Third Sector

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 challenge of campaigning to a broad public baseHow did charity leaders react to Labour's civil society pitch?The End of Charity: The political chokeholdDo 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 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 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 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, click here.Read the transcript.

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 podcast documentary, The End of Charity: What is a world without charity?Read Debra Allcock Tyler’s column: Corporate chairs – a blessing or a curse?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 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 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 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 the transcript.If you have enjoyed The End of Charity, please consider rating and reviewing the series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice.Series writer and presenter: Lucinda RouseEditor: Emily BurtExecutive producer: Ollie PeartProduction manager: Louise HillSeries producers: Riham Maged, Penny Bell, Matt HillStudio producers: Nav Pal, Inga Marsen, Til OwenArt director: David RobinsonVideographer: Julian DoddVideo producer: Til OwenSub-editor: Rachel Jerden-Cooke Contributing editor: Andy RickettsVoicing support: Emily Harle, Dami AdewaleConcept developer: Rebecca Cooney

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 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.

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.

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 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.