its independence and sometimes the population it…
How Charities Work
Campaigning, Lobbying and the Line Regulators Draw
Charities are generally allowed to campaign and generally not allowed to be political parties. Where exactly the line sits depends…
How Charities Work
Legacies Are the Most Volatile Income a Charity Has
Gifts in wills fund a substantial part of some organisations and cannot be predicted, budgeted or accelerated. That combination…
How Charities Work
What an Independent Examination Is and Why It Is Not an Audit
Small charities usually get their accounts checked by something cheaper and weaker than an audit. Knowing which one you are reading…