12 December 2007: SHINE is delighted to announce that it has been selected to join the list of charities recommended by New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), an independent, non-profit organisation that advises donors on the most effective charities in the UK.

NPC’s decision to recognise SHINE in this way follows a detailed examination of our projects, methodology and approach; in its summary, NPC describes SHINE as “an experienced grant-maker with proven results” and “a small organisation with a big impact.”

The decision marks a departure for NPC, which has previously recommended only charities that directly provide services on the ground. SHINE is therefore the first grant-making trust to be endorsed by NPC and joins an exclusive group of other leading organisations – such as Cancer Research UK, Mind and the Children’s Society – whose approach has been rigorously analysed and judged to be highly effective.

Click here to download NPC’s summary of SHINE. 

SHINE’s work and the projects we fund and develop also feature prominently in ‘After the bell’, NPC’s latest research report into out-of-school hours activities for children and young people. The report, released today, features SHINE as a leading organisation in the provision of extended learning, saying: “Donors can be confident that SHINE will use their money effectively. It has rigorous selection and evaluation processes and insists on verifiable results in the projects it funds.”

The report also features both our SHINE on Saturday and Serious Fun on Saturday project strands as examples of good practice in extended learning, featuring the superb results at SHINE on Saturday @ Wendell Park:

“At Wendell Park Primary, located in one of London’s poorest boroughs, participants in SHINE on Saturdays outperformed their classmates in English and maths even though half of them had special educational needs and about two thirds were not native English speakers.”

Finally, the report endorses our approach, pointing out that “Grant-makers such as SHINE … are solid organisations with established track records in improving educational outcomes. Donors can rely on grant-makers’ expertise at selecting projects and monitoring their results.”

Click here to download NPC’s research report, ‘After the bell’.