Third Sector

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Georgia Paton, gaming and streaming manager at the British Red Cross, and Tom Downie, UK charity manager at the fundraising platform Tiltify, to discuss ways in which charities can take advantage of the growing livestream world.Georgia describes how the British Red Cross has reached a new fundraising demographic by collaborating with online content creators and their audiences, raising over £1m and gaining more than 6,000 new followers for the charity in four years. She suggests how other charities can get involved and engage creators, starting with immersion in platforms such as Twitch.Tom explains the terms ‘fandom fundraising’ and ‘creator economy’ and provides an overview of how different charities make use of the streaming world. He describes how the tools provided by Tiltify help bring more traditional forms of fundraising into the online space.Also in the episode, Alina talks about her recent interview with Jo Todd, chief executive of Respect, which covered the argument

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Kat Dixon, outgoing director of partnerships at Catch22, whose team tripled the charity’s voluntary income in the space of four and a half years.Kat talks about the need to strategise and think deeply when forming and executing partnerships with forward-thinking corporate organisations, such as Microsoft and TikTok, in order to successfully link social and business aims.She provides insight into the growth of her team, bringing in talent from outside the sector and gaining internal buy-in. She also gives her perspective on ways in which women can be better supported in the fundraising space. News editor Steven Downes provides analysis on two of the week’s top stories, namely the growth of Muslim charities and the rebrand of the music therapy charity, Nordoff & Robbins.  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 p

Lucinda and Andy are joined by James Oakes, chief international officer at Omaze, and Paul McKenzie, director of engagement at the Teenage Cancer Trust.James describes Omaze’s business model as a for-profit organiser of high-value prize draws, with a proportion of its profits shared with selected charity partners. He outlines what the company looks for in a charity partner and addresses some of the concerns about the model, including its potential to encourage gambling.Paul explains how the Teenage Cancer Trust benefitted from being Omaze’s first charitable partner in the UK, with sums raised from two campaigns far exceeding expectations. He highlights the value of the exposure the charity received and provides advice for other voluntary organisations looking to get involved.Also in the episode, news editor Steven Downes shares his thoughts on the voluntary sector’s top stories of the week, from a high-paying new role at the Wellcome Trust to a move by two charities to fully remote working.And

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Keith Valentine, chief executive of Fight for Sight, to look behind the scenes of the sight loss research charity’s ongoing merger with the Vision Foundation.Keith describes how the merger was motivated by a quest for growth, responding to the absence of a national funder that combined scientific research with service delivery for visually impaired people.He talks about the operational practicalities of bringing two organisations together, as well as his personal experience of being the only visually impaired chief executive working in the national sight loss sector.The interview is preceded by a discussion on the findings of the recently published Good Merger Index, which revealed a sharp dip in the number of charity mergers in the past year. And Third Sector’s news editor, Steven Downes, provides analysis on his top stories of the week, from Islamic Relief’s response to the Turkey-Syria earthquake to the fake football ticket sale by scammers impersonating the Sick Childre

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Campbell Chalmers, strategic engagement lead for the third sector at the RNIB and Joseph Howes, chief executive of the grant-making charity Buttle UK, to discuss how voluntary organisations can benefit from working together. Joseph talks about Buttle’s experience of joining groupings such as the End Child Poverty coalition. He stresses the importance of taking time to build trust between organisations and drive long term change.Campbell describes the need for persistence and maintaining focus on the desired outcome of a collaboration, along with other lessons from the RNIB’s work to galvanise the sight loss sector during the pandemic. This has included changes in internal culture.The episode also features news analysis from Third Sector’s news editor, Steven Downes, and an appearance from acting editor Andy Ricketts to plug the upcoming launch of Third Sector TV.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we can bring you

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Stephanie Draper, chief executive of Bond, to talk about issues affecting the international development sector.Stephanie describes the impact of funding cuts on international development charities at a time of intensifying humanitarian crises. She suggests ways in which UK-focused charities can work with their international counterparts in campaigning to protect democratic rights and freedoms and promote local community-led decision-making. Also in the episode, Russ travels to Petworth in West Sussex to speak to Hilary McGrady, director general of the National Trust. They discuss redundancies, her optimism about the ever-increasing need for voluntary organisations and the future of the organisation she leads. Charity Changed My Life features the story of Razia Yazid Mohamed, a resident of the Kirandongo refugee settlement in Uganda who has received valuable leadership training from ActionAid.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Lord Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet secretary and chair of Pro Bono Economics, to discuss the findings and recommendations contained in the recently released final report from the Law Family Commission on Civil Society.O'Donnell talks about the need for civil society to be involved in discussions and decision-making alongside the government and private sector. He outlines the profile of the ideal candidate for a proposed “philanthropy champion” and calls on charities to be more efficient while quantifying the benefits of their services to society.The Good News Bulletin features the story of a Cartier watch, worth £10,000, which was found in a bag of donations at the British Heart Foundation in Hounslow.Read the full transcript.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, click here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Ian MacQuillin, director of the fundraising think tank Rogare, to consider the ethics around accepting monetary gifts from donors with questionable morality.They also talk about the implications of returning donations or other measures to atone for historical wrongdoing, following the Church of England’s recent acknowledgement of its connection to the transatlantic slave trade.Ian stresses the need for charities to have a gift acceptance and refusal policy in place to help decide whether or not it is in the best interests of the organisation and its service users to turn a donation down. He points listeners to relevant guidance from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Commission.The Good News Bulletin features a moonlit owl flying display organised by the Hawk Conservancy Trust to raise funds and awareness for conservation issues affecting birds of prey. Tell us what you think of the Third Sector podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we ca

