Charity

The Charity Commission has helped recover more than £10m of unused charitable funds to revitalise inactive charities in Wales. The regulator’s Revitalising Trusts programme prevents charitable funds from lying dormant by offering support and advice to trustees who are having difficulty spending income, recruiting trustees, finding beneficiaries or finding time to run the charity. The

The chief executive of the children’s palliative care charity Together for Short Lives will take up the top job at Muscular Dystrophy UK in November.  Andy Fletcher will succeed Catherine Woodhead, who left Muscular Dystrophy UK in July to become chief executive of Living Streets, which campaigns to make roads safer for pedestrians. Fletcher is

Ben, the automotive industry charity, has appointed its health and wellbeing director, Rachel Clift, as its chief executive. Clift will take up the reins on 1 November, succeeding Zara Ross, who is retiring after eight years in the role. But Ross will continue to work with the charity as its transfer programme director until the

A former Scottish cancer charity manager has admitted to stealing more than £95,000 from two charities she worked for, including one she co-founded.  Lindsay MacCallum, 61, of Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire, pleaded guilty at Falkirk Sheriff Court to two counts of fraud after stealing money from Rainbow Valley and the blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan. Rainbow Valley

Only 3 per cent of charities are using artificial intelligence in their operations, new research from the Charity Commission shows.  The findings come from a survey of more than 2,500 trustees conducted online in February by BMG Research on behalf of the regulator.  The research, published today, shows the proportion of trustees who said their

Public trust in charities is at its highest level in 10 years, new research from the Charity Commission has found. The regulator found charities scored an average of 6.5 out of 10 for trust among the UK public – the highest level since 2014, when the score was 6.7. The figure is up from 6.3

Funders have been urged to provide financial aid for frontline organisations in the wake of recent anti-immigration riots. A group of grantmakers and organisations have written to more than 100 funders, urging them to provide emergency financial aid to frontline organisations in the aftermath of the violent anti-immigration protests and riots that broke out across

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a poverty relief charity after receiving complaints about funds it sent to Yemen. The Saba Relief & Development Foundation, which was registered as a charity in 2013, works to alleviate poverty in Yemen by distributing food, water, clothing, providing education facilities and offering financial aid. The

A group of people with lived experience of UK migration systems have urged charity leaders and funders to take “urgent action” to support staff safety in the wake of the recent anti-immigration riots. The letter, which is addressed to about 150 charity leaders and funders in the migration sector, calls for sector leaders to support

A care charity has been ordered to pay a former employee more than £18,600 for constructive dismissal, indirect sex discrimination and pregnancy discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled. Ms R Malcolm worked as a housing supervisor at Blackwood Homes and Care, which provides care for disabled people, between July 2019 until her dismissal in July

The enterprise education charity Young Enterprise has appointed the deputy chief executive of Fair4All Finance as its new leader. Sarah Porretta succeeds Sharon Davies who is leaving the charity after 15 years, the past five as chief executive. Davies announced plans to step down in April, saying she was “planning some time for reflection” after

Macmillan Cancer Support’s income rose by more than 2 per cent last year, new accounts show. The charity recorded a total income of £232.5m in the financial year to the end of December 2023, up from £227.1m in 2022.  A vast majority of the charity’s income came from fundraising activities, which accounted for 98 per

Defined benefit pension schemes sponsored by the largest UK charities have seen a “significant increase” in their funding levels, a financial services firm has said. Hymans Robertson’s annual report on defined benefit pension scheme funding in the sector highlights figures from the 40 biggest charities by annual income in England and Wales. The report says

A shop that was allegedly falsely trading under a children’s charity’s name for 18 years has taken down all signage after the council contacted police. Second Chance Children’s Charity, based in Titchfield, Hampshire, was informed about the shop in Erith, south-east London, by a group of local residents. The charity had permitted the opening of

A former Charity Commission board member has described the Charity Governance Code as “too managerial in tone”. In a LinkedIn post, Andrew Purkis said the code, which is the subject of a consultation to “refresh and reshape” it, was excellent but warned some sections were “too dry”.  Purkis, who was a commission board member from

