Charity

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.

A quarter of staff at the Institute of Fundraising are at risk of redundancy as the membership body restructures to manage the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  The IoF said 13 of its 53 staff were at risk of losing their jobs as part of a consultation that will run until the end of October.  Peter

More than 40 per cent of staff at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations are at risk of redundancy because of a restructure caused by Covid-19. The umbrella body said today that 48 of its 107 staff were at risk as the umbrella body looked to reduce its headcount in a bid to tackle an estimated

Sophie Walker, chief executive of the Young Women’s Trust, will step down before the end of the month after just over a year in the role, the charity has announced.  Walker said in a statement that she was leaving to take up an offer she could not refuse: chief strategy officer at the feminist law

The Charity Commission has issued an official warning to a charity that was linked to the disappearance of clothing banks owned by other voluntary sector organisations.  The regulator said in 2018 that it had serious concerns about the management of the charity Helping Our Future and its relationship with third parties, including commercial fundraising companies. 

Almost 1,400 arts and cultural organisations will receive a share of £257m in emergency grants from the government to help them weather the coronavirus crisis. The funding will go to 1,385 theatres, galleries, performance groups, arts organisations, museums and local venues as part of the government’s £1.6bn Culture Recovery Fund. It is hoped the money

Action on Hearing Loss plans to revert to its original name, the RNID, after research showed the old brand was more recognised and trusted, despite not having been used since 2011. A new logo and branding for the hearing loss charity will be unveiled when the name change comes into effect on 2 November, the

The sight loss charity Royal Blind has changed its name to Sight Scotland.  The 227-year-old organisation, which is based in Edinburgh, said its sister charity Scottish War Blinded had also changed its name, to Sight Scotland Veterans.  The charities said the name changes coincided with it embarking on new plans to reach significantly more people

The chair of the Charity Commission has been accused of attacking “lefty lawyers” in a “patronising” keynote address at the Charity Law Association conference. Baroness Stowell was speaking as part of the Charity Law Association’s 26th annual event today. In a week when the legal profession has been under attack from the government, charity lawyers

Almost 1,300 people will be made redundant at the National Trust as it looks to make savings of £100m because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The charity said today it would be making 514 compulsory and 782 voluntary redundancies from its 10,000-strong workforce. In July, the charity originally proposed making almost 1,200 compulsory redundancies but said

Hundreds of voluntary and community sector figures have been recognised in a bumper Queen’s Birthday Honours list.  The honours, which were put back from the usual June publication date to allow for people who had done exceptional work during the coronavirus pandemic to be added to the list, include a knighthood for Geoff Mulgan, who

Unicef UK has pledged to publish a third-party review into the resignations of its executive director and chair amid a bullying row.  The charity said in a statement on its website that with the global Unicef organisation it had commissioned the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK to lead an independent review of the

Cuts to official development assistance combined with Covid-19, Brexit, and a UK-wide recession could lead to the closure of many international development charities over the next two years, new research suggests.  A poll of 93 organisations by the international development network Bond found that 48 per cent of NGOs were at risk of ceasing operations

The Refugee and Migrant Centre: Black Country and Birmingham has been named Charity of the Year at the Third Sector Awards.  The awards, which recognise the achievements of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises, were announced online over two days for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The Refugee and Migrant Centre, which

The chair of the Charity Commission will again not be taking any questions after she delivers a keynote speech – this time, at the Charity Law Association Annual Conference. It comes just days after Baroness Stowell was criticised for being unavailable for questions after her talk at the regulator’s annual public meeting last week.  The

The 2.6 Challenge and the #ClapForOurCarers campaign were among the winners on the first day of this year’s Third Sector Awards. The winners of the awards, which recognise the achievements of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises, are being announced online over two days for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The 2.6 Challenge,

There is no point making recommendations to the current UK government on how to reform the international aid sector when it is going backwards on human rights and accountability, MPs have been told. An activist giving evidence to the House of Commons International Development Committee said a strategy involving “anti-racism, decolonising and removing patriarchy” from