Third Sector

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 har...

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....

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...

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...

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 industri...

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 willing...

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 pri...

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 young...

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. Sh...

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...

Senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and reporter Alina Martin speak to Anne Fox, chief executive of Clinks, and Riana Taylor, chief executive of Circles UK, about the challenges of fundraising for charities working in the criminal justice system.  Anne and Riana offer insight into the difficulties of fundraising from the general public when the general perception of their service users - pe...

Senior multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse and acting editor Andy Ricketts speak to David Fielding, managing partner of the recruitment firm Attenti, about the debate surrounding bonus payments for charity executives.  David offers his unique industry perspective on the appetite for bonuses among candidates and organisations and suggests other ways of attracting and retaining stellar leaders in...

Acting editor Andy Ricketts and senior multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse discuss the findings of a new report looking into corporate partnerships. Their guest, Manny Amadi of the consultancy C&E Advisory, explains how relationships between NGOs and companies have evolved over time, with an increasing emphasis on a shared purpose to solve problems.  Manny raises the risks to voluntary sector o...

This week, senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and acting editor Andy Ricketts examine the factors affecting volunteering among young people.  They talk to Emily Morrison, head of the Institute for Community Studies, about research published by her organisation which found a "postcode lottery" affecting young people's ability to donate their time.  The report, called  Volunteering...

This week, senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and acting editor Andy Ricketts reflect on the death of Queen Elizabeth II and discuss the charitable legacy she leaves behind. They talk to Sir Stuart Etherington, long-time chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and who chaired the Patron's Fund, a charity set up as part of the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations in 201...

This week, senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and news editor Andy Ricketts talk to Gerald Oppenheim, chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, about the regulator's new strategy.  The organisation recently  unveiled its plans for the next five years , which includes a review of the Code of Fundraising Practice and a likely uplift in the fundraising levy that is requested from lar...

Senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and editor Emily Burt sit down with Nicole Sykes, director of policy and communications at the think tank Pro Bono Economics, to discuss new research into a wage gap between charity staff and people working in other sectors.  The findings revealed that voluntary sector workers faced a collective “wage penalty” of nearly £1.5bn in 2019 compared with worker...

News editor Andy Ricketts and senior news reporter Russell Hargrave are joined by Charles Keidan, editor of Alliance magazine, to talk about the controversies relating to some of the charities connected to Prince Charles. Keidan has worked separately on some of the recent stories published by The Sunday Times on this subject and talks through the issues for the royal charities in question and the...

Senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and editor Emily Burt discuss the two candidates hoping to be the next Prime Minister. Do Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have any history with the charity sector – and how are they proposing to handle the cost-of-living crisis?  This week’s Good News Bulletin features a groundbreaking medical research breakthrough, and a panda with a special birthday...

News editor Andy Ricketts and senior news reporter Russell Hargrave meet Holly Riley, head of strategic policy at the Charity Commission, and Julie Dennis, head of diversity and inclusion at the conciliation service Acas.  They discuss the regulator’s work with bodies across civil society to clarify responsibilities across the sector when dealing with bullying. This week’s Good News Bulletin...

News editor Andy Ricketts and senior news reporter Russell Hargrave talk to Ed Wallis, head of policy at the community organisation support charity Locality, about the UK’s escalating energy crisis.  Fuel prices were rising before the war in Ukraine began at the beginning of the year but the conflict has exacerbated the situation, with a reduction in the use of Russian oil increasing demand f...

Senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and editor Emily Burt are joined by Alex Farrow, director of influencing and engagement at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’, to discuss the latest  Time Well Spent  report.  The research explores the impact of Covid-19 on the volunteer experience, and the challenges that lie ahead for charities as the cost-of-living crisis inten...

Editor Emily Burt talks to Zoe Amar, founder of Zoe Amar Digital, about the findings of the 2022 Charity Digital Skills Report .  The annual report acts as a barometer for the sector’s digital progress – mapping out digital priorities, analysing key trends in tech adoption and identifying the skills gaps that still exist for charities.  Emily and Zoe discuss challenges for charities...

Editor Emily Burt and senior reporter Russell Hargrave unpack the story of the Captain Tom Foundation, from record-breaking fundraising challenge to the launch of a statutory enquiry by the Charity Commission.  They talk through the finer points of the governance responsibilities and charity laws that may apply to the commission’s enquiry, and reflect on other key moments in the Captain Tom s...

This week, Rebecca and Russell chat to Dr Clare Mills, director of policy and communications at the Charity Finance Group, about the Civil Society Group's recent report on the banking challenges charities encounter. And in this week's Good News Bulletin, Rebecca and Emily discuss a man riding a lawn mower from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for MNDA, and an anteater who has been fitted...