Third Sector

Lucinda Rouse and Andy Ricketts are joined by Robyn Mountain Wade, director of income generation at Martin House Children’s Hospice, to find out how the charity recruited major donors for the first time to meet a £21.9m fundraising target.Robyn explains how Martin House engaged local philanthropists by inviting them to events co-hosted by their ambassador and the former England football manager, Gareth Southgate, to tell them about the work of the hospice.She describes the value of giving local businesspeople the agency to host their own fundraising events as well as providing the option of donation pledges while stressing a sense of urgency.Also in the episode, Lucinda and Andy hear from Chris Fairbank, director of communications at the headteachers’ association HMC, about the possible effects on the wider voluntary sector of the government’s plan to scrap VAT and business rates exemptions for independent schools.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your ch

Senior reporters Lucinda Rouse and Emily Harle are joined by Berenice Levenez, director of strategy, technology and transformation at Girlguiding, and Liz Gadd, environmental lead at the think tank NPC.Berenice describes how feedback from members that Girlguiding should be doing more to address the environmental crisis prompted the charity to develop a new environmental strategy.She explains how the strategy was devised and costed and why it includes a target to halve carbon emissions by 2040.Liz stresses the importance of giving service users a sense of agency in responding to the climate crisis. She suggests ways for charities to collaborate in their environmental work and the benefits of doing so.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Darrell, who so valued the support she received from the Weston Park Cancer Charity after being diagnosed with breast cancer that she volunteered to set up an affiliated choir.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Rebecca Linford, senior legal adviser, and Mark Ellis, head of communications, at the whistleblowing support charity Protect.Rebecca describes Protect’s role in the development of a storyline about whistleblowing for the BBC medical drama Casualty. She outlines the scripting process and stresses the need to be clear on timelines to help manage workloads.Mark explains how the charity weighed up the benefits and risks of getting involved, after being approached by the programme’s producers. He describes how Protect measured the impact of its participation in furthering its cause.Also in this episode, Lucinda and Emily speak to Sarah Elliott, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, to consider what’s next for the voluntary sector under the new Labour government.Sarah advises how charities can best establish relationships with new government stakeholders, starting with offers to help achieve Labour’s missions and agenda.Do you have stories of people who

Lucinda and Emily are joined by James Dunbar, chief executive of the poverty reduction charity New Start Highland. James describes how the charity was able to move from being a predominantly grant-receiving organisation to generating three-quarters of its income through trading and contracts.He explains how he identified income-generating opportunities for New Start Highland, from furniture-making to removal services, as well as some of the risks of taking a more commercially-minded approach.He provides pointers for other charities considering taking a similar route and stresses the importance of communication with all stakeholders. Also in the episode, news editor Andy Ricketts joins Lucinda and Emily to consider Labour’s landslide election victory and its implications for the voluntary sector.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Emai

Lucinda and Emily reflect on a recent visit to the RNLI headquarters in Poole, Dorset, where Lucinda met the charity’s outgoing chief executive, Mark Dowie.Mark identifies the principal challenges of his five-year tenure as having been the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and small boats crossing the Channel. He explains how his corporate background helped him to implement operational efficiencies, and describes measures to increase female representation in the RNLI workforce.Lucinda also meets Daniel Sharp, production and control manager at the All-Weather Lifeboat Centre, for a tour of the charity’s boat-building operations, and heritage archive and research manager Hayley Whiting. Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for further information.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector

In a session recorded at the Third Sector Conference, Lucinda and Emily are joined by Rhodri Davies, director of Why Philanthropy Matters, to reflect on some of the themes covered in Third Sector’s recent podcast documentary, The End of Charity.These include the rise of influencer philanthropists, such as the YouTube megastar MrBeast, and their potential role in attracting a new, younger support base for charities. They discuss the need for charities to sustain the momentum in tackling historical power imbalances in the voluntary sector, as articulated in an interview clip from series contributor Chilande Kuloba-Warria. They also question the very role of charity in the modern day.Listen to The End of Charity.Read Rhodri’s article in the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email luc

Lucinda and Emily are joined by David Welch, chief executive of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance, to consider how charities can effectively build trust with their staff, service users and donors. David describes the role trust played in enabling KSS to raise almost double its £1m fundraising target during a six-week emergency campaign. He stresses the importance of open communication and transparency with all stakeholders, in good times and bad.He also outlines the challenges of fundraising for an air ambulance service, and the need to cultivate a sense of relevance as well as raise public awareness and understanding of the vital role it performs.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Helen, whose participation in the Bristol Rovers Community Trust’s football and mental health programme, Rebound with Rovers, has become a highlight of her week.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes i

