AS a tribute to Sir Bobby Robson and all that his foundation has done for the North-East, I would like to focus on the successes and challenges facing charities, otherwise known as the third sector.

In only 18 months, Sir Bobby raised more than £1.2m and opened The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre to treat patients from across the North-East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

Butterwick Hospice said it was postponing construction of a facility in Stockton after donations to its £780,000 hospice appeal dropped.

Charities rely on income from individuals, the corporate sector and the Government.

Rising unemployment, corporate cut backs, an almost non-existent interest rate and a struggling Stock Exchange all result in organisations and individuals having less money to donate to charity. Charities are struggling as deposits are no longer yielding higher interest rates. Stock Market investments have fallen and dividends on shares have been restricted. The third sector is however fighting back.

A national task force of 30 charities has reached the first milestone in its battle to recover combined funds of £50m from a failed Icelandic bank.

The first 20 per cent has been refunded, but the bank’s administrators say it could take up to four years to reclaim up to 50 per cent.

The Institute of Fundraising is calling for changes to Gift Aid to allow charities to reclaim all tax paid against donations.

In the case of higher rate taxpayers, this would give donors an option to increase the value of gifts given to charity (including the tax suffered) by a third.

Nationally, registrations for charity domain names for websites and microsites (individual campaign sites) are up 27 per cent on last year. The online donations site, Just- Giving has reported an array of creative fundraising initiatives this week. ActionAid has announced its first regional campaign, to thank supporters across Yorkshire after the county’s great response to the sponsor a child scheme.

We can all do our bit if we think about it creatively. Donating time and pro-bono services can benefit charities enormously without putting too big a dent in your pocket.

I’ve nearly reached my fundraising target for my charity walk last month so thank you to everyone who sponsored me.

■ Chris Beaumont is chairman of Tees Valley NECC.