Charity

Three local councils have pledged not to penalise charities for donations left outside shuttered shops amid concerns they would be fined for flytipping. The Southend-on-Sea, Eastbourne and Swindon borough councils, which have all been quoted in local media warning people not to leave items outside charity shops while they are closed during the pandemic, have

A new campaign has been launched to help the public understand the importance of charities to the national effort to manage the coronavirus pandemic. The #NeverMoreNeeded campaign has been set up to make sure charities’ voices are heard and raise awareness of the work they are doing to help the country come through the crisis

The former trustees of a now defunct charity that enabled companies to avoid £17m in business rates by installing bluetooth transmitters issuing public safety messages from thousands of properties have been disqualified from being company directors. A report published by the Charity Commission about its inquiry into the Public Safety Charitable Trust says the charity

Almost £55m has been raised for UK charities during the Big Night In charity fundraising event broadcast on the BBC last night. A total of almost £27.4m was donated during the three-hour long show, with the government having already promised to double funds raised. The National Emergencies Trust will receive £20m of the government’s match

Charities are hoping that this weekend’s 2.6 challenge will bring in millions of pounds for organisations struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Organised by the Mass Participation Sports Organisers group and supported by organisations including the Charities Aid Foundation and the Institute of Fundraising, the challenge calls on people of any age to come up

The Charity Commission has set out guidance to help charities facing difficult financial decisions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The regulator said it had produced the guidance because it understood that many trustees, particularly those at smaller charities, were having to cope with “serious financial challenges that will have a major effect on

The BBC telethon aiming to raise millions of pounds for charities affected by the coronavirus pandemic is due to take place tonight. The three-hour long Big Night In, which is the first joint project between BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief, will offer music performances, entertainment, competitions and celebrity appearances from 7pm. The government

The government will not be able to save every charity during the coronavirus pandemic, the culture secretary has admitted.  Appearing by webcam before the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee, Oliver Dowden was pushed for more detail about the government’s £750m aid package for the charity sector.  Julian Knight, the Conservative chair

The Fundraising Regulator has published new guidance to help members of the public who are launching their own online fundraising appeals. The guidance comes in light of what the regulator called in a statement “the extraordinary fundraising efforts and generosity displayed by the British public” during the coronavirus crisis. It had been designed to support

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 22, 2020) – Charlize Theron, her foundation, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), and their partners, CARE and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) today launched ​Together for Her ​to deploy funds and support the global fight against gender-based violence during COVID-19. Charlize and CTAOP are committing $1 million to COVID-19 relief

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations will introduce a system under which about a third of its 100-strong workforce will be on furlough at any one time.  The umbrella body said it had asked staff to volunteer to be furloughed and it planned to introduce a schedule by which people from various teams were off

The British Heart Foundation and the disability charity Scope have become the latest major charities to furlough large swathes of their workforce in response to the coronavirus crisis.  The BHF revealed it had furloughed about 3,200 employees – around 80 per cent of its 4,000-strong workforce – until at least the end of May.  Meanwhile,

April 20, 2020, Atlanta – The International Trade Centre (‘ITC’), CARE Enterprises Inc. (‘CARE’) and Bamboo Capital Partners (‘Bamboo’) have joined forces in their mission to achieve gender equality with the CARE-SheTrades Impact Fund (‘the Fund’). The Fund was launched in June 2018 by Bamboo and CARE to drive progress towards gender justice in South

It could be weeks before money from the government’s promised support package for charities affected by the coronavirus crisis is available, Third Sector understands. On 8 April, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a £750m package to help charities hit financially by the pandemic. The move came after pressure from a number of

The fundraising platform Virgin Money Giving is to waive its 2 per cent platform fee for charities during the lockdown period. Donors have already been able to cover the 2 per cent platform fee on behalf of their chosen charities, plus the 2.5 per cent payment processing fee. But a Virgin Money statement said that

Charities are calling on local authorities to take responsibility for clearing up unwanted stock donations from outside charity shops during the lockdown. Members of the public are still leaving donations outside closed charity shops or around already full donation banks. These items then become damaged by the elements and pose a risk to environmental health

The 99-year-old war veteran who is raising money for NHS charities by walking laps of his back garden has raised more than £14m, smashing the record for a single fundraising campaign on JustGiving. Captain Tom Moore, who will celebrate his 100th birthday on 30 April, initially set out to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together

Charities can claim Gift Aid on tickets sold to cancelled events if supporters decide against asking for refunds, HM Revenue & Customs has confirmed. The guidance comes as thousands of charities face having to refund customers due to attend events cancelled in the wake of social distancing measures imposed to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The Charity Commission has warned charities to be on their guard against fraud and cyber crime during the coronavirus pandemic.  The regulator said police had reported an increase in coronavirus-related scams and it was issuing an alert to help charities avoid falling victim to criminals.  It said all charities, but particularly those providing services and

Charities will be able to use the government’s furlough scheme for an additional month. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said today that because of the extension of social distancing rules for at least another three weeks, all eligible organisations would be able to furlough staff until the end of June. Furloughing involves the

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has pulled out of this year’s Volunteers’ Week because of the coronavirus outbreak.  The umbrella body, which is one of the four main organisers of the annual event, said its resources were “entirely focused on the immediate crisis”.  It said that another of the organisers, Northern Ireland’s Volunteer Now,

The public should be able to bring forward legacy gifts and Gift Aid should be made automatic to help charities survive the Covid-19 pandemic, the Charities Aid Foundation has said. In a briefing paper published yesterday, CAF said other methods of injecting money into the sector during a financially catastrophic time should include encouraging donations

People are being urged to take part in a new event to raise millions of pounds to “save the UK’s charities” in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.  The 2.6 Challenge, which has been organised by a group of mass-participation sports events organisations and companies and is backed by charities and the Office for Civil

The Information Commissioner’s Office has said it will be empathetic and flexible in its regulatory approach and will focus on the most serious threats to the public during the coronavirus crisis. In a statement issued yesterday, the ICO said it would take into account the impact of the pandemic on an organisation when deciding whether

    [embedded content]   Learn About COVID-19’s Impact on Poorer Countries The COVID-19 pandemic affects us all – but to date it has largely been limited to the developed world. As the virus spreads to poorer countries, overwhelming weak healthcare systems, we must stand in solidarity with our most vulnerable neighbors. CARE is working hand

A group of enterprise and youth-focused charities has called on the government to provide a charity-specific job-retention scheme and to increase Gift Aid to 50 per cent. The call was made in an open letter published in the business newspaper City AM yesterday and signed by the leaders of 28 organisations including the Centre for

More than a quarter of a million people have volunteered to help community organisations since the coronavirus outbreak began, new figures suggest. The umbrella body Navca, which represents about 180 local infrastructure charities including councils for voluntary service, said about a third of those who had volunteered had been matched to local groups. The volunteers

Labour has appointed Rachael Maskell as the new shadow charities minister. The MP for York Central, who entered parliament in 2015, last week replaced Vicky Foxcroft, who has become shadow minister for disabled people. The changes came as part of a wider reshuffle of Labour’s ministerial team after the election of Sir Keir Starmer as

Charities, social enterprises and small businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis can apply for a total of £100m in loans as part of a programme launched by a group of social investors. The programme of loans, organised by the Impact Investing Institute, Big Society Capital and the Social Investment Business, is designed to ease cash-flow

A coalition between the Jo Cox Foundation, Mind, Age UK, the British Red Cross and other organisations is aiming to help people maintain social connections despite physical isolation. The Connection Coalition, which also includes the innovation charity Nesta and Facebook, among others, has been formed to help build stronger connections within communities and neighbourhoods despite