Charity

More than 100,000 community share investors have raised over £150m in the past eight years as more communities seek alternative ownership models, according to new research. A report by the membership organisation Co-operatives UK, Understanding a maturing Community Shares market, shows that 92 per cent of businesses that have raised finance with community shares are still trading.

Press Release WatchGuard releases free online tool so companies and organisations can check if their credentials have been exposed on the dark web 29 October 2020: With WatchGuard Technologies’ new dark web Scanning tool, businesses can simply enter their domain name into this search engine https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-resource-center/dark-web-scan to find out how many of their email accounts

The social impact investment market in the UK grew by nearly one-fifth in 2019 to more than £5bn, according to new research. Figures released by social investor Big Society Capital show that more than £1.2bn was committed to 1,192 charities and social enterprises, and the number of transactions made in the sector increased by 18 per cent

Comic Relief today announced plans to modernise its international appeal films for Red Nose Day 2021, scrapping ‘white saviourism’ and images of poverty overseas in favour of local stories that empower and preserve the agency of their subjects.  The charity said all African appeal films for Red Nose Day 2021 would be led by local

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has unveiled its new branding and website after achieving chartered status in March. The membership organisation started the process of becoming a chartered body in 2015. The logo was designed in partnership with the digital agency William Joseph and combines symbols representing hearts, a person and a crown. Ceri Edwards,

Dozens of staff were dismissed from Save the Children International in 2019 as reported child safeguarding incidents rose by more than half, according to the charity’s latest accounts. The number of incidents increased by more than 200 year on year to 589, up from 369 in 2018, the accounts for the year to 31 December

Many charity professionals, including a former board member of the Charity Commission, have hit out at the sector’s regulator after it mooted a possible inquiry into the purpose of the National Trust. The Telegraph newspaper reported over the weekend that current chair, Baroness Stowell, appeared to suggest the charity could face an inquiry into the

An Anglican priest dubbed the “Vicar of Baghdad” when he was based in Iraq, has been disqualified from being a charity trustee for 12 years.  Canon Andrew White, who served as vicar of St George’s church in the city between 2004 and 2014, has been disqualified from acting as a trustee or senior manager at

Stories about spending at the defunct charity Kids Company were described as “salacious” at the High Court yesterday.  Representatives acting on behalf of former trustees of the charity, which collapsed in 2015, pored over what they described as mistakes in the Official Receiver’s case, which began last week. The OR is seeking to secure disqualification

The Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal is arguably one of the best-known charity appeals in the UK.  Every November, a flood of volunteers descends on public places selling paper poppies and other poppy emblems, designed to encourage people to remember those who died in combat, and to raise money to support those who survived. 

Charitable foundations are being urged to be “more ambitious than ever” in using their resources to help communities through the coronavirus pandemic.  A report from the umbrella body the Association of Charitable Foundations says the outbreak and the climate crisis are having an “unprecedented short- and long-term impact on society”.  The report, Ten Pillars of

Charities and social enterprises are being offered a free tool to help them assess whether they are ready for when the Brexit transition period ends at the turn of the year. The law firm Stone King has developed a Brexit Self-Audit Tool to help charities and social enterprises assess their readiness for the end of

The food poverty charity FareShare received a record number of donations this week as the footballer Marcus Rashford continues to hold the government’s feet to the fire over free school meals. Earlier this week, the Manchester United and England striker’s campaign to end child food poverty took another turn as he called for an extension

The dramatic fall in charitable fundraising caused by the coronavirus outbreak could result in billions of pounds of investment in medical research being lost over the next seven years, new research shows.  Analysis by the think tank IPPR says that in a “reasonable worst-case scenario”, the drop in charity fundraising could lead to £4.1bn of

The local infrastructure body Navca has reported a surplus in its annual accounts for the first time since 2013. The membership organisation’s annual report for the year to the end of March shows a more than £100,000 rise in total income from charitable activities to £397,778. Total expenditure was just over £377,000, meaning it made

