Charity

The British Youth Council, a major youth voice charity, is closing after more than 75 years due to “ongoing financial challenges”. BYC is a youth-led charity that encourages young people under the age of 25 to get involved in their communities and democracy locally, nationally and internationally.  It was set up by the Foreign Office

The Charity Finance Group broke even last year after three successive deficits, latest figures show. The membership body’s accounts for the year to the end of March 2023 show it had recorded income and spending of £1.5m.  The CFG had recorded deficits in each of the three previous years, totalling more than £400,000 over the

A former charity director is facing 25 charges relating to an alleged £1m Gift Aid fraud involving a youth support charity. Wendy Macbean, 60, and of St Johnston, Lifford, is accused of committing the alleged offences in the name of Foyle Youth and Community Association, which is based in Derry, Northern Ireland. Macbean was due

The number of complaints received by the Fundraising Regulator rose by 8 per cent last year, new figures show.  The regulator’s latest annual report, published today, says 1,137 complaints were made to it in the year to the end of August 2023, up from 1,056 in the previous year.  The regulator said 509 of the

The next UK government should remove restrictions on civil society campaigning, according to the NGO umbrella body Bond.  Bond’s 2024 manifesto, called A Global System for People and Planet and published today, sets out the steps it believes the next government should take to “help secure a global system for people and planet, the delivery

The government has commissioned a review of Arts Council England.  The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it had appointed Dame Mary Archer, chancellor of the University of Buckingham and a former chair of the Science Museum Group, to lead the exercise, supported by a panel of 14 arts and cultural sector experts.  The

The Charity Commission has given a local news website charitable status, in what is believed to be the first time a UK public interest news provider has been recognised as a charity. The Guildford Dragon News has been entered onto the charity register following a six-month application process. Martin Giles, editor of The Guildford Dragon

The Trussell Trust thinks of itself as a temporary structure that would seek to dismantle at the earliest possible opportunity, its chief executive has said in a new podcast published today. Speaking in the first episode of Third Sector’s documentary podcast series The End of Charity, which explores the challenges faced by modern charities and

The on-the-night total raised by Red Nose Day was up this year for the first time in six appeals.  The fundraising event had raised more than £38.6m by the end of the live television show on Friday night, up from £31.9m at the same stage last year.  This year’s total has since passed £40m, organisers

Grant-in-aid funding provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to cultural organisations fell by 30 per cent last year, according to new data. Figures released by the DCMS show the government department gave £1.3bn in grant-in-aid funding to 19 bodies in the year ending March 2023, a drop of 30 per cent on

A charitable incorporated organisation founded by former Girlguiding leaders has raised enough funds to bid for an activity centre due to be shut down by Girlguiding. Foxie’s Future was launched to crowdfund to buy the Foxlease activity centre in Hampshire, one of five sites that Girlguiding is selling to secure its financial future. Announcing the

A debt advice charity sacked four of six frontline staff members who voted in favour of strike action in a dispute with their employer over trade union recognition, conditions and pay. Third Sector reported this week that employees at Rooted Finance, represented by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, would go on strike on 18

Charitable foundations must do more to improve diversity, a new report has urged, finding that just one out of 100 UK foundations scored a top grade in the area. The Foundation Practice Rating 2024 report, published by the Friends Provident Foundation, analysed a random sample of 100 UK foundations, ranking them in grades from A

A humanitarian aid charity set up by the model Naomi Campbell is to be dissolved.  Fashion for Relief, which was founded in 2005, has been the subject of a Charity Commission inquiry since November 2021 for filing late accounts for four years and a “lack of evidence to show that conflicts of interest were being

Macmillan Cancer Support is planning to cut 150 jobs after a review of its services. The charity, which employs more than 2,000 people, has estimated these redundancies will save about £7m a year. The charity said it would cut the roles because it had felt “the impact of a difficult financial environment”, citing rising inflation.

