Charity

The National Secular Society has urged Scotland’s First Minister to review the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose, arguing that it is “impeding the Scottish government’s attempts to combat misogyny”. The organisation has called for the Scottish government to review charity law and the inclusion of ‘the advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose,

One of the key figures in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic has stepped down as a trustee of the charity behind Parkrun after less than a year in the role.  Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam was announced as a director at Parkrun Global last January, officially assuming his position in March. But he said in

Philanthropy models must be “developed around the country” to maximise social impact, the Minister for Civil Society has said.  Speaking yesterday at the philanthropy charity Beacon’s Philanthropy and Impact Forum, Stuart Andrew said: “We want to encourage more philanthropy, particularly at a regional level.” He pointed to the West London Zone, a social outcomes partnership

The National Council of Voluntary Organisations has criticised the Treasury’s failure to respond to calls to uplift public service grants and contracts, saying that the “stark warning from the charity sector has gone unheard”. In November, the NCVO co-ordinated a letter, signed by more than 1,400 charity representatives, urging the government to address a sector-wide

A Cambridge-based cancer charity has received £750 in compensation after NatWest closed its account for six days in error.  Please Take Me There, a volunteer-led charity that provides transport to hospital treatments for children with cancer in the UK, Myanmar and Ghana, said it was unable to operate for six days after its NatWest bank

The proportion of vacant roles in the voluntary sector almost doubled over the past decade, new research indicates.  A report by the think tank Pro Bono Economics has found the proportion of vacant roles increased from 2.6 per cent in 2011 to nearly 5 per cent in 2022. The report says charities are also struggling

The Scout Association faced problems with health and safety training, risk assessments and a lack of “robust regulation”, a coroner has found following the death of a teenager in Wales.  Ben Leonard, 16, died in August 2018 while on a Scouts trip to Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon. Leonard, from Stockport, Manchester, separated from his

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator will be granted a raft of new “positive powers” from the beginning of April, after legislation was approved by the Scottish parliament.  The regulator will be given increased inquiry powers, the ability to remove charities that fail to submit accounts from the Scottish charity register and the ability

A UK charity is looking for a team to work in a “remote but hectic” Antarctic base for five months from November.  The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, which works to promote greater public engagement with the continent, wants to find about five people who will live and work at the historic base of Port Lockroy. 

The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into an education charity due to “serious financial concerns”. The regulator said it was looking into the Abu Bakr Trust because of concerns about the charity’s governance, debt levels, financial reporting and mismanagement. The Walsall-based charity, which runs four independent schools and a mosque, is more than 240

A 175-year-old charity for the vegetarian and vegan movement has rebranded with a fresh logo, website and newly named membership magazine. The Vegetarian Society has revamped its logo and website as part of a rebrand that cost just under £50,000. The rebrand is intended to reflect the charity’s “refreshed vision and mission and our desire

The BBC presenter Jill Douglas is to step down as chief executive of the charity set up by the late rugby union player Doddie Weir.  Douglas, who was appointed as the first chief executive of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation in 2018, will become a patron of the charity, which raises funds for research into

The government’s withdrawal of funds from an interfaith charity sets a “terrible precedent” that should concern the whole voluntary sector, charity leaders have warned.  Sector leaders have warned of risks to charity governance after the government confirmed that it would not follow through on its funding offer to the Inter Faith Network for the UK

Charities must engage with generative artificial intelligence in “safe and targeted ways” to fully understand its role in the voluntary sector, charity leaders have urged.  Speaking at the online launch of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ latest Road Ahead report, charity leaders stressed the importance of banding together as a sector to harness new developments

An interfaith charity has confirmed it will close after the government withdrew a £155,000 funding offer. The Inter Faith Network for the UK, which works with national faith community groups to advance understandings of different religious groups, said it would close and seek ways to preserve its legacy. The IFN has three full-time staff members,

[embedded content] Cancer Research UK has launched a £400m philanthropy campaign, which it says is the largest by a UK charity.  The “More research, less cancer” campaign is targeting high value donors and philanthropists in order to reach the target over the next five years.  The charity aims to use the funds raised “to help

A Coventry-based charity supporting victims of sexual violence has frozen its counselling waitlist due to a nearly £200,000 cut in local authority funding.  The Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, which has been supporting victims of sexual violence and abuse for more than 40 years, will lose 15 per cent of its total annual income

Union members at the Royal Society of Arts will go on strike for three days next week in the latest in a dispute over pay.  The Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain said members at the 270-year-old charity would walk out on 26, 27 and 28 February as part of a long-standing row.  Union members

The domestic violence charity Refuge has appointed its second interim chief executive in the space of five months. Abigail Ampofo, director of service delivery at the charity, has been appointed interim head after Ellen Miller announced she would be leaving to take up a permanent role. Miller, who has been interim chief since September, when

The multiple sclerosis charity the MS Trust has promoted Lucy Taylor to chief executive. Taylor, who has spent the past three years as the charity’s director of fundraising and marketing, will succeed David Martin, who is retiring after six years in the role. Before joining the MS Trust, Taylor held roles at charities including the

The rural support charity Action with Communities in Rural England has appointed Corinne Pluchino as its next chief executive.  Pluchino, who is director of fundraising, marketing and communications at the wetlands and wildlife charity WWT, succeeds Richard Quallington, who stepped down last year after eight years in the role.  Before joining WWT, Pluchino was chief

The proportion of charity communications professionals that received time off or compensation for working extra hours has dropped by almost 20 percentage points in just a year, new research has found. The percentage of communications professionals that received time off in lieu for additional hours worked dropped from 52 per cent in 2022 to just

The youth homelessness charity Depaul UK has appointed Alexia Murphy as its chief executive with immediate effect. Murphy has spent the past eight years working as executive director of operations at the charity, before moving into the post of deputy chief executive and then interim chief executive. Before joining Depaul UK she spent 10 years

A major social care trust has merged with a smaller charity, in a bid to strengthen the organisation and improve capacity for social care provision. The Orders of St John Care Trust, a charitable trust that provides social care services to older people in England, is merging with The Fremantle Trust, a smaller social care

“BREAKING NEWS: ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND DECIDES IT WILL NO LONGER FUND ART” the poet Polly Atkin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week. The post garnered more than 700 likes, and became one of a chorus of voices criticising the arts and culture funder after a story published in the sector journal Arts Professional

Craft Central will close at the end of the month because of financial pressures, the charity has announced.  The charity, which operates a building used by about 70 contemporary craftspeople in the Isle of Dogs, east London, said that four staff would lose their jobs, plus one regular freelancer.  Craft Central, which said it already

A museum collection charity has been criticised for removing a ‘best practice’ link to a glossary of inclusive terminology, after media reports highlighted the guidance for its section on Palestine. The Collections Trust, which works with museums to improve the management of and access to collections, has been criticised for removing the link to the

Orchestra members at the English National Opera have, “with heavy hearts”, accepted a deal that will end industrial action at the charity.  Members of the Musicians’ Union had voted in favour of strike action in December after the ENO announced plans to cut 19 posts in the orchestra and make its members part-time.  Union members

The former head of the Royal British Legion has been appointed chief executive of the oracy charity the English-Speaking Union.  Charles Byrne, who spent 10 years at the RBL, the final six as director general, was succeeded last month by Mark Atkinson, the former chief executive of the hearing loss charity the RNID.  The ESU

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into an Islamic faith charity following serious concerns that were raised regarding a third-party event held at its premises. The regulator launched a compliance case into the Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust in August last year, after it was reported that anti-semitic chants were made during a third-party event