Charity

The Christian development charity Tearfund signed a non-disclosure agreement with a former employee on the same day it pledged to stop using such agreements and offered to cancel all existing ones, Third Sector has learned. The charity also refused to release the former employee from the new NDA, despite his repeated requests. On 27 April,

More key witnesses in the Tell Jane probe into the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints have expressed concern that their evidence was excluded from the investigation. One witness described the situation as “ridiculous” and said it had created confusion as to what evidence Tell Jane had actually used to draw its conclusions.

The conservation charity WWF-UK has defended running advertisements on the controversial new TV channel GB News after criticism on social media.  A number of people on Twitter questioned whether the channel’s output was compatible with the wildlife conservation organisation’s charitable aims.  Within 48 hours of the channel’s launch on Sunday, a number of advertisers had

Nine out of 10 aid sector staff do not think their organisation is committed to diversity, equality and inclusion, new research indicates  A new report published by the umbrella body Bond asked 150 employees across a number of non-governmental organisations, in the UK and overseas, what enabled and prevented people of colour from getting jobs

More than half of charities do not expect pre-pandemic levels of fundraising events to return before the end of this year, according to new research.  The latest edition of the Covid-19 Charity Tracker by Pro Bono Economics, in partnership with Charity Finance Group and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, is based on a survey of

Claire Rowney, chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, is to step down after a year in the role.  The institute said two other trustees, Ian Wilson and Liz Tait, would also be stepping down this year.  Rowney, who is executive director of fundraising, marketing and communications at Macmillan Cancer Support, said in a statement

Oxfam GB has sacked three members of staff following an investigation into sexual misconduct, bullying and intimidation and other claims in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The charity said allegations that would have resulted in dismissal were upheld against a fourth member of staff whose contract expired before the disciplinary process was complete. Oxfam said

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has admitted that it was “not clear enough” about the “no wrongdoing” outcome of an investigation into its former chief executive’s handling of sexual assault allegations. In an apology to the witnesses and complainants involved in the case, issued yesterday afternoon, the CIoF trustees said the investigation “was unable to find

Additional resources will be needed to sustain blended finance options across the sector once the main funding provided by Access – The Foundation for Social Investment – runs out next year, according to a new report.  A review of Access, commissioned by the Oversight Trust, the charity’s parent organisation, found it has had a positive impact

The Royal Opera House charity set aside nearly £6m in termination and redundancy payments last year as it made 218 staff redundant as a result of the government’s Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. According to the charity’s accounts for the year to 30 August 2020, the cost was part of a four-point recovery plan that included a

The social business Catch22 was forced to close two college sites as a result of the pandemic, latest figures show.  According to the group’s latest accounts, for the year to 31 August 2020, trustees looked at several areas they considered were not financially viable, or were no longer core to the group’s charitable aims.  Catch22

One of the complainants who alleged the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s former chief executive failed to act on a disclosure of sexual misconduct has questioned why her testimony was not included in an independent investigation. Beth Upton, a fundraising consultant, said she believed the scope of the investigation into the actions of Peter Lewis had

The chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Community Fundraising Special Interest Group has resigned over the membership body’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations. Sarah Goddard announced her resignation yesterday on Twitter, saying the relationship between the CIoF and many fundraisers was “broken beyond repair” and accusing the body of making the survivors of sexual

The Charity Commission ordered a charity to dispose of a plot of land worth millions after it found the organisation was unable to service debts on more than £7m in mortgage and loan repayments. The regulator said in a new report that it opened a compliance case into the poverty and education charity Nanaksar Thath

Maintenance staff at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s have entered the eighth week of indefinite strike action in what has become a protracted dispute. Employees in the charity’s property services department have been picketing St Mungo’s London head office since 22 April after voting to take part in the industrial action earlier that month. The

Two fellows of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising have said they will stay in place to ensure that there is “someone who unconditionally believes women” who have complained of sexual misconduct. In a joint interview with Third Sector, Ruth Davison and Lucy Caldicott said they believed there was a risk that an investigation into the

Sandra Horley, the former chief executive of the domestic violence charity Refuge, and Sara Llewellin, chief executive of the grant-maker the Barrow Cadbury Trust, have been made dames in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.  Horley retired last year after 37 years at Refuge while Llewellin, who has led Barrow Cadbury since 2009, previously held senior roles at

Union members at the debt support charity StepChange have been staging a public protest after warnings that up to 170 jobs could be at risk. Unite organised the socially-distanced protest outside the charity’s Leeds office yesterday after it warned that the potential job cuts were “counterproductive”. The union, which has 100 members at StepChange, said

The director of the Office for Civil Society has been appointed interim chief executive of the National Lottery Community Fund. David Knott joined the grant-maker on a 12-month secondment as a senior adviser in October. John Rose had been interim chief executive of the fund since Dawn Austwick stepped down at the end of the

The chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities has resigned from her role because of illness. The membership body said Aisling Burnand had decided to step down after seven years following a period of extended sick leave and would leave her post when this ended in September. Hilary Reynolds has been acting as

An investigation into the former chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising has concluded there was no wrongdoing in relation to claims he failed to act on sexual harassment complaint against a CIoF member. The investigation into Peter Lewis, conducted by the HR consultancy Tell Jane, was launched after allegations were made on social

The government has “no information” on where more than £100m in emergency Covid-19 support for charities has been spent and has failed to provide a clear rationale for spending millions of pounds on consultants to help in the assessment of applications, a group of MPs has concluded. In a report published today, the House of

Three senior leaders at Amnesty International UK have stepped down with immediate effect because they no longer felt able to continue in their roles. The charity’s leadership has been under fire since the publication of an internal review in April that found incidents of overt racism at its international secretariat, a separate body that is

Employers will no longer be able to “pick on” staff who take part in strike action after a case involving a health and social care charity, according to the union Unison.  The union said employment law previously prevented employers from sacking staff involved in strike action or other workplace disputes but not from disciplining or

More than £28m was given out to dozens of charities and social enterprises as part of a government-backed loan scheme to support the sector during the pandemic.  The Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund was set up in April last year to ensure charities and social enterprises had access to emergency loan funding as part of

Eighteen major charities have today pledged to work together on an initiative intended to share knowledge and skills and make volunteering easier for people. The aim of the Shaping the Future with Volunteering group, which includes the British Red Cross, National Trust and the RNLI, is to capitalise on the ‘revolution’ that has taken place

The British Council has appointed Scott McDonald as its chief executive. He will take up the role at the charity for cultural relations and educational opportunities on 1 September. McDonald joins the British Council from his current positions as chief executive and president of the global management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman Group, and vice-chairman of professional

More than 200 organisations have been given the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the accolade that celebrates exceptional service within communities. A total of 241 charities have been recognised for their work, and for adapting their services during the first Covid-19 pandemic lockdown to support service users. The awarded charities work across a wide range

The government is facing a revolt after 30 Conservative MPs signed an amendment that could force it to reverse cuts to overseas aid spending. The rebellion is being led by the Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield and former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, who introduced a new clause into the Advanced Research and Invention Agency

Involve, a charity that supports public participation in democracy and decision-making, has appointed Sarah Castell as its chief executive. She will take up the new role on 6 September, replacing Tim Hughes, currently the director of the organisation. For the past 17 years, Castell has led public participation and deliberation at polling company Ipsos MORI.