Charity

Charities have made a pre-Budget plea to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as the energy price rises bite – “help us to become energy-efficient”. More than 30 organisations have written to Hunt ahead of his big speech on Wednesday 15 March. The government is limiting household energy bills to an average £2,500 a year, rising to £3,000

One of the UK’s biggest charities has banned Friday meetings and asked staff to limit their use of email in an attempt to reduce stress and anxiety. Disability charity Leonard Cheshire is rolling out the changes as part of a three-month pilot, according to an internal announcement seen by Third Sector. All staff apart from

Income at the Royal National Theatre rose by more than 40 per cent last year but still lags behind its financial performance before the outbreak of Covid-19. The charity’s income was £80.8m in the year to the end of March 2022, up from £56.3m in the preceding 12 months, when the theatre was closed under

An antisemitism charity has revealed it has been working with Roald Dahl organisations to help them to confront the writer’s controversial past.  The Antisemitism Policy Trust has been working with the Roald Dahl Museum and the Roald Dahl Story Company for several months, according to the charity’s chief executive, Danny Stone. In a letter to

Creditors including charities have lost tens of thousands of pounds after a mental health support organisation was finally dissolved nearly five years after it went bust. CoolTan Arts owed £70,000 when it ceased trading in 2018 but liquidators have not been able to return cash to any of its creditors, according to documents filed with

Five members of staff at the International Medical Corps (UK) were placed on the humanitarian aid charity’s internal watchlist last year because of safeguarding concerns. Three of those employees were “separated from the charity” after it received complaints and two left the organisation while under investigation, IMC (UK) said. The figures relate to the year

Two more policy areas have been added to the minister for civil society’s portfolio, leading to concerns that he may have less time to focus on charities. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that Stuart Andrew is now responsible for lotteries and gambling policy.  This is in addition to his existing roles

More than 500 staff at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s are being balloted on strike action. Unite the Union is balloting members after the charity “refused to budge” on a 1.75 per cent pay offer made in 2021/22. It comes less than two years after some St Mungo’s employees ended a separate three-month strike over

A charity has announced it will be providing free breakfast and lunch to its employees to alleviate cost-of-living pressure. Teens+, a charitable service of the Edinburgh-based non-profit organisation Capella, which also operates Sleep Scotland, said it would be providing free meals to all its 125 employees. Simon Pearce-Madge, head of Teens+ said that the initiative

Hundreds of charities and social enterprises are among those to receive a share of the latest tranche of hundreds of millions of pounds tied up in forgotten accounts. The government today announced how £76m of the next £800m of dormant assets will be distributed. Of the £76m, £31m will go to charities and social enterprises

An employment tribunal has ordered a charity to almost £13,000 to the former boss of its trading subsidiary. A judge found that Next Steps Development, which helps people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties, owed Sarah Poyser money to cover unauthorised deductions from her wages and outstanding holiday pay. Poyser was made director of

A man with senior management experience at Greene King and Starbucks has today been named as the chief executive of Help for Heroes. James Needham will head the armed forces support organisation on a permanent basis after stepping in as interim chief executive following the departure of Melanie Waters in October 2022. Needham joined the

An LGBT+ charity says it is in a “secure financial position” to continue to provide services – despite allegations that it sought money from a controversial platform used by pornographers. Opening Doors, which supports older gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said it had reviewed its finances and was a “going concern” after reports in

The Fundraising Regulator’s income from its charity levy rose by 5 per cent last year. The number of charities registered with the regulator also rose, from 4,980 to 5,700, while income from registration fees went up from £245,000 to £278,000. The levy – a voluntary payment by large charities to help fund the regulator –

A charity linked to the National Union of Students has admitted that the antisemitism scandal at the NUS could affect its future finances. A highly critical investigation into allegations of antisemitism at the NUS, published in January, found that “for at least a decade, Jewish students have not felt welcome or included in NUS spaces

Complaints by a former charity boss against The Sun newspaper have been rejected by the media watchdog. The Independent Press Standards Organisation did not uphold any of the complaints brought by Wilson Chowdhry in response to a story published in the tabloid last year. Chowdhry, who was director of the British Pakistani Christian Association until

