Charity

Charity mergers across the sector rose by nearly a third during the first three months after lockdown, figures indicate.  The social sector consultancy Eastside Primetimers has analysed Charity Commission data between March and June and compared it with the same period last year.  It found there were 114 mergers during the three-month period this year,

The number of whistleblowing reports received by the Charity Commission increased by one-third last year, figures from the regulator show.  The commission’s annual whistleblowing report, published yesterday, shows the regulator received 247 complaints in the year to the end of March, up from 185 in the previous 12 months.  The figure is almost two-and-a-half times

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is set to appoint Priya Singh as its next chair. Singh, who spent more than 20 years at the membership body the Medical Protection Society, is due to take up the role at the umbrella body’s annual general meeting next month, subject to member approval. The NCVO said Singh

The Directory of Social Change has launched a scathing attack on the Charity Commission after the regulator’s annual public meeting yesterday. In a blog post Jay Kennedy, director of policy and research at the training and publishing charity, said the commission was uninterested in examining its own performance and wanted to put its failings back onto

The Charity Commission expects the government to extend the deadline for thousands of excepted charities to register because the volume of applications is likely to be several times the number it typically handles in a year.  The exception for church charities with annual incomes of £100,000 or less is due to come to an end

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has pledged to be less “London-centric” and will “focus on banging the drum” for charities and volunteering.  In a blog post, Karl Wilding, the charity’s chief executive, said the umbrella body had spent the past year gathering views from members to come up with a new strategic direction.  He

Charities are being invited to apply for grants of up to £1m for schemes that will help communities recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  The People’s Postcode Lottery is offering £3m in funding to charities for “high-impact and original projects” that would help communities in Britain recover from problems that had been highlighted

Comic Relief has appointed Fatima Ribeiro as its next director of fundraising and creative.  Ribeiro, who is head of marketing and creative at Islamic Relief UK, is due to take up her new role next week.  She has spent the past five years at Islamic Relief in a range of roles, including leading the charity’s

The Charity Commission has come under fire after it emerged its chair would not be available for questions at its annual public meeting. The question and answer session at regulator’s the online event tomorrow (Thursday 1 October) is only for its chief executive, Helen Stephenson, and other directors to “answer questions on operational issues”. But

Easily cleaned, semi-rugged devices to benefit several families: Panasonic donated 100 refurbished laptops and handhelds to charities in the UK, France and Germany. CARDIFF, UK. 30th September 2020 – Panasonic has today announced partnerships with three major charities in Europe to provide refurbished laptops and tablets to socially disadvantaged families. The programme is focused on

The latest episode looks at how a potential post-Covid recession could affect charities in the key areas of fundraising and campaigning, and what impact it might have on small charities in particular.  Third Sector’s senior analysis and feature writer Rebecca Cooney spoke to  Daniel Fluskey, head of policy and external affairs at the Chartered Institute

The outgoing executive director of Unicef UK has called on the charity’s board to clear up confusion over who is in charge after trustees appointed interim replacements with immediate effect while he remains in post.  Sacha Deshmukh, who joined the charity as executive director in April, resigned last week after making bullying allegations against chair

A charity has been involved in a trial that could lead to it using jet suits to reach injured people more quickly.  Great North Air Ambulance Service said it had been working with the pioneers of the technology and had conducted a successful trial in the Lake District.  The charity, which operates helicopters and rapid

The Charity Commission has opened a case into Unicef UK after its executive director, chair and one of its vice-chairs resigned in swift succession amid a bullying row. Sacha Deshmukh, executive director of Unicef UK, resigned last Tuesday after alleging that he had suffered bullying and aggressive behaviour from chair Douglas Alexander.  Alexander, who denied

The Charities Aid Foundation and the National Emergencies Trust are among 19 philanthropists, funders and foundations to receive a share of £85m in match-funded cash from the government. The government’s Community Match Challenge scheme was announced as part of a £750m financial support package for charities hit by the coronavirus crisis in April, following pressure

