Charity

Up to 170 jobs are at risk at the debt advice charity StepChange because of reduced demand for its services. The charity has slightly more than 1,500 staff, according to its latest accounts, in offices around the UK. Unite the union said in a statement that the StepChange offices in Leeds and Newcastle upon Tyne would

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a rise in digital volunteering, according to new research.  It comes in the latest data from the seventh monthly Covid-19 Voluntary Sector Impact Barometer, which asked 579 organisations across the UK questions about the impact of the pandemic on volunteering within their organisations. Led by the National Council for Voluntary

The government has declined to release a list of all the organisations that are registered as charities for tax purposes.  A request made by Third Sector using the Freedom of Information Act asked HM Revenue & Customs for a copy of the data it holds on all the charities in its database recognised for tax purposes.

MPs on the House of Commons International Development Committee are to scrutinise racism in the foreign aid sector.  The committee said it would be taking evidence on the subject as part of its wider inquiry into the philosophy and culture of aid. It will hear from experts on the subject via a virtual evidence session

The government has been accused of trying to avoid public scrutiny after it refused to publish the legal advice it received regarding its cuts to overseas development aid. Preet Kaur Gill, the shadow international development minister and MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, criticised the government after it rejected a request by Third Sector under the Freedom

The National Trust has received its biggest donation to date in the form of a £4m gift from HSBC UK. The bank’s multimillion-pound gift will enable the charity to plant two million trees as part of a plan to tackle climate change, attract more wildlife and protect landscapes prone to flooding. The charity said the

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into grant-making charity The Knightland Foundation because of concerns about potential conflicts of interest. The commission said yesterday it had been looking into the London-based charity since 2016 after a proactive review of its accounts revealed a number of concerns, including insufficiently documented loan agreements and transactions

The footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaigning to raise money for the fight against food poverty has resulted in him topping The Sunday Times Giving List for the first time. The Manchester United striker also becomes the youngest person to top the list, published for the 20th time today. The annual measure of philanthropy among the super-rich

Charities working with disadvantaged women and girls can apply for up to £350,000 in grant funding from the government after it made £11.25m available from the final funding round of its tampon tax scheme.  The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said the Tampon Tax Fund, which has been redistributing VAT collected on sanitary

Marcus Missen, director of fundraising and communications at WaterAid, has been appointed executive director of fundraising, marketing and communications at the disability charity Leonard Cheshire.  He succeeds Kate Burt, who left in April last year after three years in post and subsequently became chief executive of the Haemophilia Society.  Leslie Davey has been covering the

A husband and wife who were jailed for stealing from a poverty relief charity they “intentionally abused for criminal purposes” have been ordered to repay more than £500,000. In an inquiry report published today, the Charity Commission said it first opened an investigation into Afghan Poverty Relief in 2011, following a referral from the Metropolitan

The Fawcett Society and the Young Women’s Trust have called off merger talks. Thewomen’s charities announced in November they were in exploratory talks about a possible merger. But in a statement today, the charities said the talks had not shown that a merger would significantly improve the impact the organisations would have, so they had

TV and broadband company Liberty Global has been named Business of the Year at Third Sector’s Business Charity Awards 2021.  The company was recognised for its work through Lessons for Life, a charity its former chief strategy officer founded, which it backed and subsequently merged with the NGO Street Child, to support the education of

Deliveroo’s support for the NSPCC during the Covid-19 pandemic is among the winners in this year’s Business Charity Awards. The awards, run by Third Sector, recognise the outstanding support given by businesses to UK charities and voluntary organisations. The winners are being announced online over two ceremonies on 18 and 19 May. Deliveroo and the

Senior leaders at Girlguiding have apologised after an audit found examples of racism, Islamophobia and transphobia among staff, volunteers and Girl Guides. The audit, conducted by independent consultants, was conducted as a result of the charity’s new organisational strategy, which was launched in January last year.  The audit included input from a range of stakeholders

