Charity

The charity that runs two major concert halls in Birmingham has said that more than half of its staff are at risk of redundancy because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Performances Birmingham, which runs the Symphony Hall and Town Hall venues, said enforced closure caused by the outbreak had caused “huge losses” and it was still

The Health Lottery has increased the amount of its proceeds that go to good causes by five percentage points because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The lottery said it was making the move, which will result in the proportion of its proceeds that go to good causes rising from 20.3 per cent to 25.5 per cent

BBC Children in Need has pledged to match the £10m funding offered by the grime artist Stormzy to tackle racial injustice in the UK.  Like Stormzy, the charity will offer £10m over 10 years towards developing a new funding programme dedicated to supporting young black people to achieve their full potential.  The project will be developed

Charities that work to improve the employment prospects of disadvantaged children and young people are being invited to apply for a share of £6m of funding.  The Inspiring Futures programme is being funded by £3m from both BBC Children in Need and the Youth Futures Foundation, and will offer grants of up to £80,000 over

Two brain tumour charities have said they will merge in a bid to better meet the needs of those diagnosed and living with the condition.  In a statement released today, the Brain Tumour Charity and Meningioma UK said that “there are a multitude of brain tumour charities and the more we come together the more

Islamic Relief raised a record amount through its annual Ramadan appeal this year, despite having to cancel all of its community fundraising events because of the coronavirus pandemic, its director has revealed.  Speaking in an online panel discussion as part of this year’s Institute of Fundraising annual convention, Tufail Hussain said the total raised by

A former senior director at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations is to become the next chief executive of the Honorary Treasurers Forum.  Richard Williams, who spent 13 years at the NCVO until stepping down as its director of enterprise last year, will succeed Denise Fellows in the part-time role next week. Latest headlines Fellows

Fundraisers have been challenged not to use the coronavirus pandemic and the looming recession as an excuse to delay having conversations about equality in the sector.  Speaking at the Institute of Fundraising’s virtual fundraising convention as part of a panel session on diversity and inclusion in the fundraising and charity sector, the fundraising consultant Jaz

A group of charities has called on the government to give key-worker status to the family and friends of people with dementia in care homes so they can visit their loved ones.  In a letter to Matt Hancock, the health secretary, the charities – which include the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK, Alzheimer’s Research UK and

The UK voluntary sector remains “less resilient and more vulnerable” than before the coronavirus outbreak, the charity leaders body Acevo has concluded.  The membership body said the latest edition of its rolling monthly survey of charity leaders, carried out at the end of June, indicated that the financial situation for charities remained broadly flat compared

(July 7, 2020) – Today the international aid organization CARE launched a new report highlighting the causes and consequences of climate-induced displacement and the urgent need for a gender-transformative response. The report, Evicted by Climate Change: Confronting the Gendered Impacts of Climate-Induced Displacement highlights the urgent need for more women’s leadership and greater financial support for gender-just solutions

The four charity regulators for the UK and Ireland have announced a group of “convenors” who will gather views relating to areas of charity reporting.  The regulators said seven people had been chosen to take views on various aspects of charity reporting as part of an overhaul of how the charity Statement of Recommended Practice

A fundraising strategist has criticised charity fundraising emergency appeals created in light of the coronavirus crisis for being a “sea of sameness”. Speaking at the Institute of Fundraising’s virtual fundraising convention as part of a session about individual giving strategy, Chloë Amstein said there was a “lack of originality” in many fundraising campaigns during the

New York, NY (July 8th, 2020)—In a joint statement, the International Rescue Committee, World Vision International, Humanity and Inclusion, Norwegian Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, People in Need and CARE International raise the alarm over the veto on cross-border aid into Syria. There is no justification for Tuesday’s UN Security Council veto on the renewal of

The Charities Aid Foundation has reiterated calls for the government to increase the rate of Gift Aid that charities can claim after the Chancellor announced a VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality industries.  Rishi Sunak today announced a six-month reduction from 20 per cent to 5 per cent in the rate of VAT on

