Charity

Charities that hold official meetings online should draw up a policies covering how people can participate and what to do if technical problems strike, new guidance from the Charity Commission suggests.  The regulator has today published updated guidance on charities holding meetings, also known as CC48, which takes into account the fact increasing numbers of

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a Muslim charity that failed to comply with the regulator’s instructions. The regulator said its inquiry into Newbury Park Masjid, which runs a mosque in Ilford, north-east London, would look into the extent to which the charity’s trustees have and are complying with their legal duties

A charity that transports blood, medical equipment and samples to NHS establishments made unauthorised payments to its trustees, the Charity Commission has found. The regulator published its statutory inquiry report into Devon Freewheelers today (19 July), which found the charity had made unauthorised payments to two trustees, including its chief executive. The inquiry was opened

A 45-year-old man has been arrested in Falkirk, Scotland, after a “relentless” cyber attack on the systems of a health charity based in Runcorn, Cheshire, police have said. Cheshire Police told Third Sector that it was unable to disclose the charity’s name, but said that it was a Runcorn-based health-related charity that provides support for

A cancer support charity has carried out a “bold” rebrand in a bid to raise awareness of its work.  Trekstock, which provides wellbeing support for people diagnosed with cancer in their 20s and 30s, has timed the brand refresh to tie in with its fifteenth anniversary this year.  A statement from the charity about the

A major local authority has been questioned by the Charity Commission for, in effect, “acting in breach” of charity law in relation to its management of a park. Sheffield City Council is the sole trustee of Graves Park, open space of the same name in the city which has been designated as charitable land.  In

Charities have welcomed the government’s introduction of a new community right to buy as a “major opportunity”, following the King’s Speech today. Two weeks after Labour’s landslide election win, King Charles laid out the government’s parliamentary agenda, which includes new legislation that will establish a new framework for English devolution and move power away from

Oxfam has announced plans to open up to 10 new UK superstores in the next five years, as it prepares to launch its second large outlet. The charity is scouting for potential locations for its next superstores, which it hopes will create up to 150 jobs and 1,000 volunteering opportunities, and said that it hoped

The Asda Foundation has opened a £1m grant programme for community groups seeking funds for repairs and renovations.  The foundation’s Investing in Spaces and Places programme is offering grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 to help transform local community spaces run by locally-led organisations.  The grant programme is open to community-led organisations that support people

The Science Museum Group’s contract with the Norwegian energy company Equinor has ended, with the charity encouraging the company to “raise the bar” in its efforts to reduce its carbon emissions in alignment with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Equinor has sponsored the museum’s interactive Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery since 2016 but a spokesperson for

Getting on Board has appointed the former chief executive of FoodCycle as its new head.  Mary McGrath takes up the reins at the charity, which supports people from underrepresented backgrounds to become trustees, from Penny Wilson, who announced in April that she would be leaving after seven years in the job.  Wilson, who has written

Police are looking into allegations of fraud made against the League Against Cruel Sports, Third Sector has learned.  Surrey Police confirmed it was investigating fraud claims after Andy Knott, the charity’s former chief executive, alleged the charity’s fundraising had been misleading.  Third Sector reported last week that Knott, who left the charity in March after

Mermaids has launched a fundraising appeal because it says the Charity Commission’s inquiry into the transgender youth support charity is “significantly hamstringing” its services and deterring corporate partners. The charity’s crowdfunder has been running since 8 July and has already raised more than £15,000 of its £20,000 target. A statutory inquiry into the governance and

Charities are being invited to take part in a ballot for running places at next year’s TCS London Marathon.  London Marathon Events is offering 500 charities the chance to secure a running place in the event, which will be held on 27 April.  It is the first time organisers have been able to run the

Alice Langley has been named chief executive of Tynedale Hospice at Home. Langley joined this month as the permanent successor to Mike Thornicroft, who left the end-of-life charity in February after five years at its helm to become chief executive of Teesside Hospice. Deputy chief executive Charlotte Pearson led Tynedale Hospice in the interim period. 