Volunteering generates a £4.6bn productivity boost to the UK economy each year, new research has found.  A study by the think tank Pro Bono Economics, commissioned by the Royal Voluntary Service, estimates the UK benefits from annual productivity gains of more than £4,500 per volunteer working in professional and managerial occupations.  The report, called A

A humanitarian aid charity’s former employee allegedly found cigarettes and “perhaps other substances” at the office during lockdown, a tribunal has heard. Third Sector reported last week that an employment tribunal in Manchester ruled that the Human Relief Foundation had unfairly dismissed Farah Ahmad after a hearing that concluded in early February. In August 2020,

A group of politicians have called for the Charity Commission to investigate the charitable think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs.  The Good Law Project, a not-for-profit organisation that uses the law to protect the interests of the public, has sent a letter backed by a cross-party group of politicians including Clive Lewis, the Labour

Charities need “more insight” from the probate service so they can plan better, MPs have heard.  Charity representatives have been giving evidence to members of the House of Commons Justice Committee as part of its inquiry into the probate service.  Angela Morrison, chief operating officer at Cancer Research UK, said the charity was waiting for

The Fundraising Regulator must prepare for challenges posed by the misuse of artificial intelligence in fundraising, its chief executive has warned. Speaking at a question and answer panel discussion at the regulator’s annual event yesterday, held at the British Museum in London, Gerald Oppenheim said: “Inevitably, with the advent of all these new technological advances,

The deadline to enter the Purpose Awards EMEA has been extended to 14 March. The Purpose Awards EMEA, which is run by Third Sector, PRWeek and Campaign, 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

[embedded content] Third Sector is set to launch a limited podcast series that explores the challenges faced by modern charities and the disruptors shaking up the for-good landscape at a time of heightened need.  The End of Charity is hosted by multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse and features a range of leading voices from across the

Tributes have been paid to the voluntary sector leader Elizabeth Balgobin, who has died at the age of 58.  Balgobin, who worked in a range of senior roles in UK charities during a career of more than three decades, died last week after receiving a cancer diagnosis in January.  She had a long spell as

A family support charity has appointed Ali Stathers-Tracey as its chief executive. Child Action North West is based in Blackburn and Bolton, Greater Manchester, and supports children, vulnerable adults and families facing inequality. Stathers-Tracey will succeed Sue Cotton, who will retire at the end of March. Cotton is retiring after a 40-year career in social work

Almost half of charities have experienced banking issues in the past year,  a major survey by the Charity Commission has found.  Of about 2,500 trustees surveyed by the regulator, 42 per cent said their charity had experienced poor service from their banks in the past 12 months. The survey found 32 per cent of respondents said

The Charity Commission has opened an statutory inquiry into a faith-based charity because of “serious concerns” about a Facebook video post. The regulator said it was looking into the Al-Manar Centre Trust, which was founded in 2009 to “educate the public about the Islamic faith” and is based in Cardiff, after the charity posted a

The latest set of changes introduced by the Charities Act 2022 has come into effect.  The Charity Commission said the new rules, which came into force yesterday, would make it easier for unincorporated charities to change their governing document and for merged charities to receive gifts left for one of their former organisations.  The regulator

The Charity Commission is being urged to investigate a gambling awareness charity that receives most of its funding from gambling industry. The Good Law Project, a not-for-profit organisation that uses the law to protect the interests of the public, has called for the regulator to investigate whether GambleAware “is failing in its charitable duties”.  The

A humanitarian aid charity has been ordered to pay an ex-employee more than £31,000 following an unfair dismissal complaint. An employment tribunal in Manchester ruled that the Human Relief Foundation had unfairly dismissed Farah Ahmad after a hearing that concluded in early February.  It also found that Ahmad had been subject to detriment for making

Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation has appointed Laurie Lee as its next chief executive.  Lee has been interim head of the charity since April 2023, after Kieron Boyle announced he would leave after seven years in the role to take up the top job at the Impact Investing Institute.  Before joining the Guy’s & St