[September 19, 2007] GuideStar UK and Civil Society Systems Announce Merger Tweet (Ascribe Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) LONDON, Sept. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- The merger of two UK-based charities, GuideStar UK and Civil Society Systems, will be announced in London today at an international meeting of 100 civil society leaders from over 20 countries. The union of the two charities, which will be known as GuideStar International, has been made possible by a grant of 3 million pounds from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The two charities will combine their strengths in technology, operations and outreach into one efficient, technologically-advanced information platform. While ensuring the continued quality and development of the GuideStar service in the UK, the merger will help GuideStar International respond to the growing interest in the GuideStar model around the world. GuideStar systems help to illuminate the work of charities in countries around the world. The GuideStar model was first established in the United States in 1994 and GuideStar UK was launched in December 2005. Through the development of independent, national systems, GuideStar International is building the world's first library of information on the aspirations, activities and finances of charities. Mathew Cherian, CEO of HelpAge India, said, Without a GuideStar system, anyone seeking to support the work of a charity-be they a donor, grant maker, employee, trustee or volunteer-is flying blind, unable to gain a clear view of who is doing what, where and how. In India, we recognise the need for high-quality, transparent information and are developing our own GuideStar system to ensure that trust in the vital work of these organisations is maintained and that they have the resources necessary to undertake their work effectively and efficiently. Following the success of the GuideStar model in the US and UK, nationally operated systems are now under development in South Africa, India, South Korea and, with support from the European Commission, in four European countries: Germany, Hungary, Ireland and the Netherlands. The shared technology platform will dramatically reduce development costs for these and other countries. Bill Dietel, the retired President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and chair of Civil Society Systems, will chair the united charities' board of trustees. Dietel said, GuideStar International works to support information-rich voluntary sector development in other countries, and our vision is a great global fleet of independent but aligned national GuideStar entities. GuideStar UK, beyond serving the UK's voluntary sector information needs directly, is, along with GuideStar in the US, the inspiration for the development of GuideStar systems in countries throughout the world. Hilary Browne-Wilkinson, founder of the London-based Institute for Philanthropy, a founder of GuideStar UK and now a member of the board of the new combined charity, said that I believe that comprehensive, accurate information is vital to the strength of civil societies and the development of their role in every country of the world. GuideStar provides this. The benefit of the UK experience in developing a database, and an easy to use search engine can be passed on to other countries at the beginning of the process. I see this new global organisation as a fitting and exciting evolution of the work we began in London exactly five years ago. GuideStar UK Halfway through its second year of successful operation, GuideStar UK has become an established organization recognised nationally and internationally as being at the forefront of promoting non-profit organisations. A new GuideStar UK Advisory Council, under the leadership of Stuart Etherington, CEO of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, will be established to ensure that GuideStar UK continues to respond to the evolving information needs of its stakeholders. With its programme of innovative technological developments, GuideStar UK has become the leading provider of information on the third sector. Further technological developments will centre around the demand for information from institutional audiences who will now have access to previously unobtainable levels of data on third sector organizations. For example, GuideStar now supplies the core information for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations' annual UK Voluntary Sector Almanac; is used by the Department of Health to assess the role and contribution of charities to health and social care; and is an essential component of the toolkit developed by Audit Commission to help local authorities map local third sector organisations. Following the merger, GuideStar International will establish a distinct, wholly-owned Community Interest Company called GuideStar Data Services (GDS). The formation of GDS represents a natural progression resulting from successful revenue generation activities which will shortly exceed the annual limits on earned revenue by a charity. The social enterprise will be established to provide value-added charities' information services to institutional audiences including the UK government and private institutions. The first three of these services, Local Government Intelligence, Legal Intelligence and Financial Intelligence, are already generating significant cash flows. GDS will be led by GuideStar UK CEO David Brocklebank. GuideStar International Trustees Besides Dietel and Browne-Wilkinson, GuideStar International's Board of Trustees includes: - Buzz Schmidt, founder of the GuideStar movement, a founder and board member of GuideStar UK and CEO of GuideStar International - Virginia Hodgkinson, vice-chair of GuideStar in the US and professor of public policy at Georgetown University - Mathew Cherian, CEO of HelpAge India in Delhi - Luc Tayart de Borms, CEO of the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels - Diana Wells, co-president of Ashoka in Washington - Brian Smouha, chair of the board and a founder of GuideStar UK and former lead of Deloitte's financial service audit practice - Martin Thomas, a Wiltshire-based solicitor and chair of Lancashire Holdings, Ltd GuideStar UK Advisory Council Stuart Etherington will chair a new GuideStar UK Advisory Council, formed to ensure GuideStar UK's progress in meeting the needs of the UK's citizens and institutions for information about the voluntary sector, in promoting better charity-reporting and in enabling more confident, generous and pro-active philanthropy. Etherington remarked, This exciting combination reflects a coming of age of the GuideStar concept in the UK and internationally. With the merged technologies and new Community Interest Company, I feel we can support not only information needs in the UK but those of public-minded citizens throughout the world. For further information, contact: Caroline Neligan: +44 (0) 7795 102510 or [email protected] Jo O'Brien: +44 (0) 7946 637767 or [email protected] Katy Lenard: +1 301 652 1558 x 124 or [email protected] Copyright 2007 AScribe inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]