Charity

Income at the veterans charity Help for Heroes has stabilised after two years of decline, the latest figures show.  The charity’s annual accounts, for the year to the end of September 2022, show it recorded income of £18.9m, up slightly from £18.5m in the previous 12 months. Income at the charity was £26.9m in 2018/19

Peter Babudu has been appointed as the new executive director at Impact on Urban Health, part of Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation. He joins the not-for-profit organisation, which aims to address how living in cities impacts people’s health, from the Youth Endowment Fund, where he has spent four years as the assistant director of research

Help Musicians, which supports professional musicians across the UK in times of crisis, has appointed Sarah Woods (pictured) as its new chief executive.  Woods, who has served as interim chief executive at the charity since May and takes the reins with immediate effect, succeeds James Ainscough, who left the charity earlier this year to become

The children’s charity Coram has defended a decision to more than double the rent for a nursery it helped create in north London, despite the nursery’s claims that it may now be forced to close. The Thomas Coram nursery school, an early years centre for children aged two to five in Camden, north London, will

HM Revenue & Customs is offering £5.5m to voluntary sector organisations to help people who need support with their tax affairs. HMRC said the funding, which will be worth £1.8m a year from 2024 to 2027, wlil be available through its Voluntary and Community Sector Grant Funding programme.  Bids can be submitted between 24 July

A mental health charity that closed this year after a last-ditch fundraiser fell short has been ordered to pay £14,500 to an employee dismissed because of her ill health. Sea Sanctuary, which was based in Cornwall, was found by a tribunal to have discriminated against Ms F Wilkinson. The three-person tribunal, whose report was published

Nearly three quarters of charities do not feel prepared for the “opportunities and challenges” of artificial intelligence, according to this year’s Charity Digital Skills Report. Published today, the report includes the results of a flash poll of 100 UK charities, asking them a range of questions about AI. The survey revealed that 73 per cent

A UK charity has named a Middle Eastern princess as a director. Turquoise Mountain Trust’s appointment of Princess Dana Firas of Jordan was revealed in an email update from Companies House. The £9.2m charity, formed by the then Prince Charles in 2006, exists to “revive historic areas and traditional crafts, to provide jobs, skills and

The future and the past are orange for a £6.7m medical research charity which has today revealed its new look. Muscular Dystrophy UK has undergone a brand refresh to “help reach and support more of the 110,000 people in the UK living with one of over 60 muscle-wasting and weakening conditions”. And it has recruited

Yorkshire Water will hand over £235,000 to a wildlife charity for polluting a beck – taking the total it has given to the organisation to almost £1m in two years. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will get the latest donation following an investigation by the Environment Agency, which found that the water company had illegally polluted a

A new guide has been published to dispel “the top 10 myths that abound” about the charity sector. The guidance from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, published today, covers how charities are run, carry out their work, are funded and staffed, and whether they are liable for tax or their vulnerability

The Charity Commission today moved to silence “false and misleading” claims about the ongoing closure of the Islamic Centre of England’s London headquarters. The regulator released a statement saying the mosque could not be reopened because the charity had “problems in securing the necessary insurance”. It added: “The commission is aware of various reports and

Charities and their donors have benefitted from a significant year-on-year increase in tax relief, with the 2022/23 total hitting almost £6bn. The sum includes a 19 per cent rise in Gift Aid, with HM Revenue & Customs paying charities £1.6bn in the last financial year. But there are concerns about payroll giving, as the total

One of the UK’s fastest-growing charities has appointed a new number two to “take fundraising to the next level”. Last month, Islamic Relief Worldwide reported 2022 income of £234m – up from £183m in 2021 and £130.3m in 2019. Now it is targeting even greater growth and today announced the appointment of Zia Salik as

A food bank charity has equipped its volunteers with body-worn cameras in the hope they will protect them after two spitting attacks. Gillingham Street Angels food bank posted on Facebook on Monday revealing that volunteers would be wearing body cameras following a second spitting incident.  “Again today we’ve had staff members spat at. Who would’ve

