NPC and the Guardian team up to find effective charities

Today sees the launch of the Guardian and Observer newspaper’s Christmas 2010 charity appeal. This year’s appeal is being run in association with New Philanthropy Capital, and is looking to find the most transformative charities and projects working with young people aged 13-24 at risk in the UK.

NPC has worked with The Guardian and Observer to develop the application form for charities to use. And unlike other appeals, this one looks a little different. To be shortlisted for this appeal, charities will have to be able to communicate clearly the impact their charity makes.

Successful applicants will be asked to talk about the problem they’re addressing, the outcomes of their work and the evidence they’re gathering to prove their impact. They’ll also be innovative, having thought about what does and doesn’t work in their field, and making a conscious decision to do something different and more effective.

This focus on impact won’t surprise anyone familiar with NPC’s work. Finding ways to encourage and help charities and funders to increase their impact is at the centre of pretty much everything we do. Next week sees the launch of our latest think piece, Talking about results, which explores how charities can improve the way they communicate their impact. In it, we assess the annual reports, websites and impact reports of some of the largest charities by fundraising income in the UK to see how well they do it. I won’t say too much about it yet, but you may find some of the results rather surprising.

If you are a charity interested in applying for The Guardian and Observer Christmas Appeal you can do so on The Guardian website. It doesn’t matter what sort of organisation you are, whether you’re a charity helping young refugees in Hull or a charity mentoring young people excluded from school in London. As long as you can tell us the results you’re achieving. Good luck to everyone that applies.