Lucinda and Russ are joined by the Charity Finance Group’s chief executive, Caron Bradshaw, and special adviser, Pesh Framjee, to talk about how charities can effectively manage their financial reserves in times of stress.Caron maintains that reserves are there to be used, rather than protected, to enable charities to continue fulfilling their mission during periods of financial difficulty. She stresses there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to optimal reserve levels, which should be decided based on an organisation’s individual risk profile.Pesh explains the difference between unrestricted, restricted and designated reserves. He advises organisations to be open and transparent about expenditure to their supporters and stresses the need to communicate strongly about overhead expenditure requirements. Charity Changed My Life features the story of Bobby Bansal, who received invaluable information and support from Movember following two testicular cancer diagnoses.Do you have stories of people

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change, to discuss the year ahead in the voluntary sector.Debra provides insight into fundraising, campaigning and governance trends. As organisations who rely on government contracts are likely to be squeezed further in 2023, she emphasises the need to keep asking for funding, attract new volunteers and avoid self-censorship in the face of a hostile climate for campaigning.She believes trustees need to be cognisant of societal pressures affecting their organisation and play a more active role in tackling institutional problems such as racism and homophobia. She also talks about the need to maintain hope, along with her conviction that the human instinct to help others means the voluntary sector cannot fail.Charity Changed My Life is a new addition to the podcast, featuring stories from people who have benefited from charity services. Today, we hear from Gabriel Mallon, whose life has improved tenfold thanks to the&

The Third Sector team looks back at the top stories of the year in a special festive episode.Acting editor Andy Ricketts is joined by reporters Lucinda Rouse, Russ Hargrave and Alina Martin to discuss the top stories from the voluntary sector in 2022.Lucinda provides a rapid round-up of the year’s charity news before the team discusses their picks in greater depth. These include sexual harassment in fundraising, the publicity around transgender youth support charity Mermaids and overcrowding in the senior ranks of Cats Protection.They also identify recurring trends in the sector’s news, from growing attention on instances of racism to governance problems catching up with charities, as well as the increasing use of social media and user-generated content in fundraising.In lighter news, the team recalls highlights from the Good News Bulletin, from the world’s biggest vampire gathering at Whitby Abbey, organised by English Heritage, to an update on Patrick the miniature therapy pony, who has

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Emily Wilson, chief executive of Irise International, and Martyn Drake, founder of Binley Drake Consulting, to discuss how charities can plan effectively in uncertain times.Martyn outlines how scenario planning can be a useful way of stripping back uncertainty and identifying the most important things for an organisation to consider in any eventuality. He stresses the need to remain fixed on your vision while allowing flexibility to achieve it, and reducing pressure around big decision-making.Emily describes how UK aid cuts demonstrated the importance of anticipating and planning to enable Irise International to continue delivering on its purpose at a time when the worst case scenario was trumped by reality. This involved avoiding groupthink and allowing plans to remain fluid as a means of retaining control.They both stress the importance of collaboration to achieve results when resources are scarce, as well as treating staff as an organisation’s most valuable asset.&n

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Nana Crawford, social media manager at the British Red Cross, and Hannah Akitt, strategist at the marketing agency Raw London.They discuss their favourite Christmas campaigns of the year, including Shelter’s “Brave Face” television advert, Samaritans’ “Break the Silence” winter appeal and the British Heart Foundation’s “Gift that keeps on living” campaign, along with the increasingly popular phenomenon of the Santa Dash.Nana explains how the British Red Cross integrates its social media channels into its festive campaigns. She stresses the importance of listening to audiences in order to communicate in a way that meets their needs and describes her organisation’s deliberate shift in December from e-commerce promotions to content focusing on supporters’ health and wellbeing.Hannah provides inspiration for last-minute, low-cost Christmas fundraising ideas, aimed particularly at smaller charities wishing to take advantage of the Christmas Eve peak in donations. These include effec

