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Third Sector
The Charity Commission and charging
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In this episode of the Third Sector Podcast senior reporter Stephen Delahunty and news editor Andy Ricketts discuss whether charities face having to pay the Charity Commission for its services.
It comes after Ian Karet, interim chair of the regulator, was questioned about the measure at the commission's annual public meeting last week.
In response to a question about whether the commission had abandoned plans to introduce charges for its services, Karet said he could not say for certain the idea had been scrapped, but described it as a “political decision” that had more traction under both of his predecessors.
Stephen and Andy look back over the history of this long-running story and chew over where it could go next.
They also discuss the appointment of a new charities minister and in the Good News Bulletin discover the correct term for a baby porcupine and celebrate a major milestone for the online giving platform JustGiving.
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The benefits of an annual supporter appreciation day
28:30|Third Sector editor Emily Burt and deputy editor Andy Ricketts hear from Adam Baker, director of communications and supporter engagement at Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance. Adam talks about the charity’s recent “thankathons”, an annual event where staff and volunteers come together to spend the day saying thank you to people who have donated to the air ambulance. He discusses the benefits of running such an event and highlights some of the lessons the charity has learned from the days so far. He also digs into some of the practicalities of the day and gives his advice for other charities considering running their own thankathon.
How important is the return on investment metric in fundraising?
30:42|Emily Burt and Andy Ricketts hear from the fundraising specialist Caroline Richardson and Paul Courtney, director of fundraising at Children’s Hospice South West.Caroline and Paul discuss how ROI is used in fundraising, and the importance of treating the measurement as one data point in a wider context.And Caroline explains why a decrease in fundraising ROI is not necessarily a bad thing, after her research found a year-on-year decline.
Professionalising the fundraising sector
32:35|Senior reporter Emily Harle is joined by Katie Docherty, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.She talks about the significant developments in fundraising over the past five years, the evolution of CIoF’s flagship conference and the need for chief executives and sector leaders to recognise fundraising as a serious profession if they want to grow organisational income.And four years on from her pledge to make the fundraising profession a safer place, Docherty reflects on the need for charities to empower fundraisers to raise the alarm if they feel unsafe, and develop codes of conduct that hold donors accountable for their behaviour.
What can Black feminist leadership teach the charity sector?
32:00|Third Sector editor Emily Burt and senior multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse are joined by Jules Lynch, founder and chief executive of the Global Girl project. Jules discusses how leading with Black feminist principles empowers her charity to take a collaborative and trust-based approach to developing service offerings, sharing funding and resources. She discusses how the colonial origins of charitable models prevent those with power in the sector from working in meaningful partnership with communities, and why letting go of that power is an uncomfortable but essential step toward driving change in the sector. And Jules argues that, while conversations around decentralising power are beginning to enter the mainstream, change is rarely linear.
Grantmaking, working with government and encouraging volunteering
35:14|Matt Hyde, chief executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, talks to Third Sector deputy editor Andy Ricketts about volunteering, working with government and the grantmaker's new strategy. Matt discusses the foundation's ambition to ensure everyone in England and Wales is living 'in a good place' and how it hopes to increase overall giving levels to voluntary sector organisations.He talks about working with government and, as a member of the Civil Society Council, what his hopes are for the sector under Andy Burnham's new government.The co-founder of The Big Help Out also sets out what he thinks the charity sector can learn from the volunteering initiative, which this year joined forces with The Big Lunch.
The side effects of the Ice Bucket Challenge on the MND Association
33:10|Third Sector editor Emily Burt and senior multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse are joined by Tanya Curry, chief executive of the MND Association.Tanya recalls how the MND Association was thrust into the limelight thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge social media phenomenon in the summer of 2014.She describes the effects of the raised profile and £7m cash injection on the charity in the years that followed, and how its systems and processes needed to catch up.She stresses the need to pause and make a plan in the face of pressure to mobilise when everything is considered urgent.
Commission critical, Burnham’s DCMS reshuffle and CAF Bank chaos
30:14|Host Emily Burt is joined by Third Sector colleagues Andy Ricketts and Emily Harle to talk about three significant sector stories from the past month.Andy recounts an “embarrassing misstep” for the Charity Commission, after the regulator was found to have committed a contempt of parliament in seeking to prevent a set of critical reports from being laid before the house. Emily Harle hears from one of the whistleblowers at the heart of the row. The team discuss Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first days in post, including the decision to move the Office for the Impact Economy from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. And Emily reports on the CAF Bank outage that has left thousands of charities unable to pay staff, suppliers and bills.
Why every charity should be thinking about operational research
28:02|Editor Emily Burt and deputy editor Andy Ricketts are joined by Dr Colette Fletcher, executive director of the Operational Research Society, and Rebecca Goldring, performance and partnership area manager at Porchlight. Colette discusses the history of operational research and its current function as one of the world’s “best-kept secrets”: underpinning everything from traffic systems to Chris Whitty’s slide decks during the Covid-19 pandemic. And Rebecca shares how Porchlight has worked in partnership with volunteers at the ORS to transform a disorganised pot of data into a clear and confident narrative for stakeholders. Click here to learn more about the Operational Research Society, or to express your interest in a partnership.
How local infrastructure drives a resilient voluntary sector
27:48|Editor Emily Burt and senior reporter Emily Harle are joined by Maddy Desforges, chief executive of the local infrastructure membership body Navca. They discuss the challenges around funding infrastructure organisations, working with local government and the risks that can come with a broad operational remit. Maddy also shares the opportunities for local charities and infrastructure organisations that may come as an increasing push for devolution seeks to place neighbourhoods and communities at the heart of policymaking.