Brexit Archives - Helen Brown Group

August 25, 2016 By Helen Brown

Brexit, 2 Months Later: The undercover fundraiser (with apologies to Tim Harford)

We’ve been somewhat distracted here in the US with our own looming election, so perhaps we can be forgiven for forgetting that another monumental, electrically charged election nicknamed ‘Brexit’ happened two months ago this week in the United Kingdom. If your nonprofit has constituents in the UK or Europe, this will be much on their minds because it has likely already had a significant impact on their personal finances. Now that the dust has settled a bit, I asked my colleague Marc Whitmore at More Partnership (that’s him in the photo) to give us some insight on what’s happening with Brexit through the philanthropy and fundraising lens. It’s a fascinating read – enjoy! ~Helen

What the hell happened, Britain?

Quite. Well, in May 2015, the UK elected a Government with the manifesto pledge to hold a referendum with a simple question: should the UK remain in or leave the European Union? That referendum took place on 23 June 2016, and 51.9% of those who voted, voted to leave the EU. [Read more…]

July 21, 2016 By Helen Brown

Brexistential Crisis: Philanthropy After Brexit

As we watch the United Kingdom deal with the aftermath of last month’s vote to leave the European Union, those of us in the philanthropy sector wonder what the loss of EU funding will mean for charities reliant on that funding. I asked Ben Rymer to share his thoughts and research once again here on The Intelligent Edge to help us understand Brexit’s potential impact on philanthropy.

While uncertainty rules the day on Brexit’s effect on philanthropy, four things seem reasonable to expect in the wake of the British public’s vote on June 23rd to leave the European Union.

First, Brexit is likely to be bad news for the British macroeconomy. A weaker sterling (the British pound is so far the worst performing currency in the world in 2016), continuing low productivity (see chart below from the Resolution Foundation) and lower profits (the FTSE 250, consisting of mainly British companies, lost £38bn from June 24th-July 8th) are all notable trends.

There is a risk that Britain (or, in the event of a breakup of the UK, perhaps only England) will become a sort of ‘Greater Guernsey’. [Read more…]

July 7, 2016 By Helen Brown

Navigating the Changing Landscapes of Wealth & Philanthropy

This week we’re delighted to welcome HBG Research Associate Rachel Dakarian to the Intelligent Edge. Rachel and Elizabeth Roma will be presenting on July 28th at the APRA International Conference in Nashville, TN. I asked Rachel to give us a glimpse into their topic, and now I can’t wait to see the presentation! Follow Rachel on Twitter at @Rachel_Dakarian.

Bette Davis as Margo Channing in “All About Eve.” Her famous line, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Painting by Trevor Heath. Source

Just when, exactly, did the “fasten seatbelt” sign turn on? 2016 has been an unexpectedly bumpy ride so far and we should prepare for ongoing turbulence. You might think we data junkies would be harder to spook after acclimating to the never-ending squawk of the 24-hour news cycle, but the constant stream of real-time information provided by social media continues to simultaneously help and hinder our ability to decipher signal from noise. [Read more…]

What the hell happened, Britain?

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