Male charity chief executives remain considerably more likely than their female counterparts to be paid more, lead larger organisations, receive an appraisal and get feedback from their chair, new research shows.  Acevo’s Pay and Equalities Survey 2020, published by the charity leaders body today, shows that although the average gender pay gap narrowed slightly from

The Chancellor’s extension of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for all businesses until the end of November has been greeted as “a lifeline” for the voluntary sector. Stephen Muers, interim chief executive of Big Society Capital, said the organisation was delighted by the decision, which was announced by Rishi Sunak on Thursday. “Without this

The charity sector has broadly welcomed the ideas put forward in the Kruger review into how the government might make the most of the voluntary sector in the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.  Danny Kruger, the Conservative MP for Devizes, has delivered his report to the Prime Minister, which made a raft of recommendations

The former executive director of Unicef UK has called on the charity’s board to correct what he calls inaccurate statements that allegations about bullying behaviour by its former chair were a surprise.  In an explosive letter to Shatish Dasani, who was appointed this week as interim chair of Unicef UK following the resignation of Douglas

Unicef UK has appointed Shatish Dasani as interim chair after the departure of Douglas Alexander, who stepped down after allegations of bullying were made against him.  Third Sector revealed yesterday that Alexander, who denies the claims, had resigned in the wake of the departure of Sacha Deshmukh, the charity’s executive director, who was one of

Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, has accused a large national charity that is locked in a pay dispute with staff of “disgraceful” behaviour. The Labour MP for Wigan and former shadow charities minister joined about 30 striking staff at the drug, alcohol and mental health charity We Are With You at a virtual rally today. The rally

The government should make £500m from the National Fund charity available as emergency funds to support the voluntary sector and create a longer-term £2bn endowment to support disadvantaged communities, a report commissioned by the Prime Minister has recommended. Boris Johnson, in a letter thanking report author Danny Kruger, the Conservative MP for Devizes, revealed that

Douglas Alexander, chair of Unicef UK, and one of its vice-chairs have stepped down in the wake of the resignation of the charity’s chief executive, who quit after alleging Alexander had displayed bullying behaviour.  The resignation of Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Unicef UK since April, was accepted by the board on Tuesday.  Alexander said in

The executive director of Unicef UK has resigned after less than six months in the role amid claims of bullying behaviour by the charity’s chair.  Trustees of the charity last night accepted Sacha Deshmukh’s resignation after sources said he told them that if they did not investigate the allegations against Douglas Alexander he would be

More than 50 MPs have lent their support to Marie Curie’s campaign to make 23 March a “national day of reflection” to remember the lives lost since the UK first went into lockdown on the same date this year. Twenty-seven MPs have signed a letter to the Prime Minister asking for his support for the

The National Emergencies Trust will give £1.5m each to three charities because of the work they do with people who are at elevated risk during the coronavirus pandemic.  The grant-maker said it had named Age UK, Shelter and the mental health charity Heads Together as new partners to receive a share of £12m funding that has been

Macmillan Cancer Support has announced plans to make 310 redundancies in the face of an expected loss of £175m in fundraised income in the next two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. The cuts, which are part of an effort to protect the charity’s critical cancer services, could affect more than one in six of the

A group of social investment organisations have called for the government to extend the deadline for applications to its Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.  The coalition of social investors, including Big Society Capital, the Social Investment Business and Access, the Foundation for Social Investment, have asked the government to provide an extra six weeks for

Income at Guide Dogs rose to record levels last year, latest figures show. The charity’s accounts for 2019 show that overall income was £122.2m, up from £117.7m in the previous year.  The charity said it brought in record levels of income from its sponsor a puppy scheme and cash appeals, with income in this area

Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General, will chair an independent commission into the vetting of trustees and senior executives at Islamic Relief Worldwide.  The commission has been set up by the charity’s newly elected board of trustees after two former trustees had to resign following the emergence of antisemitic comments the pair had posted on social