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Liz Cooke, chief executive of The Hive Avon, and Kevin Barker-Lee, a people partner at Lloyds Banking Group and chair of the charity.Liz outlines the broad range of skilled volunteer support provided to The Hive, from fundraising planning to an annual visit from a florist. She notes that the most valuable skilled support is often short term and requires careful advance planning.Kevin recommends charities make greater use of LinkedIn to recruit volunteers and capitalise on a growing appetite among professionals to provide skills-based support on a voluntary basis.They also discuss the pros and cons of corporate volunteering opportunities and instances when it is better to decline approaches from companies.Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle shares extracts from a recent interview with Alison Wyman, chief executive of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund, in which she explains how the charity is moving forward from a public spat involving former trustees.Do you have stori

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Denise Hayward, chief executive of Volunteer Now, which supports and promotes volunteering across Northern Ireland, and Margaret Starkie, partnership and communications manager at Volunteer Scotland.In a conversation recorded before the general election announcement, they discuss the trajectory for volunteering in their respective nations, including the impact of short-term funding patterns on charities’ ability to support their volunteers. They outline the need for more government support and suggest ways of attracting cause-driven younger people into volunteering and trustee roles, including better communication about the flexibility of volunteering commitments.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Kyle McIntosh, who received a scholarship and mentorship from the Longford Trust after being released from prison, enabling him to complete a mathematics degree and land a dream job.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better than

Lucinda and Andy discuss the road ahead for charities following Wednesday’s general election announcement.Later in the episode, Lucinda and Emily are joined by the strategy specialist Sharath Jeevan and Hannah Stevens, chief executive of Elect Her. They discuss the importance of inflection moments in planning an organisation’s strategic direction.Then Lucinda travels to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to look around three of the charity gardens sponsored by Project Giving Back. She speaks to Richard Angell, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust; Daniel Magson, director of engagement, marketing and income at Bowel Research UK; Debbie Hoods, head of philanthropy, partnerships & ambassador engagement at Muscular Dystrophy UK; garden designer Ula Maria; and Hattie Ghaui, chief executive of Project Giving Back.Read and listen to Third Sector's pre-election coverage:How can charity campaigners cut through the political noise?How can charities connect with politicians ahead of a general election?The challen

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Paul Streets, chief executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, to reflect on more than a decade of working with small charities as he prepares to step down.Paul celebrates the resilience of small charities, likening them to cockroaches for their ability to endure challenging environments, and suggests ways in which funders can step up to better support them. He calls on charities to join forces in advocating for change that transcends cause areas. Charity Changed My Life features the story of Haixia, who received support from the Harbour Project in Swindon while awaiting the outcome of her asylum application.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for further information.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us kn

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Fola Komolafe, chief executive of World Vision UK, to discuss the charity’s role in a wider drive to integrate African philanthropists into the established global charitable landscape.Fola also provides her views on the merits of child sponsorship and the growing recognition of the importance of faith-based charities in delivering programmes in the UK and abroad. Charity Changed My Life features the story of a couple whose lives were turned around after the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance came to their rescue in a moment of critical need.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for further information.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we can bring you the most relevant, useful content. To fill in the survey, clic

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Mary Rose Gunn, founder and chief executive of the small charity funder The Fore, to discuss the challenging funding environment facing small charities.They start by listening to an account by Jane Evans, chief executive of West Norfolk Carers, about the growing difficulty of securing enough funding to keep the charity afloat.Mary Rose explains why trusts and foundations have historically erred towards supporting specific projects rather than offering unrestricted funding to small charities. She describes how this is shifting with the emergence of a new generation of largely self-made philanthropists and provides tips for small charities seeking to strengthen their funding applications. Also in the episode, Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change, outlines some of the common pitfalls associated with appointing corporate chairs to charity boards and provides suggestions for overcoming them.Hear more from Jane Evans in Third Sector’s podca

