Richest MoFo

Four out of five people believe volunteering improves their wellbeing, a major new survey has found.  Research conducted among almost 29,000 people who volunteer for 10 large charities including the National Trust, RSPCA, British Red Cross and Trussell Trust, found that 80 per cent agreed that their lives were enriched by giving up their time

The psychiatric research charity the British False Memory Society has closed due to funding challenges after 30 years, Third Sector has learned. The charity, which produced research on the issue of false memory, made three redundancies – one full-time employee and two part-time employees – in October as a result of the closure.  A statement

Voluntary sector leaders have welcomed the Labour Party’s promise to include the sector as a key partner if it formed the next government.  Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, told an audience of charity leaders in London yesterday that the sector was “essential” to his party’s plans for a decade of renewal

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is this morning due to set out his party’s vision for the UK voluntary sector. Starmer is expected to speak in front of an audience of 150 charity leaders and 17 shadow ministers at an event in London organised by the think tank Pro Bono Economics. PBE said it

The voluntary sector is “essential” to the Labour Party’s plans for a decade of renewal, its leader has said, as he set out a vision for how his government would work with charities. Sir Keir Starmer told an audience of voluntary sector leaders in London this morning that he was asking them and the broader

The proportion of charities that are having to turn people away rose in the final quarter of last year, new figures show.  Research carried out last month by the Charities Aid Foundation with more than 650 charities, most of which have annual incomes of less than £5m, found that 15 per cent of respondents said

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Unicef UK, has been appointed to the top job at the learning disability charity Mencap.  Sparkes, who joined Unicef in January 2022, will take up his new role in June.  He succeeds Edel Harris, who stepped down in August after three and a half years in the role.  Jackie O’Sullivan,

A child exploitation charity has changed its name to better reflect its history, as part of a wider rebrand.  Parents Against Child Exploitation, or Pace, which is Leeds-based and supports families in England and Wales with experience of child exploitation, has changed its name to the Ivison Trust, saying that its old name was becoming

MPs have urged the government to deliver on its commitment to continue funding an interfaith charity, warning that the seven-month delay has put it at risk of “imminent closure” and led to redundancies. The Inter Faith Network for the UK works with national faith community groups and educational bodies to advance understandings of the teachings

A defunct street orchestra charity has been told to pay more than £30,500 to its former employees after the organisation closed without warning, an employment tribunal has ruled. Nevis Ensemble, which was based in Glasgow, aimed to remove barriers to accessing orchestral music by bringing performances to people across Scotland.  The five-year-old charity regularly sent

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has set up a new committee to oversee its complaints process, following concerns from members about how it dealt with safeguarding concerns.  Michele Welch, head of professional conduct at the CIoF, said in a blog post that its Professional Conduct Committee would oversee and support the CIoF’s complaints process and

The results of a vote to elect new trustees at the Actors’ Benevolent Fund have been delayed while “concerns over online voting are investigated”.  The charity had planned to announce the outcome of the elections at its annual general meeting last night but issued a statement saying the meeting had been adjourned until 29 January.

Charities must adopt a “laser-sharp focus” on their core purpose to handle challenges such as ‘culture wars’, the outgoing chief executive of the Charity Commission has said. Speaking today at the annual charity conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Helen Stephenson said many charities had been “very acutely” affected by

More than one in five financial advisers do not know how to support wealthy clients to become philanthropists, research has found. A Charities Aid Foundation survey of more than 200 independent financial advisers, wealth managers and planners found that just 5 per cent of advisers said they were very confident giving advice on philanthropy.  The

A private box at the Royal Albert Hall is being offered for sale with a guide price of £3m.  The so-called “grand tier” box, which includes 12 seats, offers some of the best views in the venue, according to the agents brokering the sale.  The lease on the box, which runs for a further 843

The Third Sector podcast has continued to probe the key issues in the voluntary sector over the past year.  From the emergence of AI and gaming in charity fundraising to the cost-of-living crisis, an in-depth examination of how the voluntary sector could respond to the climate crisis and interviews with key charity leaders, the podcast

As the charity sector approaches the end of another eventful year, it’s time to reflect on the major stories of 2023. Which articles were most popular among Third Sector’s readers? Read on to find out! 10. Nine staff sacked four weeks into 12-month contracts at health charity The eating disorder charity Beat terminated the contracts

Oxfam GB’s income passed £400m for the first time since 2019 after a more than £20m increase in funds from major appeals.  The charity’s latest accounts, for the year to the end of March, show income rose to £400.6m, up from £373m in the previous 12 months.  The charity said restricted income, which included £11.6m

A Stafford-based hospice has been trialling a new project that shows customers in its charity shops how much CO₂ has been saved by making a second-hand purchase. Katharine House Hospice, which provides palliative care services, claims it is the first charity to show sustainability savings in its shops. The charity is using till displays, provided by

Glastonbury Festival is set to donate more than £3.7m to charitable causes and campaigns before the year’s end, which the organisers described as a “record amount”. The five-day renowned music festival, hosted by Worthy Farm in Somerset, has raised funds for a range of major charities over the past year, including its long-standing charity partners

Voluntary organisations will be notified of funding decisions for the next financial year before the end of March, the Scottish government has announced. In response to a written question submitted at Holyrood, ministers said funding notifications would be issued “as soon as is practicably possible”. Colin Smyth, Scottish Labour MSP for South Scotland, asked the

A homelessness charity has been ordered to pay more than £19,000 to an employee due to unfair dismissal, an employment tribunal has ruled. Mark Wellington, who was employed as a support worker for the Simon Community from November 2012 to November 2022, claimed he was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against due to his race. After

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has updated its logo, colour palette and website as part of a £50,000 brand refresh. The foundation, which supports and undertakes social action work to end poverty in the UK, said the rebrand was to “realise a contemporary vision for the organisation and to reposition it in line with our strategic

The Charity Commission has closed down a Jewish education and heritage charity after three of its trustees were the subject of UK government sanctions.  The regulator launched an inquiry into the Genesis Philanthropy Group in March 2022, after three of its four trustees resigned due to being sanctioned by the UK government following Russian president

Nearly half of charity staff plan to look for a new employer in the next year, Third Sector Jobs has found. The Third Sector Career Insights 2023 report, which surveyed 318 charity employees, found that 46 per cent of respondents were planning to look for a new employer in the next 12 months. But only

The Charity Commission has closed down a holocaust education charity and disqualified one of its trustees from holding office in a charity for life after he was subject to government sanctions. The regulator opened an inquiry into the World Holocaust Forum Foundation in April last year, after its president and trustee Viatcheslav Kantor, was sanctioned