Charity

Bosses at two of the UK’s largest disability charities have denied claims they plan to merge as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Scope and Leonard Cheshire have rejected a report in The i newspaper that they had held “advanced merger talks” as repercussions from Covid-19 continue to impact the voluntary and not-for-profit sector. The i said

Mencap could miss out on £1.5m as a result of the decision to limit the 2020 Virgin London Marathon to elite runners only.  The learning disability charity was the official charity partner of this years’ event which was pushed back from its usual date in April until 4 October as a result of the pandemic.  But

Charities should take advantage of relaxed laws around board and general meetings, or enact compliance measures, as soon as possible to ensure there are no future governance issues when the provisions end next month, a legal expert has advised.  Speaking to Third Sector, Nicola Evans, charities counsel at law firm BDP Pitmans, warned organisations must not “bank

The London Marathon has confirmed that its 40th race, originally due to take place on Sunday 4 October 2020, will not go ahead in the traditional mass-participation format. In an announcement made on the Virgin Money London Marathon website, organisers said that elite athletes would be able to compete in the marathon on an enclosed

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has today announced plans to appoint a subcommittee to its board of trustees that will focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, as part of a wider EDI action plan. According to a statement released by the umbrella body, the committee will meet at least four times a year and

The coronavirus pandemic is bringing change to the UK voluntary sector in a never-before-seen fashion, with research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Finance Group warning UK charities are facing a shortfall of more than £12bn this year because of the outbreak. The pandemic has accelerated some

The National Lottery Community Fund has today announced a 1.4m investment that will aim to support black, Asian and ethnic minority-led infrastructure and leadership practice across the sector. The funder has partnered with Global Fund for Children to assist with the co-creation and delivery of the Phoenix Fund, a BAME-led fund that will support communities and BAME

Dozens of UK charities working in international development are expected to close over the next 12 months as a result of the Government’s £2.9 billion global development budget cut, an aid network has warned. A survey of 53 small international development charities with annual incomes of between £5,000 and £1m, carried out by the Small

One in five Britons have donated to a charity in the past three months, according to data from YouGov. The market research firm’s analysis also found that people had been more likely to give a one-off gift rather than a regular donation during the Covid-19 crisis. Last month, the Civil Society Almanac, published by the

The Disasters Emergency Committee has appointed Tanya Steele to its board of trustees as an independent trustee. She will succeed Baroness Helene Hayman when the trustee completes her second term this month after six years on the board. Steele has served as the chief executive of WWF since 2017 and previously held positions at two

The first independent review into the effectiveness of Big Society Capital has reported “substantial progress towards its ambitious and challenging objectives”. The four-yearly audit by the Big Society Trust is part of a new process to be carried out every year (on rotation) on one of the four companies it oversees.  BST inspects the governance

Sandra Horley, chief executive and company secretary at Refuge, will retire in October after 37 years in the role. Horley is stepping down from her duties with immediate effect due to planned leave. She has led the charity since 1983, working for the needs of women and children escaping domestic abuse and other forms of

Charity leaders have called for the widespread use of the word ‘Empire’ in the British honours system to be replaced with ‘Excellence’, in recognition of the need for the UK to “break from its colonial past”. In an open letter published in The Times, a group of third sector and public sector leaders who have

Up to 300 jobs could be at risk at the British Heart Foundation, which expects to lose half of its expected income this year as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the charity announced today. The charity said it would be consulting staff on cost-saving measures, describing the fall in income prompted by the closure

Four out of five mass people who have participated in mass charity race events would be willing to race again within three months of lockdown being lifted, a survey has found. The race organising app RaceNation surveyed more than 2,600 event organisers, race participants and charities to explore the impact of coronavirus on mass participation

Donor-centric fundraising materials risk reinforcing ideas of white saviourism, and it is up to fundraisers to reframe the discussion, according to Priya Changela, marketing and fundraising officer at Disasters Emergency Committee. Changela called on fundraisers to help dismantle the white gaze during a session on ethical copywriting at Fundraising Everywhere’s BAME Fundraising Virtual Conference 2020,

The National Trust has announced plans to make up to 1,200 people redundant as it expects to lose almost £200m this year as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The conservation charity hopes to save £100m – almost a fifth of its annual spend – through changes to its operations and reductions to payroll and

Belgian social enterprise fights back against food waste while feeding the vulnerable quickly and cost effectively, supported by OKI Europe Ltd’s Five Colour Label Printer Egham, 29th July 2020 – Belgian social enterprise enVie, has been fighting back against food waste by making delicious healthy soups from fresh surplus vegetables supplied by Belgian farmers, to

A change in tax policy on ‘digital advertising’ is expecting to result in “significant” savings for charities following a campaign by the Charity Tax Group (CTG). In a previous ruling, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had said digital advertising should be subject to VAT, and sought to raise assessments to recover VAT from some advertising

The Charity Commission has confirmed that more than 30 UK charities have been affected by the Blackbaud ransomware attack. The regulator said it had recieved 33 serious incident reports in relation to the attack after data was stolen when hackers targeted the US-based software provider. Blackbaud is one of the largest providers of fundraising, financial

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) must give $360m to Big Win Philanthropy (BWP), following the divorce of CIFF’s founders. Jamie Cooper and Sir Chris Hohn set up CIFF in 2002, but the couple’s divorce in 2014 led to protracted legal action over the charitable company. A High Court

Comic Relief is undergoing a consultation process to make 25 per cent of its staff body redundant as the charity seeks to manage the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Third Sector can reveal.  The fundraising charity is looking to save more than £5m in running costs following the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, which

The MP tasked with reviewing the sector’s role in the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has said future sector models must be “more ambitious” than the Big Society, and warned against the government implementing major reforms at the same time as cutting spending.  Danny Kruger, the MP for Devizes and former charity leader, participated

Small charities supporting people with complex social issues will be able to apply for two-year grants of £50,000 from the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales’s new Covid Recovery Fund from next week. The £7.4m fund will open for applications on 3 August, for charities across England and Wales with an annual income of between £25,000 and

In the latest episode of the Third Sector Podcast, editor Emily Burt and features and analysis writer Rebecca Cooney discuss the reader manifesto for the future. The reader manifesto featured in the most recent edition of Third Sector. As the world and the sector begins to think about recovery from the coronavirus crisis, we asked

Oxfam GB has appointed the chair of Channel 4 to lead its board of trustees.  The charity said Charles Gurassa, who has been chair of Channel 4 since 2016, would succeed Caroline Thomson, who announced last year she would be stepping down because she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  In addition to chairing Channel

The Small Charities Coalition has warned a review into the role of the voluntary sector in the coronavirus pandemic response is in danger of being rushed and becoming an attempt to “bring back big society through the back door”. Last month, the Prime Minister asked Danny Kruger MP to lead a review examining how the government

The Refugee Council has appointed Enver Solomon as its next chief executive.  Solomon, who is chief executive at the youth charity Just for Kids Law, will succeed Maurice Wren, who is retiring after eight years in the role.  Solomon has previously held senior positions at the National Children’s Bureau, The Children’s Society and Barnardo’s, and

Blood Cancer UK has proposed cutting more than a quarter of its workforce in a bid to deal with the anticipated loss of about 40 per cent of its income.  Gemma Peters, chief executive of the blood cancer charity, said the organisation, which had an income of £15.3m in the year to the end of

The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into Islamic Relief Worldwide after claims a senior figure at the charity made anti-semitic comments on social media.  The charity said in a statement this week that trustee and former staff member Heshmat Khalifa had stepped down from its board after anti-semitic social media posts made five