A trust has been launched in memory of the late philanthropist Julia Rausing, which will donate £100m to UK charities working in arts and heritage, health and welfare and education in its first year.  Julia Rausing, who set up the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust with her husband in 2014, died in April at the

Serious safeguarding weaknesses at a religious charitable trust exposed children to appalling sexual abuse over decades, the Charity Commission said today. The regulator opened an inquiry into the Ampleforth Abbey Trust in November 2016 following allegations of sexual abuse and the inquiry was later extended to the St Laurence Education Trust. SLET runs Ampleforth College,

The Charity Commission has closed its compliance case into a Lincolnshire-based medical charity after allegations of toxic workplace culture were raised with the media. Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service, which provides medical aid to people across the county, previously defended itself against allegations of bullying and toxic culture after the BBC reported claims by 26

More than two-thirds of charities say finances are the biggest barrier they face when it comes to moving forward digitally, new research shows. The seventh annual Charity Digital Skills Report, published today, says 68 per cent of charities cited organisational finances as the biggest barriers to making progress digitally, up from 27 per cent last

The decision by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland to press ahead with halving a £3.6m charity grant scheme “threatens the sustainability” of sector organisations, the chief of a children’s charity has said.  The Core Grant Funding Scheme was opened in October 2022 and the Department of Health said it financially supports organisations “which

Mark Gifford is to step down as chief executive of the body that runs the National Citizen Service.  Gifford, who joined the NCS Trust in March 2020 after 20 years at the retailer the John Lewis Partnership, said he was taking up a role closer to his home in north-west England.  He will leave in

The chief executive of a membership body that represents cancer charities is set to retire after nine years in the role. Jane Lyons will step down from her role at Cancer52, which represents 115 charities to promote people affected by less common cancers. She joined the charity in February 2015 and will retire on 15

An adult education charity has received a £1.3m grant reprieve for the next 12 months, saving more than 70 jobs. The Workers Educational Association provides a wide range of adult education courses and was set to lose its grant funding in north-east England. The charity originally received funding from the now defunct North of Tyne

A former charity worker has been jailed after she stole £30,000 she made from selling donated Alton Towers and Legoland tickets intended for children with cancer. Heidi Bucknall, 32, of Tyburn Close, Bestwood, Nottinghamshire, started working for the Parents Association for Seriously Ill Children in 2012. The charity supports families of children with cancer across

Lisa Nandy, a former charity worker and who previously served as the shadow minister for civil society, will lead the government department that contains the charities brief.  Nandy was appointed culture secretary in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government, which swept to power with a huge majority last week.  Her new department contains responsibility for a

The RSPCA, Alzheimer’s Society and Medical Aid for Palestinians are among the charities shortlisted for recognition at the 2024 Third Sector Awards.  The awards, which mark their 20th year in 2024, recognise the achievements of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises in 31 categories, including Communications Campaign of the Year and Small Charity Big Achiever. 

An animal welfare charity has announced its closure citing a “very difficult financial situation” and ill-health of its trustees. North Devon Animal Ambulance has operated for 23 years and describes itself as specialising in rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming domestic animals. In a statement on social media, the charity said it would close its doors “with

Harpreet Kondel has been named as the next chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.  Kondel, who has had a 30-year career in charity fundraising, was announced as the chair-designate at the CIoF’s annual convention in London yesterday.  She will succeed Nadine Campbell, who is coming to the end of a three-year stint in the

The fundraising profession must recognise that it is often accepting of behaviours and environments that can leave fundraisers at risk of harassment, experts have warned. Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s annual convention yesterday as part of a panel session titled “Dismantling Patriarchal Structures in Fundraising”, Becky Slack, co-director of the consultancy Agenda, said

A number of charity leaders have been elected MPs in yesterday’s general election.  Laura Kyrke-Smith, former UK executive director of the International Rescue Committee, has become the first Labour MP for Aylesbury, while Kirsty McNeill, former executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK, was elected the Labour MP for Midlothian.