Charitable foundations should seek to positively influence the behaviour of others with regard to investments, new guidance recommends.  Investment: The Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice is the fifth publication from the Association of Charitable Foundations’ Stronger Foundations initiative, which was set up in 2017 to help foundations identify and pursue excellent practice.  The report, published

Charity fundraisers should “exercise caution” when using artificial intelligence and algorithms to reduce bias in the early stages of the recruitment process, according to new guidance from the Institute of Fundraising. The Change Collective Guide to Recruitment for Hiring Managers warns that although algorithm tools can support more diverse hiring, they can only be as

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a homelessness charity amid concerns about its political activity.  The commission said yesterday that it was examining the management and administration of the Devon-based Humanity Torbay, which supports homeless people by running drop-in advice sessions or providing food and clothing.  Latest headlines The regulator said it

The Charity Commission has removed 26 late-filing charities from its register in the latest stage of a long-running inquiry.  In September 2013, the regulator opened a statutory class inquiry into a group of charities that had failed to file their annual documents for two out of the previous five years. Latest headlines The regulator’s latest

Trying to “just be yourself” is an unrealistic approach to leadership, the outgoing chief executive of the venture philanthropy body Impetus has warned. In a blog posted to mark the end of his four years in charge at the charity, Andy Ratcliffe said that authenticity in leadership was important and people could spot it a

The former chief executive of Sheffield City Council has been unveiled as the next England chair of the National Lottery Community Fund. John Mothersole, who took up the role in May, succeeded Nat Sloane in chairing the panel that advises how National Lottery funding is used in England. Mothersole, left, who retired in December after

Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants will reopen on 22 July with a funding pot of £59.8m to give out before April 2021.  The fund, which is a rolling fund for creative and cultural projects that benefit the public, was paused earlier this year to free funding for ACE’s coronavirus emergency response. It will

The Charity Commission and UK Community Foundations are calling on inactive charities to join a programme that harvests money from dormant charity trusts. The commission’s chair, Baroness Stowell, is appealing for the trustees of inactive charities to “come forward now so that the charity money they hold doesn’t sit idle, but can be put to

The historian David Starkey has resigned as a trustee of the Mary Rose Trust after making racist remarks during an appearance on a YouTube show.  In a statement on Twitter last night, the trust said it had a “zero-tolerance” approach to racism and had accepted Starkey’s resignation.  It is not clear whether the charity had

Just £2m of the £200m assigned to the National Lottery Community Fund as emergency coronavirus funding for smaller charities has been handed out in the three months since the government announced the money, it has emerged.  A statement from the NLCF today said that about 500 organisations had been allocated £8.5m through the fund so far. 

FXhome – creators of free video editing software HitFilm Express – are giving 15% of all sales to charity while users can save up to 44% on their favorite creative software. London, UK (July 2, 2020) – Today, FXhome (fxhome.com) announce their most ambitious sale yet. That ambition being to do as much good as

The umbrella organisation NHS Charities Together has said that more than £130m has been raised through its Covid-19 emergency appeal in less than four months.  The sum includes the £32.8m raised by the 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore by doing laps of his garden.  More than £30m from the appeal, which was launched in March, has

NEW YORK, NY (July 1, 2020)— In celebration of the continued reopening of its stores around the world, Tiffany & Co. launches the Tiffany Infinite Strength campaign, whereby 100% of the profits from sales globally of the Tiffany Infinity collection from July 1 through August 31 will be donated to CARE. Funds raised will support

A report by the Charity Commission has criticised trustees of the charity responsible for Wimbledon Common for their handling of a long-running dispute, amid concerns the report was softened after threats of legal action.  Third Sector has seen evidence that Sir Ian Andrews, a former trustee of Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators, threatened to launch

The leader of the social investment consultancy Social Spider CIC has strongly criticised the appointment of Sir Stuart Etherington as chair of the newly renamed Big Society Trust.  Etherington was unveiled yesterday as the new chair of the Big Society Trust, which oversees the work of social finance bodies including Big Society Capital, at the