Charity

The British Psychological Society could cut about one-fifth of its workforce, sources close to the charity have told Third Sector. Internal communications circulated among BPS employees last week said the charity was consulting on changes affecting 32 jobs, sources said. The charity’s latest accounts, for 2022, show it employed an average of 127 full-time and

An international poverty relief charity has been issued a warning by the Charity Commission for failing to keep proper minutes and to correctly manage a conflict of interest. Penny Appeal received an official warning from the regulator for failing to keep trustee minutes, not acting in the best interest of the charity and failing to

Charities should read the new Non-Party Campaigner Code to “feel equipped” ahead of the upcoming election period, the chair of the Charity Commission has urged. Orlando Fraser, chair of the Charity Commission, and John Pullinger, chair of the Electoral Commission, have stressed the importance of knowing the new code’s implications for the charitable sector, in

Total spending at Marie Curie grew by more than £20m due to increased investment in charitable activities after NHS funding was reduced, its latest accounts reveal. The charity’s accounts, covering the year to 31 March, show expenditure was £175.9m, up 12 per cent on the previous year, due to higher investment in fundraising, nursing and

The Purpose Awards EMEA recognise campaigns that use creative ideas successfully to further positive causes, and acknowledge the organisations behind them. The awards are open to agencies, brands, public sector bodies, charities and NGOs throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Sarah-Jane Rumford, managing partner and PR director at the communications agency 89up (pictured, below),

Charity regulators have warned people to do their research when giving to charity after more than £2.7m worth of donations was stolen by fraudsters over the past year. The Charity Commission, the Fundraising Regulator and Action Fraud have launched their annual campaign reminding people how to give safely to charities. Data from Action Fraud, the

Income at the body for YMCA charities in England and Wales rose by more than £4m last year after it increased its trading activities, latest annual accounts reveal. YMCA England & Wales, which is registered as the National Council of Young Men’s Christian Associations, recorded income of £21.7m in the year to the end of

Heidi Travis is to step down as chief executive of Sue Ryder next year.  Travis, who has worked for the palliative care charity for 14 years, the past 11 as chief executive, said she would “semi retire” in the spring.  The charity said that under Travis’s leadership, it had “significantly expanded its palliative and end-of-life

A quarter of people will give less to charity this Christmas because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research. Polling published by the match-funding organisation the Big Give shows that 25 per cent of the more than 2,200 UK adults polled said they expected to donate less to good causes over the festive period

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has pledged to act when “standards fall short” after allegations of abuse and assault in the charity. The Times newspaper reported last week that staff and volunteers had accused the RNLI of “assault, bullying and misconduct by volunteers”. There are also accusations of “rampant sexism” among the organisation’s ranks, according

The arts charities Culture24 and The Audience Agency have merged after both organisations lost long-term funding contracts from Arts Council England. Culture 24, which promotes the cultural sector online, had a total income of £468,296 for the financial year ending March 2023. The Audience Agency, which provides support services for arts, cultural and heritage organisations,

Real-terms public spending cuts of £19.1bn and an increase in the National Living Wage could force charities to cut services or eat into their reserves, experts have warned. This week’s Autumn Statement included no additional spending for public services, despite charity bodies calling for an uplift to public service contracts involving charities.  The Office for

A dyslexic employee was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed by his charity employer, an employment tribunal has ruled. Robert Debont, the former facilities manager at the charity-run community building Marsh Farm Futures, was dismissed after clashes with members of the organisation’s management and its chief executive, Mohammed Rafi. The tribunal found that Debont experienced disability

The 13,000 staff and volunteers working in Cancer Research UK’s shop division are being offered free wellbeing support through a new partnership with the retail staff welfare charity the Retail Trust. The organisations said staff and volunteers at CRUK shops would be able to access personalised wellbeing support from the trust, including counselling and cognitive

The government will reintroduce VAT relief on energy-saving materials in buildings used for charitable purposes.  The Treasury announced in the Autumn Statement today that it was “expanding VAT relief available on the installation of energy-saving materials in residential buildings or those used solely for a relevant charitable purpose”.  It means that equipment such as heat

