We’ve rounded up our ten favourite reads from the last month  – all the charity and charity-adjacent write ups from around the web that we think every person should take a few minutes out of their day to read.

There’s lots this month on diversity, accessibility and opportunity, coming off the back of another huge year at The Institute of Fundraising’s 2019 Fundraising Convention – so without further ado:

1. Google Spent 2 Years Researching What Makes a Great Remote Team. It Came Up With These 3 Things
   Remote working isn’t just a fancy new-fangled benefit to offer your team members; it also has really positive benefits for diverse recruitment, staff morale and sustainability. But it’s easier said than done, so Google spent two years studying more than 5,000 of its employees to work out how to do it well.We also enjoyed reading Emily Casson’s post on the benefits that remote working has brought to Cats Protection.
2. Report shows how charities can be on the path to a digital future
   Last month, Kivo, Manifesto and Massive clubbed together to release a report claiming that fundraising models risk being left behind if they don’t adapt to technological change. Despite ‘disruption to traditional fundraising models’ being the second most common anxiety for charities, less than 33% of respondents agreed that their organisations were ready for the change.
3. It’s time for us to recognise the barriers that BAME people face in the charity sector
   A report released by the IOF last week found that just 9% of all fundraisers are from BAME backgrounds – many work behind the scenes but are unable to progress. Chloe Green discusses the importance of getting comfortable talking about race, and addressing our own subconscious bias.
4. Drupal’s Angela Byron On Building A Diverse Community
   This article is particularly relevant at a point at which the charity sector is seriously considering its lack of accessibility by people from diverse or minority backgrounds. Angela Byron, a software developer who has paved the way for open-source software, shares her top three recommendations for creating diverse workplaces.
5. How can we develop & deliver the future of social care?
   Action for Children is facing increasing pressure to deliver services in the face of reduced statutory support for social care – and they’ve recognized that they need to innovate digitally in order to fill that gap. In two years, they have gone from having no digital services at all to being able to reach and support 87,000 children, young people and families online.
6. Status of UK Fundraising: key highlights
   Earlier this month, the Institute of Fundraising and Blackbaud released their new report on The Status of UK Fundraising 2019. It surveys 1000 fundraisers across the UK to get a snapshot of the various trends and opportunities arising in the charity sector. Sally Falvey, Head of Charity Marketing at JustGiving, has summarised our key insights.
7. Hope counters hate in polarized and populist narratives
   In an increasingly politically polarised world where we are surrounded by hostile narratives, it’s vital to offer people hope – it help us to change attitudes and challenge narratives of hate, and galvanize people to take action.
8. Getting ahead in your comms career: key takeaways
   Madeleine Sugden, who’s been in the charity sector for 20 years, discusses self-directed career development and her key learnings over at CharityComms – and they’re not just for freelancers or remote workers!
9. How Samaritans managed the launch of its new brand identity with digital
   Samaritans is one of the UK’s most well-known and beloved charities, with 201 branches – so a brand refresh was always going to be a massive feat to achieve. Sara Andersson, Corporate Communications Marketing Manager, writes about how they’ve organised brand assets and optimised them to work across different channels and audiences.
10. Userinyerface
    And we’re sending you off with a link that isn’t really a read so much as it is an experiment, but we highly recommend you take a few minutes (and you will need a few minutes) out of your day to attempt this!You never realize how important best-practice user interface is… until a website breaks every single UI rule there is. Time how long it takes you to fill out and submit this form, brought to you by the agency Bagaar. Bonus points if you complete it on a mobile device.