The Disasters Emergency Committee’s appeal to help victims of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has passed £100m. The DEC said its appeal has raised “an incredible” £101.5m since it was launched on 9 February. The funds are providing urgent relief after the earthquakes killed more than 44,000 people, injured more than 100,000 and displaced hundreds

Skills and expertise “embedded in charities” can help the Labour Party deliver its policy pledges, sector leaders said today. Speaking in Manchester this morning, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer promised his party would deliver a “mission-driven government” if it wins the next general election. Starmer outlined five major commitments, on the economy, the NHS, crime,

Donations from Comic Relief’s trading subsidiary fell by £1m last year, financial documents show. Comic Relief Ltd, which manages the charity’s events, intellectual property and corporate support, donated £4.4m to Comic Relief in 2021/22, down from £5.4m the previous year. Comic Relief Ltd donates its taxable profits to the charity each year. The figure is

The family of a “devoted” charity founder has paid tribute following his death after a car accident.  Aqeel Akhtar, from Bolton, where he was known for his community work, was involved in a collision between three vehicles on 28 January, according to Greater Manchester Police. He died of his injuries in the hospital shortly after,

A charity has hit out at the BBC for failing to edit an episode of Would I Lie to You? In which comedian Lee Mack made a joke about stammering. Stamma said the section of the popular panel show was “thoughtless ridicule” and added: “This isn’t the 70s.” In the episode, which aired last Friday

Charity staff are more relaxed and more productive during a four-day week, according to voluntary organisations trialling new approaches to work. One charity involved in the six-month pilot said employees returned to work “refreshed” after a shorter week, while another described the benefits of a four-day week as “a real eye-opener”.  Under the trial programme,

The London Marathon Charitable Trust has today been renamed as the London Marathon Foundation as part of a rebrand it hopes will extend its funding reach and impact. The charity, one of the UK’s major funders of physical activity schemes, was set up in 1981 by London Marathon co-founders Chris Brasher and John Disley to

The Charity Commission will continue its compliance case into a Newcastle-based homelessness charity after the organisation announced its closure last month.  The commission opened the case into North East Homeless last November, after concerns about its governance. The charity said at the time that it welcomed the scrutiny as an opportunity to correct “untruths” being

Global health charity Merlin has handed over two final gifts worth a combined £2.8m as it prepares to close this June, a decade after it was taken over by Save the Children UK. Merlin’s trustees have decided to “expedite the wind-down of activities” at the charity, according to its latest accounts. Merlin has been preparing

STEM contest for pupils, Years 6-10, with top UK project grant of £5,000 London, UK (2 February 2023) – Phillippe Cousteau Jr’s EarthEcho International is launching the inaugural OurEcho Challenge competition in the United Kingdom, challenging teams of students, years 6-10, to help tackle the global decline in biodiversity. Teams are invited to get hands-on

IIIT Hyderabad uses the Choreo SaaS application development suite to provide “one-stop-shop” access to digital research projects that non-profit organisations can productise for their communities London, UK – 9th of February, 2023 – The International Institute of Information Technology – Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad) collaborates with leading technology organisations to innovate new solutions that benefit nonprofits

A charity which supports seriously ill children and young people in hospital has confirmed the appointment of Cheryl Tissot (pictured) as its permanent chief executive. Tissot, who has held the role at Rays of Sunshine on an interim basis since November, said she was “excited and honoured” to lead the organisation “during such an exciting

The Wellcome Trust has defended its £211,000-a-year diversity officer role, after criticism that the salary was too high for a non-profit organisation. The charitable foundation became a target of criticism after it announced it was seeking a chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.  The Wellcome Trust’s insights and learning lead, Farrah Nazir, tweeted a link

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Middlesbrough Central Masjid and Community Centre after it failed to file any financial accounts. The move follows more than three years of late or non-existent accounts, according to the commission. The saga began in December 2019 when the the regulator placed the charity into a