Stonewall’s chief executive, Nancy Kelley, has announced that she is stepping down at the end of this month. After just over three years in the role, Kelley reflected on the controversies and victories by tweeting: “I can’t say it’s always been a pleasure, but it has surely been a privilege leading Stonewall.” The former deputy

A convicted fraudster who stole £27,000 from a probation firm had previously used £180,000 of charity money to renovate a cottage and buy antique alarm clocks, an inquiry reveals today. Hugh Morgan-Williams used his role as trustee of The Cowesby Trust to access the money, according to the final report of a seven-year Charity Commission

A 60-year-old charitable foundation today announced that it will “dismantle and close” itself – and divvy out its £134m endowment fund among other organisations. Lankelly Chase revealed the unexpected news this morning, saying it was part of the “traditional philanthropy model” that was entangled with “colonial capitalism”. It said on its website that it wanted

A major aid charity has admitted making “slow progress” towards becoming an anti-racist organisation – 18 months after its leaders apologised over a scathing independent race audit. The audit highlighted historical structural racism at ActionAid UK, with black and ethnic minority employees feeling “less valued, less supported, less empowered” than their white colleagues. Eighteen months

Trustees are today being warned to “keep detailed, up-to-date records” after recent examples of charities coming under scrutiny from the regulator. Last week, a compliance case was launched into Forgotten Veterans UK when an independent examiner was unable to source records to account for £89,000 of expenditure and £151,000 of donations. And yesterday, the Charity

Together for Mental Wellbeing is the major charity that is relevant to the highest proportion of people, new figures show.  Data from Third Sector’s latest Charity Brand Index, which is produced with the research company Harris Interactive, shows that 72 per cent of people agreed that “this charity is relevant to me”.  The index is

The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) and the Nightingale Fund have merged to become one charity. As part of the merger, the Nightingale Fund has entrusted its funds to the Florence Nightingale Foundation, with the latter retaining its title as the charity moving forward. The move was officially completed on Friday last week. Professor Greta Westwood

The £88m Royal Parks charity has opened its first shop – in the heart of Hyde Park. The shop opened in the recently-renovated boat house by the Serpentine Lake opened on Tuesday. It sells a range of products, including books, clothes and homeware. The Royal Parks split from the government to register as a charity

More than 90 charities have signed an open letter to Rishi Sunak, demanding that he keeps his promise on climate finance. The open letter, released today (7 July), calls on the prime minister to “urgently demonstrate” how the government’s commitment to provide £11.6bn in climate finance over five years from 2021 will be met.  It

In a landmark ruling, two judges have today rejected an attempt by a transgender rights group to have a gay rights organisation stripped of its charitable status. An at-times bitter battle saw Mermaids, which supports transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children and their families, appeal against the Charity Commission’s decision to register the LGB Alliance

An indefinite strike by charity workers will continue after they turned down a pay offer labelled “paltry” by Unite the Union. St Mungo’s said it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision, which it said came despite the offer being negotiated and agreed with Unite and Acas. In a press release, the trade union, which represents

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is spearheading a new campaign calling for voluntary sector organisations to consider divesting from companies in the fossil fuel industry.  The NCVO said today it was issuing a “rallying cry for our sector to take collective action on one of the biggest challenges we face”. The membership body said

The government is today being urged to withdraw a near-£40,000 grant to a UK charity, amid fears it has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. An open letter, signed by 29 organisations that support people from Hong Kong who have sought refuge in the UK, accuses the leadership of Wai Lin Society of having

The Captain Tom Foundation – set up by the family of the late fundraiser – has said it is “to close all payment channels” while a statutory inquiry is carried out. The charity has released a statement on the homepage of its website, dated July 2023, providing an update on its activities and future plans.

A charity and think tank has called for philanthropy to be “turned inside-out” to make grant-giving more inclusive and transparent. New Philanthropy Capital has released guidance outlining its approach to “open philanthropy”. The guide, published today, is based on an 18-month experiment by the organisation, which saw it distributing more than £570,000 of grants to