Lucinda and Alina visit London’s Portobello Road to peruse the rails and speak to the managers of some of the capital’s boutique charity shops about their views on the rising popularity of thrift shopping.The Charity Retail Association has reported a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in charity shop sales, bucking the wider trend of declining high street retail. The studio discussion features the CRA’s chief executive, Robin Osterley, and Libby Gordon, chief executive of Fara UK, to discuss how charities can take advantage of this growing consumer appetite.Robin outlines the four different categories of charity shopper, including an expanding group of consumers prioritising sustainability, and suggests ways in which charities can increase their appeal to the respective types.Libby describes the creative ways in which Fara, which supports children and young people in Romania, has used its shops to increase its visibility and grow communities, including through interactions with social media influencers. She al

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Antonia Bance, head of campaigns, communications and digital at the Trades Union Congress, and Idris Arshad, people and inclusion partner at St Christopher’s Hospice. In the wake of a recent strike announcement by more than 500 staff at Shelter, they discuss how organisations can prevent employee relations from deteriorating to the point of industrial action being called.Idris provides guidance on maintaining open and honest communications channels between management and staff, which is particularly important during periods of financial difficulty, while Antonia notes the increase in online enquiries from third sector professionals seeking information about joining unions. She outlines the benefits of joining a union and provides information on the unions covering the third sector.This week’s Good News Bulletin covers the growing trend of festive charity tractor runs.Tell us what you think of the Third Sector podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Zia Salik, head of fundraising at Islamic Relief, to discuss some of the innovations behind the charity’s record growth figures over the past four years.Zia explains how a shift before the pandemic to increase digital engagement with younger donors allowed the charity to adapt to the suspension of in-person fundraising events. He describes the organisation’s willingness to take risks on volunteer-led innovations, including a cake-selling initiative which has become a regular feature in the charity’s Ramadan campaigns, and how taking a relationship-based fundraising approach has paid off.This week’s Good News Bulletin covers the news that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to give most of his $124bn fortune to philanthropic causes during his lifetime. And Russ reports back from the Association of Charitable Foundations’ annual conference.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.

Lucinda and Alina seek to demystify TikTok with the help of Rebs Curtis-Moss, interim social media manager at Shelter, who previously worked at the RNLI and led preparations for the launch of the Lifeboats’ highly successful TikTok campaign. Rebs highlights the importance of TikTok for raising awareness of charity causes among younger audiences, but stresses the need for a clear strategy prior to posting, including defining success and allocating sufficient staff resources to produce regular, high-quality content.  They provide practical tips for tracking algorithms and jumping on the latest trends to maximise audience numbers while ensuring the tone remains consistent with charities’ wider messaging. Equipped with Rebs’ advice, and after reviewing examples of successful content from the RNLI and Shelter, Alina and Lucinda set out to create Third Sector’s first TikTok video.This week’s Good News Bulletin features involuntary charitable donations resulting from drug

Russ and Lucinda celebrate Trustees Week by speaking to Liv Clarke and Ria Shah, trustees at the youth leadership charity Reclaim and the conservation charity The Wildlife Trusts, respectively. Liv and Ria explain what motivated them to become trustees in the early stages of their careers and why they object to the term “young trustee”.They provide their views on the importance of including younger people on boards and highlight some of the barriers facing them, including heavy time commitments and imposter syndrome. They also suggest ways in which charities can help overcome the challenges common to younger board members.This week’s Good News Bulletin explores the trend of politicians putting their pay-outs and I’m a Celebrity… appearance fees to philanthropic use. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Russ speak to Vic Turnbull, founder of the podcast production and training company MIC Media, about the various ways charities can use podcasts, from awareness-raising to educating service users.Vic provides practical guidance for charities looking to start a podcast of their own, from considerations of purpose, audience and content to funding options and utilising in-house talent. She also demystifies the technical aspect of podcast production and demonstrates the ease of creating high-quality audio content on a shoestring.We listen to extracts from two very different award-winning charity podcasts: Log Books from the LGBT+ helpline Switchboard, and Made By Mortals’ children’s podcast Armchair Adventures.Later in the episode, Russ and Lucinda discuss the criticism surrounding English Heritage’s acceptance of a £1.25m donation from AirBnb.FootnotesGrab the MICThe Log BooksArmchair Adventures Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Andy speak to Sue Tibballs, chief executive of the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, about attitudes towards campaigning by charities in the current political climate. This follows the release of a Charity Commission guide, the timing of which she questions in the context of a backlash to recent campaigns.Sue tells us why, despite some renewed calls for charities to “stick to their knitting”, she is confident that civil society voices will increasingly be heard.The Good News Bulletin has the bear facts about where the teddies left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II are headed - and gives the gen on the generosity of Generation Z. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.