A fundraiser launched to support Citizens Advice Sunderland has raised more than £14,800 after the charity’s office suffered extensive fire damage last week.  Violent riots have taken place across the UK since the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, with Citizens Advice Sunderland’s office targeted by racists on Friday.  A fundraising campaign for

Power to Change has rebranded to reflect its goal of supporting community businesses as “building blocks”. The charity, which was set up in 2015 with an endowment of £150m to support community businesses, has changed its strapline and logo, and updated its website. The new logo retains a similar colour palette but introduces a new

The Charity Commission has written to all councils in England and Wales after identifying a “significant number” of cases where they are failing to correctly manage charities they are responsible for.  The regulator has worked with the Local Government Association to produce updated guidance covering the about 1,200 charities in England and Wales that have

London’s Air Ambulance Charity has received £4m toward the cost of two new helicopters through the prize draw operator Omaze’s most lucrative charitable event. The charitable funds are being donated to London’s Air Ambulance Charity, which delivers medics and life-saving treatment to patients who are too seriously injured to reach a hospital.  The charity spends

More than £1m has been donated to Greenpeace UK’s Stop Shell appeal, which was launched in response to a major lawsuit filed by Shell against the environmental non-governmental organisation. The legal action was filed by Shell after Greenpeace campaigners occupied a moving oil platform for 13 days in January last year to protest against climate

Almost £900m in dormant funds are expected to be unlocked for charities through the expansion of the Dormant Assets Scheme, the Financial Conduct Authority has said. The scheme’s expansion is estimated to unlock a further £880m after it was widened to include dormant investment assets and client money, the regulator said. The first phase of

A former Charity Commission board member has described the Charity Governance Code as “too managerial in tone”. In a LinkedIn post, Andrew Purkis said the code, which is the subject of a consultation to “refresh and reshape” it, was excellent but warned some sections were “too dry”.  Purkis, who was a commission board member from

Thames Hospice has appointed Dr Rachael de Caux as its next chief executive.  De Caux, who is deputy chief executive and chief medical officer of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, will succeed Catherine McLaughlin, who will retire in September after almost two years in the role. De Caux is also a

The children’s rights and education charity AfriKids has rebranded, with its new look paying homage to its past while embracing its future, the charity said. AfriKids works with communities in northern Ghana to tackle issues faced by the most marginalised communities. The charity said its rebrand was rooted in the heritage, culture and vibrancy of

The co-founder of a teacher training charity said its funding “shouldn’t be left to philanthropists” after it secured its future with almost £1m in emergency funding. In April, Now Teach said the cancellation of a £1.4m Department for Education contract could lead to its “extinction” as the charity was set to lose half of its

A graduate recruitment charity is facing an uncertain future after an £4m annual government contract that makes up almost all of its income was not renewed.  Unlocked Graduates has recruited university graduates to work as prison officers for the past eight years. The charity’s contract with the Ministry of Justice runs until 2026 but an

The social care charity PSS UK has appointed Jill Sheldrake, deputy chief executive and director of services at the care and education charity the Together Trust, as its next chief executive.  Sheldrake will take up the top job at PSS, which supports adults with learning or physical disabilities, older people, those facing mental health challenges

A Christian charity breached the Code of Fundraising Practice during a campaign to fundraise for a new building, the Fundraising Regulator has found. St Thomas Mar Thoma Church, based in Bristol, “failed to achieve its objectives” during its Agape Project fundraising campaign to raise £150,000 for the new building. The regulator found the charity failed

Charities have cut ties with the former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards.  At Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.  The charges relate to 41 images that were shared on a WhatsApp chat between 2020 and 2022. The National Churches Trust said it had dropped Edwards

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has called for the Scottish government to increase the audit threshold for charities.  Charities in England and Wales with annual incomes of £1m or more are required to complete an audit but the threshold is £500,000 in Scotland, and has not been updated since 2005.  The ACCA said audit