My DSC FAQs

My DSC is a new service from Directory of Social Change.  It stores online publication, course and conference transactions with DSC and will offer access to new products and special offers.

For more information on My DSC and how to use it, click here

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Directory of Social Change has been providing information and training to charities and voluntary organisations since 1974.  In the past, this information has all been in the form of printed publications and online reference databases.

Our vision is an independent voluntary sector at the heart of social change. We believe that we can help to reach this vision through the provision of even more relevant information, more quickly, to the people who need it. Electronic documents and online technology will help us to achieve this.

After a simple registration process, you will be able to access information easily and instantly from wherever you are. 

Electronic files are also more accessible as they work with screen readers and can be resized.  They are also searchable and can contain links to other sources of information which might be relevant to you.

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As soon as you sign up, you’ll be able to access new free downloadable material.  You’ll also get access to exclusive special offers not available to unregistered users.  Furthermore, you’ll be able to manage all your electronic transactions through the DSC website and keep track of your purchases in the ‘My Items’ section.

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It’s completely free to sign up to My DSC.  You’ll be able to access as many of the free downloads as you want, as often as you want. 

The books, courses and conferences which you would have paid for before will still be paid for, but there’ll now be extra features and special offers with some of them.  We’ll soon be launching more comprehensive downloadable material, which you will be able to purchase exclusively through My DSC.

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DSC may send you details of relevant products, services, events and special offers which could be of interest to you.  As always, you can opt out of receiving any of this when you sign up.

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No.  Your existing username and password will automatically give you access to My DSC.  You will be able to access all the new features of My DSC on your first visit.  You will be able to manage your information more easily and edit your details and change your password with the ‘Update details’ option.

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If you buy a book through the DSC website, you already have to provide an e-mail address for verification.  The only change now is that you will automatically become a My DSC user when you do this.  The receipt for the book will appear in your My Items list and you will be able to access all the functions of My DSC automatically.

We still accept physical orders by fax to 020 7391 4808 or post to Directory of Social Change, 24 Stephenson Way, London, NW1 2DP. For more information, check the How to order books section

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If you register on a course or conference through the DSC website, you already have to provide an e-mail address for verification.  The only change now is that you will automatically become a My DSC user when you do this.  The receipt for the event will appear in your My Items list and you will be able to access all the features of My DSC automatically.

We still accept physical registrations by fax to 020 7391 4808 or post to Directory of Social Change, 24 Stephenson Way, London, NW1 2DP. 

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No.  Only products purchased through the DSC website after the launch of My DSC will be included in your My Items section.

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No.  These orders are not currently linked to My DSC. 

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No.  Subscriptions to our fundraising websites (trustfunding.org.uk; governmentfunding.org.uk; companygiving.org.uk and grantsforindividuals.org.uk) are dealt with separately from the main Directory of Social Change website, so will not feature on My DSC.

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No.  Charityfair bookings will not be connected to My DSC this year.

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No.  The room bookings system is not linked up to our website.  If you want to book a room you can first call 08450 77 77 07 or 020 7209 1015 to check availability.  We then need you to send a booking form either by post.  For more information, you can check the how to book section for Charity Centre

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We prefer it if the person attending the course or conference makes the booking themselves.  That way they can easily access any additional information or special features through their own My DSC account.

However, we understand that every organisation is different, and has different processes for staff development, making purchases, approving transactions etc. etc.  

If you book another person onto a course or conference and they want a record of the booking in their own My Items list, please e-mail the details of the booking, the delegate and their My DSC account to mydsc@dsc.org.uk

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The process remains the same for cancelling courses and conferences.  If you made the booking through the DSC website and a receipt appears on your My Items list, we will add a note to the receipt indicating that the booking has been cancelled or transferred.

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The process for returning a book remains the same.  If you bought the publication through the DSC website and a receipt appears on your My Items list, we will add a note to the receipt indicating that the book has been returned and if any refund was granted.

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Of course.  My DSC is open to anyone who wants to benefit from the new electronic information or purchase our existing products and services.  

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Yes.  By offering more electronic documents, we want to make it easier for people in all circumstances and all parts of the world to access our information.

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No.  DSC's fundraising databases are only accessible through our funding websites  (trustfunding.org.uk;  governmentfunding.org.uk; companygiving.org.uk and grantsforindividuals.org.uk) and our library

We will be offering some brief advice sheets, which you can access from the ‘Downloads’ column on the left-hand side of your My DSC page.

