Charity

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

Communications skills are less valued by charities now than during the pandemic, research shows. One in 10 charity comms professionals said they believed their roles had become less important to colleagues during the past year, double the proportion who said so in 2021. The data is included in a survey of nearly 800 communications experts

The entry deadline for the Business Charity Awards is just one week away.  The awards, which are run by Third Sector, recognise the outstanding work done by the people and teams behind corporate and charity partnerships. There are 24 categories, spanning sector partnerships and teams. One of those category winners will be selected to win

A growing number of charities are joining a campaign to postpone a planned increase in the energy price guarantee (EPG), which they say will plunge millions more people into fuel poverty. Martin Lewis, founder of the MoneySavingExpert website, urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to keep the state-subsidised unit cost at a level where a British household

Youth charities in England have 10 days to apply for funding from a government-backed scheme helping young people access outdoor pursuits. Projects funded through the Adventure Away from Home programme must then be delivered by the middle of April. The fund, worth £470,000 in total, was launched yesterday.  The network body UK Youth, which is

The regulator has rejected an application to register as a charity an organisation supporting people “injured and bereaved by the Covid-19 vaccinations”.  John Bowe, a British actor known for his role in Emmerdale, tried to register the Charity Organisation for the Vaccine InjureD (C.O.V.I.D.) with the regulator after opening a support line for people who

Latvian police have raided a bank owned by a former trustee at a charity founded by King Charles III. Valery Belokon was a trustee at the Prince’s Foundation for Community Building, where the then-Prince Charles was president, between 2010 and 2013.  During the same period Belokon was also a director of PF Urban, a private

The Charity Commission has launched an inquiry into a charity after one of its backers filed for bankruptcy. Effective Ventures Foundation filed a serious incident report with the commission last December following the collapse of FTX, a US cryptocurrency exchange whose philanthropic arm had funded the UK charity in the past. The Charity Commission said

The Canal & River Trust, one of the largest charities in the UK, has named its new fundraising director. Maggie Gardner will start in the role next month. She previously worked as managing director of strategic partnerships, development and communication at the US non-profit organisation The Freedom Fund and as marketing, communications and fundraising director

A new report has called for greater collaboration between the public, private and social sectors to “fuel” the UK’s recovery and growth. The final report of the Law Family Commission on Civil Society (LFCCS), chaired by former cabinet secretary Lord Gus O’Donnell and published today, highlights the “crucial role” the charity sector plays in the

A manager at a social care charity has been awarded about £25,000 after an employment tribunal found she had been unfairly dismissed. The judge increased the compensation due to Tracy Britcher because Hastings and Rother Voluntary Association for the Blind “unreasonably failed to comply” with best practice settling grievances. Britcher’s claims for both unfair dismissal

The boss of the National Trust says the decision to lay off hundreds of staff during the Covid-19 crisis was the worst moment of her career. Director-general Hilary McGrady said that losing so many colleagues during the pandemic had been a “terrible time” for the charity, but argued the decision was necessary to protect its

A charity has hit out at “bewildering” government funding decisions as it appealed for help to finance the last phase of a multimillion-pound project to reopen an outdoor swimming pool. The Broomhill Pool Trust, which was founded in 2004, said it was still about £2m short of the total it needed to restore and reopen

A coalition of major charities has officially launched a massive volunteering drive that will take place on the weekend of the King’s coronation.  The Big Help Out will be held on 8 May, the Bank Holiday Monday immediately following the King’s coronation weekend.  Organisers said they are hoping for an “unprecedented community mobilisation” that will

The number of gifts to charity left in wills hit a record high last year, latest figures show. The legacy information company Smee and Ford said the number of individual bequests within charitable estates granted probate in England and Wales in 2022 was the highest recorded at 123,298. The company said the total value of

Stuart Andrew has pledged his “personal commitment” to facilitating collaboration between civil society organisations and the public and private sectors. Speaking at the launch of the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, launched today by the think tank Pro Bono Economics, the civil society minister said: “The power and importance of collaboration across sectors is

The trustee of a UK charity will appear in court in Malta on 3 February as one of the first people in the world to be charged with promoting ‘gay conversion therapy’. Matthew Grech, 33, is a trustee of the County Down charity Core Issues Trust and lives in Malta. He was charged in the

Running costs will remain high, recruitment will be difficult and the political landscape will continue to change, according to a new report looking at 2023. The Road Ahead 2023, published on Wednesday by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, outlined five key insights for charities over the next year. The report said that due to

Guide Dogs UK has moved out of a London office-share with the Royal National Institute of Blind People after the RNIB ended the lease on its building. Last month, Guide Dogs moved its London office from RNIB’s building on Judd Street to the British Medical Association’s premises in Tavistock Square. A Guide Dogs spokesperson told

St Giles Trust has appointed Tracey Burley (pictured) as its new chief executive as Rob Owen steps down from the role. Burley previously worked as interim chief executive of the youth charity Redthread and as chief operating officer of the LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall. Rob Owen, who led St Giles Trust for 15 years, told

A charity shop has made almost £10,000 after finding a mint condition Cartier watch in a bag of donations. The British Heart Foundation sold the sought-after timepiece on eBay for £9,766 after it was discovered in the bag in the shop at Hounslow, London. The Cartier Tank Francaise 18ct gold watch was sent to the

A coalition of 30 charities will hold a “festival of volunteering” later this year to mark the coronation of King Charles III, it has been announced. The Big Help Out will take place on 8 May, the final day of the coronation long weekend, with hundreds of events planned across the UK to highlight the