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 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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. 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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 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.Read the transcript.

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 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, click here.

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 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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 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, click here.Read the transcript.