Charity

Charities lack humility and need to face up to difficult decisions in order to truly achieve their aims, according to the head of media and PR at Christian Aid. Speaking at the creative agency Good’s virtual event “Change Conversations: 2021 in Focus” last week, Chine McDonald called for charities to be brave if they wanted

There is no evidence to suggest that antisemitic comments made by senior leaders at Islamic Relief Worldwide had any link to its charitable work, a review by the former attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has concluded. Grieve was asked to chair an independent commission in August after claims emerged the previous month that two senior figures

The Charity Commission appears to have shelved plans to publish a long-awaited report into executive pay in the voluntary sector, it has emerged.  In December 2019, the regulator announced plans for a study into top-level pay after it criticised the board of Marie Stopes International for failing to properly record discussions that led to the

Charities should be required to report on the impact they have made and should be able to pay their trustees without seeking the permission of the Charity Commission, according to the think tank NPC.  In a letter to Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, Dan Corry, chief executive of NPC, says the upcoming appointment of a

Cancer Research UK has appointed a new executive director to lead on its policy development, communications and clinical engagement. Ian Walker will join the charity’s executive board in March as director of policy, information and communications. He will succeed Sarah Woolnough, who left the charity in October last year after 15 years. Walker has also

This year’s RideLondon cycling event, which has raised tens of millions of pounds for charities in previous years, has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, organisers have said.  The annual cycling event, which involves tens of thousands of people riding a variety of courses over the same weekend, has raised more than £80m for

In this month’s bumper episode of the Third Sector Podcast, editor Emily Burt and features and analysis writer Rebecca Cooney find out what the National Council for Voluntary Organisations‘s Respond, Recover and Reset project can tell us about the impact of lockdown on charities. The Respond, Recover, Reset project, run by the NCVO with Nottingham

Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, is to step down after six years in the role. He said he would leave in two months’ time to take on a new role at a “new global organisation focused on climate change”, but did not reveal the identity of the organisation.  Tim Naor Hilton, head of

The collapsed fundraising agency Home Fundraising is being liquidated, facing claims totalling more than £5m. The liquidator’s report, published on the Companies House website this week, reveals it has received claims totaling £4.8m from 56 unsecured creditors, while a further 92 claims have yet to be received for sums totalling more than £300,000. The unsecured

The professional services network PwC has been awarded a contract worth almost £1m to provide administrative support to a £16m government fund. According to the government’s Contracts Finder website, the company will provide “grant admin services” in the running of the Youth Covid-19 Support Fund. The £950,000 contract, which was awarded last month, runs until

The government will appoint an interim chair of the Charity Commission while a long-term successor to Baroness Stowell is sought, it has emerged. The Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport told Third Sector that it had not begun advertising for Stowell’s long-term replacement, despite her announcing in October that she would step down at

The government is making decisions on programme cuts to international aid programmes behind closed doors and without proper scrutiny or consultation, a group of international aid organisations has warned.  The NGO umbrella body Bond, Publish What You Fund, an NGO that campaigns for aid transparency, and Development Initiatives, an international development organisation that aims to

Karl Wilding, chief executive of the NCVO, has stepped down from the role after 18 months so that someone who is “not part of the past” can take over. Wilding, who took up the role in September 2019 having already spent 21 years at the umbrella body, said in a statement today that he was

Total income at the disability equality charity Scope fell by more than £13m last year after the multimillion-pound sale of its former London headquarters in the previous 12 months. The charity’s accounts for the year to the end of March 2020 show income fell to £41m from £54m in the previous year, leaving the charity with

Five years after its high-profile collapse, the demise of Kids Company played out in a High Court trial at the end of 2020. The case reignited conversations in the sector about the role of trustees in a charity’s governance, and where ultimate responsibility for an organisation’s sustainability and solvency lies. Third Sector attended more than

The leaders of almost 20 mental health organisations have said supporting the health of frontline workers, including those in the voluntary sector, “must be a national priority”.  In an open letter to people working in health, care and formal and informal education, the chief executives of charities including Mind, Samaritans, Rethink Mental Illness and Young

The RSPCA has pledged to put partnership working at the heart of its new 10-year strategy, which will be launched next week. The strategy, called Together for Animal Welfare, has goals including reducing animal cruelty by half over the next decade, the introduction of statutory powers to help its animal welfare officers, and inspiring one

Current and former volunteers for St John Ambulance have described a “cult-like” atmosphere at the first aid charity, where complaints about bullying were “swept under the rug”. Several sources allege their mental and physical health was “weaponised” against them and used to undermine them after they made complaints about the behaviour of senior volunteers at

In the latest weekly epsiode of the Third Sector Podcast, editor Emily Burt and features and analysis writer Rebecca Cooney explore what we know and what we don’t know about the Brexit deals impact on charities.  On 24 December 2020, the UK government and the European Union announced a last-minute trade deal in the wake

The deadline for thousands of excepted charities to register with the Charity Commission has been extended by 10 years. An exception for church charities with annual incomes of £100,000 or less was due to come to an end on 31 March this year, meaning those with an income of more than £5,000 a year would

The chief executive of the Charity Commission has warned the sector that the regulator’s focus on serving the public interest is not just “a passing fashion”. Helen Stephenson, who was speaking yesterday at an online conference held by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, described the regulator as the primary guardian of

London Marathon organisers have said they plan to stage a “hybrid” version of this year’s event with a record 100,000 runners and announced an overhaul to the controversial bond system, which gives some charities access to guaranteed running places each year. In a statement today, London Marathon Events said this year’s event, which has already

The Charity Commission has declared itself satisfied with the response of Islamic Relief Worldwide to antisemitic comments made by former senior leaders.  It comes as the charity said it had requested a meeting with President Biden’s new administration after the outgoing Trump administration urged US government bodies to review their relationships with the charity. The commission opened

A temporary change allowing charities to claim Gift Aid on tickets sold to events that are cancelled if supporters decide against asking for refunds has been made permanent, the Charity Tax Group has said.  In April, HM Revenue & Customs announced a temporary change to the rules as thousands of charities faced having to refund

Charities might need to “move away from long- or even medium-term strategy” as the UK deals with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a new report warns.  The annual Road Ahead report from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, published today, examines the trends and themes that voluntary sector organisations face over the coming year. 

Philanthropists should use their assets to reinvent their relationships with grantees based on trust, equity and fairness, according to new guidance by the think tank New Philanthropy Capital. NPC has published fresh advice for philanthropists for the next wave of the pandemic. It comes as charities face an existential challenge from the coronavirus, said NPC,

Charities working to alleviate poverty and loneliness in Northern Ireland are set to benefit from a £2.8m cash boost from the government. The additional funding for councils, through the Covid-19 Community Support Fund, has been announced by the communities minister Deirdre Hargey. Local authorities will distribute the funding to community and voluntary organisations working to

Youth charities in England can apply for up to £2m in government grant funding to help reduce the risk of insolvency as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund is open to grassroots youth clubs, uniformed youth groups, and national youth and umbrella organisations.  It is hoped the grants will

Aid charities must “wake up to the fact that some of their staff are sexual predators” or face losing funding, MPs have said.  In a parliamentary debate to discuss the report into sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid sector published by the House of Commons International Development Committee last week, Sarah Champion, the chair

A High Court judgment on the more than £1m will of an ex-racing driver has provided additional clarity on the interpretation of legacy gifts to mis-described charities, lawyers have said. Barrie Williams died on 8 September 2018, leaving an estate worth £1.2m. The retired professional racing driver, who was a long-standing member of the British