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Enter your e-mail address in the log-in form and click on the ‘I have forgotten my password’ button.  Wait a moment.  You should receive a password prompt by e-mail fairly quickly.  If you do not receive a prompt, call 08450 77 77 07 for assistance.

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It is best if you have a My DSC account for each organisation you are involved with.  That way you won’t get your paid transactions mixed up and have a receipt for a product paid for by one organisation in an account in the name of another organisation.  You can add the free downloads to all your My Items lists, or just store them on your hard drive and access them whenever you want.

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You can sign up with any valid e-mail address.  However, it is best to use your work account if you have one.  That way if you purchase anything with a company credit card it can be easily related to that organisation.

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You can change your details by clicking on the ‘Update details’ button, beside the ‘Logout…’ button.  There you can update your name; address; contact details; organisation and job title.

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Click on the ‘Update details’ button beside the ‘Logout…’ button, as above.  On the right-hand side, above the ‘User details’ table is a ‘change your password’ button.  Click on this and you type your new password and confirm it.

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All the downloads are listed in the ‘Download’ column in the left-hand column of your My DSC page.  Click on the ‘+’ sign beside each topic heading to see the sub-topics.  Click on the ‘+’ beside the sub-topic heading to see what downloads are available in that category. When you click on the link, you will be taken to the product page to find out more about the document.  If you click on the ‘download’ button, the document will be added to your My Items list.

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Once you have added a document to your My Items list, you just have to click on the title of the document to access it

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First check that you are opening the download in the right application.

All the downloads are in pdf format, so you will need to open them in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another pdf reader.

If you are using Firefox, you may have difficulty opening the documents.  When the message "What should Firefox do with this file?" appears, select  "Open with Acrobat.exe".  If you save the file, make sure you open it in a pdf reader.

If you still cannot open the document contact mydsc@dsc.org.uk or call 08450 77 77 07

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If you find the free downloads useful, we would encourage you to forward them to friends.  We would ask that you do not alter the documents, as this could affect the meaning or validity of the content.

We have placed extra security measures on our purchasable downloads. We ask that you do not attempt to forward these to other people, or send them links. This is clearly spelt out in our terms and conditions.

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No.  My Items is a list of all your transactions through My DSC.  It is locked so that you always have a record of your online transactions.  

If you cancel a booking or return a book the receipt will remain, but with a note indicating that it has been cancelled/returned.  That way you have the most accurate record of all your transactions.  

If you find that you do not want a free document which you have added, you will simply have to leave it in your My Items.

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Not yet.  Your most recent transaction will appear at the top of your My Items list.  You will have 10 transactions per page, with later transactions kept on other pages.  You can find your older transactions by clicking on the page numbers at the bottom of the My Items list.

If you would like to see this option available in the future, or if you have any other suggestions for how we can make My DSC more user friendly, please e-mail mydsc@dsc.org.uk or fill in the feedback form.

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Unfortunately, printed books are VAT exempt but electronic content is not. This is because it is viewed as a ‘service’ and not a ‘product.’   

On the plus side, with downloaded materials you get instant access anywhere in the world, with no payment for postage and packaging, and no waiting. You can also search the documents to find exactly what you need. We have made all downloads pdf format so you can resize them easily and read them at whatever print size suits you best. All the purchased downloads are comprehensively bookmarked, so you can jump straight to the part you need.

We have priced our full book downloads so they are equal to, or cheaper than, the cost of the full printed book plus standard postage and packaging.

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Invoicing results in a delay in payment and as you receive instant access to the purchased downloads, we cannot offer invoice payment for downloads.

Your confirmation e-mail acts as a copy invoice and a record of the transaction. It will contain all the relevant information on the transaction and on Directory of Social Change (registered address, VAT registration number, charity number etc.).

If you are unable to make a credit card payment, it is possible to request an invoice for purchased downloads by e-mailing mydsc@dsc.org.uk. We will grant access to the document on receipt of payment. However, this will lead to a significant delay in delivery of the document.

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Yes you can. Your statutory rights for purchased downloads are the same as for books.  The terms and conditions outline the procedure.

With purchased downloads we ask that you complete the online refund form and provide assurance that you will recover and delete any copies you have of the document. We will de-activate the download link and add a note to the receipt on your My Items list once the refund has been processed.

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