Month: April 2024

A social housing charity will close its social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that content on the platform is “often prejudicial, racist and deeply unpleasant”. Manningham Housing Association, which provides social housing for diverse communities in West Yorkshire, said it planned to withdraw from X after a review of its internal

Hospice charities are facing an estimated £77m deficit this year, new figures show. Research published today by the membership body Hospice UK is based on findings from its latest quarterly financial benchmarking survey, which includes figures from 86 hospice charities in Britain for the 2023/24 financial year.  Hospice UK said the figures were the worst

[embedded content] The RSPCA has rolled out a major rebrand for the first time in 50 years, which the 200-year-old animal welfare charity hopes will reflect its drive to become a “modern, forward-facing organisation”. The charity’s reimagined logo will be accompanied by a brand marketing campaign that will run across TV, cinema and social media

About one-third of British charities experienced some form of cyber security breach in the past year, according to new government data. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published its Cyber Security Breaches Survey this week, which explores approaches to cyber security across different sectors.  Almost one in three (32 per cent) of charities experienced

A veteran’s charity has completed its sale of more than 150 flats for £80m to Chelsea Football Club. The Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation, more commonly known as Stoll, announced the sale of properties at its Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions housing site this week. Stoll trustees agreed a deal in principle to sell 157 flats housing

The Charity Commission has said it is looking into a food bank’s decision to refuse donations from a Doctor Who convention. The event, hosted by Bedford Who Charity Convention on 6 April, raised more than £17,000 for local charities including Bedford Foodbank. Bedford Foodbank initially thanked the convention for raising an “amazing” amount of money.

A music membership charity has appointed a co-chief executive as it adopts a shared leadership model. Seamus McGibbon has been appointed co-chief executive at Making Music, a charity that supports voluntary and amateur music groups, alongside its current chief executive Barbara Eifler, who has led the charity for a decade. McGibbon was chief executive of

The Charity Commission has said that a social media post that referred to “harm” caused by the transgender youth charity Mermaids was reposted by its account in error. Earlier today the regulator’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, reshared a post that described the transgender youth charity Mermaids as being “responsible for so much harm”.

St Peter’s Hospice has appointed Susan Hamilton (pictured) as its chief executive, following the retirement of its former leader Frank Noble. Hamilton takes up the role at the Bristol-based charity as an experienced healthcare professional with a career spanning more than 20 years in the sector. Prior to joining St Peter’s Hospice, Hamilton was director

An army museum charity has filed a serious incident report with the Charity Commission about the potential misappropriation of charitable funds, after its 2022/23 accounts reported that about £400,000 was unaccounted for. The regulator has confirmed that it has received a serious incident report from the Army Museums Ogilby Trust, which supports and promotes British

British Muslims are giving to charity at a rate at least four times higher than the national average, according to data published today. The global consultancy Blue State has published its British Muslim Giving Behaviours report, which surveyed more than 1,500 Muslim adults and a general group of more than 2,000 British adults, 86 of

Sir Peter Wanless has announced he will step down from the chief executive position at the NSPCC later this year, after more than a decade in post.  Announcing his decision earlier today, Wanless said it had been an “extraordinary privilege” to hold the role and work with so many committed people within the charity.  The

About one in six UK adults (17 per cent) do not know that they can leave gifts of money or items to charities in their wills, according to new research from Cancer Research UK. A survey of more than 2,000 adults commissioned by the charity found that more than half (60 per cent) did not

The British runner Russ Cook, also known as the Hardest Geezer, has so far raised more than £803,000 for two charities after running the length of Africa. Cook completed his 352-day ‘Project Africa’ challenge to fundraise for Sandblast, a charity that helps displaced people in the Western Sahara, and The Running Charity. The 27-year-old from Worthing,

The idealisation of charitable organisations can make it easier for staff and volunteers to ignore or downplay unethical behaviour, academics have concluded. Research led by Isabel de Bruin from the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University says self-glorification within charities can lead to unethical behaviour, termed as the “NGO halo effect”.  A survey conducted

A health and social care charity has increased pay for its 1,800 social care workers in a £4.6m investment. Alternative Futures Group provides support for people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. It said today it had increased pay for all its social care workers from £11 an hour to £12 – a 9

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator has told more than 100 charities that it plans remove them from the charity register after they failed to submit their accounts on time. The OSCR said 112 charities were at risk of being removed for failing to submit accounts to the regulator, after changes to Scottish charity

Up to 19 jobs are at risk at a Scottish conservation charity that is facing a “serious financial deficit”.  The John Muir Trust, which is based in Pitlochry and employs 64 people, said its operating costs in the past year had been significantly higher than its income in a “particularly challenging financial environment”.  The charity’s

The homelessness charity St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity has appointed Duncan Shrubsole, policy director at the Lloyds Bank Foundation, as its next chief executive. Shrubsole will take up the role on 24 June after 10 years as director of policy, research and communications at the Lloyds Bank Foundation. He succeeds Tim Bissett, who is moving to the top job

The Fire Fighters Charity has appointed Sherine Wheeler as its next chief executive. Wheeler announced last month that she was stepping down as head of the animal welfare and veterinary charity Mayhew to take up an unspecified leadership role. The Fire Fighters Charity said this week that she would join the organisation, which provides specialist

David Crundwell, the first permanent chair of the British Psychological Society, has resigned for personal reasons after just over a year in the role.  The BPS acts as the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. It is responsible for the promotion of excellence and ethical practice in the science, education and application

The Fundraising Regulator and the Charity Commission are looking into concerns about an end-of-life and burial charity, following allegations that it fundraised for the Clapham chemical attacker’s burial under a false name. The 13 Rivers Trust, which operates the Muslim Burial Fund, will be subject to enquiries after recent media reports sparked complaints to the

A charity backed by the American convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried has announced it is winding down. Effective Ventures Foundation UK, which had an income of more than £140m in 2022, supports “organisations in the effective altruism and long termism communities”, according to its website.  The charity’s latest accounts to the year ending 30 June

Charities must ensure they take extra care around data security when using artificial intelligence tools, the Charity Commission has warned.  In a blog post published today, Paul Latham, director of communications and policy at the regulator, says issues can arise when AI is put to use directly in charity operations and charities might not be