A lack of measures in the Autumn Statement to help voluntary sector organisations is a “blow for charities” that will force some to close, leaders have warned. Sector bodies had been calling for Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to announce measures to support the sector as it faces increased demand and reduced funding

A bill tackling “subscription traps” will not affect charity lotteries after concerns they would be caught up in the legislation, according to the Lotteries Council.  The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill was introduced to parliament earlier this year with the aim of “making it easier for consumers to end subscription contracts”, according to Sarah

Legacy bodies have welcomed potentially “transformative” new government measures aimed at streamlining the legacy income process for charities.  The charity legacy consortium Remember A Charity and the Institute for Legacy Management said the changes being introduced by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service would include the addition of a new charity indicator on digital applications

Charity legacy income is expected to reach £6bn a year by 2050, new research predicts. The legacy consortium Legacy Foresight’s annual market briefing, published today, forecasts that an expected rise in deaths and a return to house price growth from 2025/26 will boost legacy income from the current value of about £4bn a year. Legacy

The Big Help Out volunteering event will return over a three-day period in early June 2024, organisers have announced.  The event, which first took place on the bank holiday Monday after the King and Queen’s coronation in May this year, will be held from 7-9 June to coincide with the end of Volunteers’ Week.  Organisers

An appeal for a fund worth £550m to be distributed to charitable causes instead of the government has failed in court. The National Fund was established in 1928 by Gaspard Farrer, who was a partner in bank and investment management company Barings, with an endowment of £500,000.  The aim was that the funds would be

The Charity Commission is assessing “a significant number” allegations of antisemitism and hate speech linked to the behaviour of some charities amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, its chair has revealed.  In a speech given at the commission’s annual public meeting in Liverpool yesterday, Orlando Fraser said the sector had a responsibility to bring

The Chancellor of the Exchequer should view civil society as a “key partner” when setting out his Autumn Statement, the think tank Pro Bono Economics has urged.  Jeremy Hunt will present his Autumn Statement on Wednesday (22 November), laying out the government’s latest tax and spending plans. In a briefing ahead of the statement, PBE

Charities are being invited to apply to take part in the Big Give’s Green Match Fund 2024, which aims to raise £10m for environmental causes. The annual funding event was first held in 2021 and last year raised more than £4.3m for the 178 charities that took part. Next year’s event, which will run from

More than half of not-for-profit organisations are struggling to attract skilled staff, a global survey has revealed. Research carried out among 1,100 not-for-profit organisations from 115 countries by the Personio Foundation and the consulting firm Impact46 found that 52 per cent of respondents said attracting skilled staff was a major problem.  It found that a

Staff that a union claimed had been suspended by a women’s charity after a bullying row have voted in favour of strike action.  More than a dozen employees at Glasgow East Women’s Aid were sent home on 14 September after they raised “concerns about bullying in the workplace”, according to the union Unite. The charity

The fundraising company Omaze’s new donation model will guarantee £1m minimum to every charity partner from its house draws, it has announced. Omaze said today that the RSPCA would be the first charity to benefit from the new arrangement as part of a prize draw for a six-bedroom house in Somerset, worth £3m. Omaze is

A proposal to fine charities that provide tents to rough sleepers will not be going ahead, the Home Office has confirmed. The Financial Times newspaper reported last week that Suella Braverman, the then-Home Secretary, planned to criminalise the use of tents by all people sleeping rough as part of a new criminal justice bill for

The UK’s three charity regulators have criticised major high street banks for providing “poor customer service” to charities and abruptly closing or suspending their accounts. An open letter signed by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator has called for “big

Candidates endorsed by Restore Trust failed to win any seats on the National Trust’s council at the conservation charity’s annual general meeting. Restore Trust is a campaign group set up to lobby for the National Trust to “reclaim its mission” and change the charity’s direction. The group aims to shift the charity’s priorities away from