Charity

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

Income at Alzheimer’s Research UK rose by almost 20 per cent last year to a record high, latest figures show. The charity’s annual accounts for the year ending March 2023 show income of £49.9m, up from £42.2m in the previous year. This reflects a continuing trend of growth at the charity – its income has

Charities founded by King Charles while he was the Prince of Wales will be renamed following his accession to the throne, Buckingham Palace has revealed. The charities being renamed are The Prince’s Trust, which will become The King’s Trust; the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, which will be renamed the King Charles III Charitable Fund;

Third Sector is set to launch a new podcast series that will focus on the vital work of small charities and not-for-profits.  The podcast is titled The Diff, a play on Third Sector’s former magazine strapline “championing those who make a difference”. It is hosted by the radio presenter and film critic Rhianna Dhillon, who

The First Minister of Scotland has indicated that his government will provide longer-term grants for third sector organisations.  Addressing delegates at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ The Gathering conference yesterday (8 November), Humza Yousaf gave “firm assurance” that the government was considering ways to provide increased stability to charitable organisations through multi-year funding. He

The Charity Commission could intervene if trustees reject philanthropic donations due to “personal squeamishness”, the regulator’s chair has warned. In a lecture at the University of Kent yesterday (9 November), Orlando Fraser said that while the regulator would mostly respect trustees’ acceptance, refusal or return of a donation, it could intervene if the decision-making was

The RNID’s annual income decreased by about one-third last year after it sold off its care and support services, latest accounts reveal. The hearing loss charity’s total income fell to £14.5m in the year ending 31 March 2023, down from £21.9m in the previous year. The charity attributed the fall to its “strategic exit from

Richard Quallington, chief executive of the rural support charity Action with Communities in Rural England, has stepped down after eight years in the role. The charity, which works to address disadvantages faced by those living in rural areas and acts as the national body for the 38 members of the Acre Network of community support

The mental health charity Jami is to merge into Jewish Care, the organisations have announced. The two charities began to integrate their services just over a decade ago, when they created a single mental health service for the Jewish community. The organisations said the merger would secure sustainable mental health provision for the Jewish community.

The RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) must pay almost £7,000 to a wrongfully dismissed employee, an employment tribunal has ruled. Ruth Hannan was dismissed by the RSA from the role of head of policy and participation on 10 October 2022, after she was quoted in The Observer newspaper as

The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into a blood bike bike charity after finding “potential irregularities in its accounts”. Devon Freewheelers transports blood, medical equipment and samples to NHS establishments around Devon. In March, the charity was placed into the commission’s “double defaulter” class inquiry, which scrutinises charities that are late with their accounts

A community theatre charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne will close early next year because of funding challenges.  Curious Monkey, which has been in operation for more than 10 years, produces theatre shows with under-represented communities such as care-experienced young people and refugees and asylum-seekers. It has five core employees – one contract was due

The comedian Joe Lycett has raised more than £60,000 for the homelessness charity Crisis after the Home Secretary described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”. Lycett launched his campaign on Saturday after the Financial Times reported that Suella Braverman wanted to restrict the use of tents by people sleeping rough and to fine charities that

Suzie Hutchinson, chief executive of the children’s health charity Little Hearts Matter for the past 20 years, has become its head of services. Little Hearts Matter supports children, young adults and families affected by the diagnosis of single ventricle heart condition in a child, which means they only have half a functioning heart. Hutchinson, who

More than 70 environmental charities have pledged to diversify their recruitment practices and provide accessible employment pathways, as part of the community charity Groundwork’s Force of Nature campaign. WWF-UK, Wildlife and Countryside Link, the National Trust, RSPB, The Woodland Trust and the Bat Conservation Trust are among the charities to sign the pledge, which aims