Charities could be missing out on in-memoriam donations because too many are failing to update their funeral support to take account of the coronavirus crisis, the legacy fundraising consortium Legacy Foresight has warned. Giving in memory of a loved one is worth about £2.2bn a year to charities in the UK, the consortium says, with

A third of staff at an outdoor activity centre run by UK Youth are facing redundancy as the charity attempts to restructure its work in line with the demands of the coronavirus pandemic.  The charity said today that it had identified 14 of 39 jobs at the Avon Tyrrell centre in the New Forest, Hampshire,

The case against Camila Batmanghelidjh and a group of former trustees of the collapsed charity Kids Company has begun at the High Court.  The Official Receiver is seeking to secure disqualification from senior positions for periods of up to six years against Batmanghelidjh, founder and chief executive of Kids Company, and seven trustees of the

The animal welfare charity Battersea has welcomed Kelly Brown as its next director of finance and corporate services.  Brown, who joined this week from the position of director of corporate resources at Rethink Mental Illness, succeeds George Ruiz, who is retiring at the end of the month after seven years at Battersea.  Before joining Rethink,

Charities are being invited to apply for up to £100,000 in grants from a £20m fund aimed at organisations that support people hardest hit by Covid-19. The Resilience Fund, being managed by the Charities Aid Foundation, will distribute funding of between £10,000 and £100,000 to both registered and unregistered charities in England, including community interest companies and

An arts organisation that helped property owners avoid at least half a million pounds in tax by organising exhibitions in vacant buildings has been labelled a “sham” at the High Court. Preservation and Promotion of the Arts, a private limited company that describes itself as a charity, enabled owners of office blocks and business parks

Charities experiencing cash flow problems have been given more breathing space after a new statutory instrument was agreed in the House of Lords. Members of the government’s second chamber were discussing amendments to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 last week. SIs are a form of legislation which allows for new provisions to be

The miners support charity the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation has been accused of asset stripping former mining communities for its own benefit. A dispute in Maltby, South Yorkshire, has become the latest in what the National Union of Mineworkers described as a constant battle between the charity, local community groups and the union. The

The suicide prevention charity Samaritans has appointed Julie Bentley as its next chief executive.  Bentley, who stepped down from the top job at Action for Children in February for personal reasons after 18 months in the role, will succeed Ruth Sutherland in November.  Samaritans originally selected Jeremy Hughes as Sutherland’s successor but abandoned the appointment

Mims Davies, the employment minister, has urged more charities to take part in the government’s Kickstart scheme, which is designed to help young people into work.  The Kickstart scheme, which was announced in September, provides funding for six-month job placements for 16 to 24-year-olds who are at risk of long-term unemployment. The funding covers 100

Third Sector has launched a free digital fundraising event aimed at charity decision-makers. Taking place on 15 and 16 December, the digital fundraising forum combines business networking with expert speaker sessions on fundraising in a landscape that has been dramatically disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.  Each half-day event will combine short pre-arranged meetings between delegates and partner

The Supreme Court has upheld the idea that some charities can restrict their services to certain groups of people without falling foul of equalities law.  A judgment from the Supreme Court today rejected an appeal from a homeless single mother who had argued that she and her four children had been discriminated against by a

The number of annual legacy donations to charity will grow by almost a quarter over the 10 years in the UK, according to new predictions.  Figures from the legacy data company Legacy Foresight show that the number of charitable bequests will rise from 118,000 last year to 145,000 by 2029, an increase of 23 per

The Charity Commission will continue to have a focus on public trust in the sector, its director of communications has said, after its chair faced criticism for recent speeches.   Baroness Stowell, chair of the commission, has used two addresses in the past month, including at the regulator’s annual public meeting, to talk about greater public

Islamic Relief Worldwide  has reported another record year as its income topped £130m for the first time.  Income in 2019 rose 2.3 per cent to £131m, up from £128m in the previous year, latest accounts show. The majority of its income came from voluntary donations, with income from IRW’s partners rising nearly £14m to £86.1m.