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Holly Penalver, founder of Indigo Volunteers and volunteer development manager at ShelterBox, and Karolina Praskova, a volunteer at the education charity Climate Ed.Holly provides pointers for effectively managing the volunteer recruitment stage and stresses the importance of an induction to motivate new volunteers and make them feel appreciated. She also outlines the value of conducting an exit interview when volunteers leave an organisation.Karolina describes her volunteer journey at Climate Ed, from her motivations for applying to the charity to the importance of simple, open communication channels with staff and the value she takes from volunteer social events.Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle shares the headline figures from a record-breaking London Marathon.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this pod

In November 2023, the finance officer of West Norfolk Carers came to a devastating realisation: after more than a year of rejected funding applications, the charity wouldn’t be able to stay afloat for longer than four months.Several months earlier, the Lankelly Chase Foundation, a grantmaker tackling severe social disadvantage and extreme marginalisation, had reached a similarly terminal conclusion.After finding that its very existence perpetuated past harms and injustices, the foundation’s leaders decided the best way forward was to shut down.In the final episode of The End of Charity, Lucinda Rouse is joined by Jane Evans and Julian Corner, the chief executives of West Norfolk Carers and Lankelly Chase, respectively, to ask: what’s next for the charity sector?Rhodri Davies, Martha Awojobi and Eshe Kiama Zuri consider the road ahead for doing good, while Steve O’Donnell, a recipient of West Norfolk Carers’ services, lays out the impact of the recent rash of charity closures on vulnerable citizens.Read t

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Matt Corbishley, deputy chief executive of Ashgate Hospice, to discuss the charity’s use of new tech solutions in its operations and service delivery.Matt explains why Ashgate Hospice encourages staff to experiment with new forms of IT and artificial intelligence, and outlines the benefits of a digital apprenticeship programme to train existing team members.He provides pointers for other charity leaders considering their approach to new technology and recommends resources such as Hospice UK, Forrester and Gartner.Also in the episode, news reporter Dami Adewale considers the findings of recent research into legacy giving by Cancer Research UK and Remember a Charity.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for further information.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please

When The Times newspaper’s chief reporter Sean O’Neill broke the story that senior Oxfam aid workers had committed sexual abuse while working in the disaster zone of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, it sent shockwaves around the charity sector and wider society.O’Neill reflects on his memories of uncovering the scandal, while experts including Chilande Kuloba-Warria and Martha Awojobi discuss how the very foundations of charity can create imbalances of power – and environments in which abuse can thrive.How do the ways we think about the “haves” and “have-nots” perpetuate these inequalities? And how have the historical roots of charitable work steered us in this direction?Kolbassia Haoussou, director of survivor leadership and influencing at Freedom from Torture, suggests how the balance can be tipped to allow the people that charities exist to serve to exercise power on their own terms.With commentary from the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i

Lucinda and Emily are joined by the author and mental health consultant Dimple Dhabalia. Dimple warns of the dangers facing organisations that focus on their charitable mission at the expense of staff wellbeing. She notes the sense of guilt often felt by humanitarian workers suffering the effects of workplace trauma.She provides pointers for how organisations can make staff wellbeing a cornerstone of internal policies and processes, including prioritising social connections, supporting rest and recovery and providing constructive feedback.Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle provides insight into a recent piece of research into the “NGO halo effect”: a mindset which can lead to unethical behaviour going unchecked in voluntary organisations.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for further in

In May 2018, three climate activists called time on lukewarm campaigning over the climate crisis. They wanted a different and radical approach.The plan: mass civil disobedience. The name: Extinction Rebellion. And the first major act of the movement? Stage an occupation – of the Greenpeace offices in London. Why is it that charities are so often perceived to be “the opposite of disruptive?” Experts including The Wildlife Trusts’ chief executive, Craig Bennett, and the domestic violence campaigner Janey Starling outline the legislative and political challenges that defang charities’ ability to campaign. Lucinda also speaks to Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, and the Trussell Trust’s Emma Revie about the tussle encountered by charities seeking to both deliver services and advocate for change. With commentary from the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Philippa Cornish, head of client experience at the Charities Aid Foundation. They discuss the implications of CAF’s report into individual giving, which found a smaller pool of donors giving more led to a total uplift in 2023 in spite of the median monthly figure remaining stagnant at £20 since 2017. Philippa provides suggestions for how charities can encourage donors to adjust their monthly donations in line with inflation, including by enhancing trust, and to contribute to unrestricted funding pots.Charity Changed My Life features the story of a family receiving support from the Martin House Children’s Hospice.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’d like to hear them! All it takes is a short voice message to be featured on this podcast. Email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for further information.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how