WHAT'S in a name? Money if you're a charity. Which is why it's bad news that charities aren't making the most of their brands.

Third Sector (Jan 10) reports on a survey by Intangible Business that shows that charities have done little to increase their brand impact over the past year.

The company calculated the financial value of the UK's leading charity names. Cancer Research comes out on top at £209 million, followed by the National Trust at £192 million and Oxfam at £172 million.

Thayne Forbes, joint managing director of Intangible Business, says that charities should not resist increasing their brand values because they fear being viewed as too corporate. Instead they should consider tactics used by the British Heart Foundation, which has licensed its name for use on consumer products.

The public could be partly to blame, since they put pressure on charities to spend their money on good causes rather than administration. The result is that company directors who serve on charity boards feel their business skills are being wasted.

Elizabeth Jackson, the chief executive of Directorbank, says that business leaders are frustrated. "They want to help charities, but few feel they are making a real difference."