A charity that supports LGBTQI+ people through the UK asylum and immigration system has rebranded. The UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group announced it had changed its name to Rainbow Migration in a statement on its website today.  The name change coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The charity said it

The RSPB has promised to review its posters after a birdwatcher claimed its depiction of birds was sexist.  Mya-Rose Craig, who goes under the name @BirdgirlUK on Twitter, brought the issue to the wildlife conservation charity’s attention on Friday after sharing an image from a bird-watching hide of a poster used to identify birds that

Applications are now open to a fund that could allow hundreds of charities to access millions of pounds in funding. The Co-op said it was looking for charities to apply for the next round of its Local Community Fund. The retailer said its members had raised more than £70m for 21,000 local projects across the

Membership bodies have called for charities to be subject to the highest permitted allowances under the regime that will replace EU state aid rules.  In the Queen’s Speech this week, the government set out its policies and proposed legislative programme for the new parliamentary session, including a Subsidy Control Bill. The main benefits of the

The shortlist for the Purpose Awards EMEA 2021 from Third Sector, PRWeek and Campaign has been announced today.  The awards recognise campaigns that use creative ideas successfully to further positive causes and acknowledge the organisations behind them. They are open to agencies, brands, public sector bodies, charities and NGOs throughout Europe, the Middle East and

World Vision UK received the largest single donation in its history last year as its total income rose for the first time since 2016. The Christian charity, which supports vulnerable children in developing countries, received a £1.3m donation from a single donor, accounts for the year to the end of September show. The charity said

The Charity Commission has been urged to update proposed responsible investment guidance to avoid the suggestion that charities must choose between investing ethically or maximising their financial returns. In its response to the Charity Commission’s ongoing consultation about its guidance on responsible investment, the Association of Charitable Foundations says charities should be expected to make

Legislation aimed to unlock almost £900m in funds for good causes has been introduced to parliament.  Baroness Barran, the minister for civil society, introduced the Dormant Assets Bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday evening.  The measure was among the raft of new pieces of legislation announced in the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday, which

A whistleblowing charity has accused the Charity Commission of “politically motivated” bias after complaining about how an investigation into its governance was handled.  Compassion in Care was set up in 2003 to help expose wrongdoing in the care industry.  Its aims include “relieving the emotional distress of those suffering abuse in care homes” and “educating those

Charities are being invited to help deliver a £30m grant programme to support young people.  The government’s Youth Investment Fund Capital seeks to address an increasingly limited supply of youth centres and spaces for young people to go.  The proposed outcomes include improved health and wellbeing, equipping young people with skills for work and life,

The learning disability charity Mencap has appointed Khaleel Desai as its new executive director of governance.  Desai, who has spent the past three years as head of governance and company secretary at Islamic Relief Worldwide, will take up the new role on 24 May.  Before joining IRW, Desai held roles at Save the Children International

The government has been urged to work with the voluntary sector as it looks to introduce legislation aimed at making it easier for charities to win public sector contracts.  The government announced in the Queen’s Speech yesterday that it intended to publish a new Procurement Bill that would simplify public sector procurement and make it

Structural racism embedded in the international aid system that benefits organisations in the global north has left some in the global south trying to “play” an unequal system, according to a new report. Published by international aid charity Peace Direct, Time to Decolonise Aid: Insights and Lessons from a Global Consultation assesses the colonial legacy

The government has announced it will introduce a new Charities Bill that will bring into force long-awaited reforms designed to reduce the amount of bureaucracy faced by charities. Speaking in Parliament today, the Queen set out the government’s policies and proposed legislative programme for the new parliamentary session, including the bill. The government will also

The Scouts and Girlguiding have been awarded a more than £2m grant for a joint project to streamline their processes for the recruitment of volunteers. The Pears Foundation has given the funding to the two charities, which said they would use it to work together on a project that would digitally transform how they engaged