Third Sector

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Jack Boardman, head of development at the telemarketing agency Angel, and Phoebe Cooper, marketing manager in the RSPCA’s donor development team.Jack describes the power of a telephone conversation in building rapport with new and potential supporters. He explains the fusion between digital lead generation and telephone conversion in response to changing media consumption habits.Phoebe provides insight into the RSPCA’s Gift Aid telephone campaign, which was responsible for 98.3 per cent of new Gift Aid opt-ins in its first year.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Sarah, whose participation in the Bags of Taste home cooking programme has helped her manage the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.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.

Lucinda Rouse and Dami Adewale are joined by Nadia Alomar, chief executive of Clore Social Leadership, and Beki Osborne, chief executive of Sexual Assault & Abuse Support Service, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.Nadia describes the changes she has witnessed in voluntary sector leadership in recent years, from the effects of resource scarcity to an increased emphasis on inclusivity, wellbeing and personal development.She suggests how people with lived experience can be better supported to take up leadership roles and provides ideas for developing leadership skills on a limited budget.Beki shares the pressures she encountered on taking up her chief executive position aged 30. She calls for an overhaul of the structures governing third sector organisations to support innovation and make younger leaders feel more welcome.Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle provides insight into the Charity Commission’s inquiry into the transgender youth charity Mermaids. She explains why its stipulati

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the RSPCA, to reflect on his six years at the charity before he moves on to the top job at the NSPCC.Chris likens the reality of navigating the RSPCA’s significant public profile to operating in a goldfish bowl.He stresses the importance of stimulating engagement with the charity’s extensive branch network to instigate culture change and provides his thoughts on the voluntary sector under Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government.Also in the episode, Lucinda and Emily hear from Maddy Desforges, chief executive of the local infrastructure body Navca, about new guidance for charities navigating Section 114 notices. 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

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Jayne Taylor and Matt Jones, chief executive and chair of the Elephant Group, a charity that helps state-educated students access top universities.Matt, who founded the Elephant Group in 2018, describes how his role has evolved since the arrival of Jayne as the charity’s first chief executive in 2022. This has included moving away from lower level operational issues and focusing on the big strategic questions to support the Elephant Group’s transformation from a start-up to an established organisation.Jayne describes the challenge of balancing her priorities of delivering on the charity’s purpose while overseeing an internal operational restructure. She explains how Matt’s approach has enabled her to perform her role to the best of her abilities through a space of mutual trust and safety.Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle joins Lucinda and Emily Burt to reflect on the recent pause in funding by several grantmakers in response to an overwhelming lev

Lucinda Rouse shadows Charlotte Holmes, head of philanthropy at Leukaemia UK, to experience the day-to-day realities of a job in major donor fundraising.Charlotte outlines the range of approaches used to identify connections and nurture relationships with existing and potential donors, from individuals to trusts and foundations and corporate partners. She describes her career path, starting in the box office at Chelsea Football Club, and shares tips for anyone seeking to enter the philanthropy world. Lucinda follows Charlotte during preparations for the charity’s flagship fundraising event, Who’s Cooking Dinner? at The Dorchester hotel, and joins a staff and supporter visit to the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. There she speaks to Dr Noelia Che, whose research fellowship is funded by Leukaemia UK, and Professor Owen Williams, head of the institute’s cancer section.Lucinda is joined by Third Sector’s editor, Emily Burt, to reflect on the visits and consider the wider climate

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Harle are joined by Manny Amadi, chief executive of C&E Advisory, to discuss the company’s latest Corporate-Non-Profit Partnerships Barometer.Manny talks about how the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which affects how companies report on their social and environmental impact, will have an impact on new corporate partnerships.He flags the gap between company and charity expectations around earmarked and flexible funding and shares learnings from C&E Advisory’s use of generative AI to co-author the barometer.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Stanley Anigbogu, whose participation in the Swarovski Foundation’s Creatives for Our Future programme helped grow his renewable energy start-up LightEd.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.Te

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Alicia Nagar, head of people, wellbeing and equity at Mental Health First Aid England, and Samantha Stapley, chief operations and people officer at Trussell.Alicia describes the complex mental health challenges faced by people working in the voluntary sector. She outlines the need for a holistic approach to organisational support, with Mental Health First Aiders forming a part.Sam explains how Trussell is responding to the mental health needs of its staff, volunteers and food bank users as the charity grows in response to sky-rocketing demand. She stresses the importance of listening to staff rather than making assumptions about the most valuable forms of support.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Opinya Lilly Okello, whose farming enterprise in northern Uganda has become more profitable since she received training from Feed the Minds through the NGO ACSET Uganda.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your

Lucinda Rouse travels to the Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon, to meet the charity’s senior statistician, Stuart Norris, and find out about his pathway to a career in data science.Stuart describes how he combined a background in ecology with his long-standing interest in computers to find his niche in the voluntary sector. He explains how his team combines open source data with internal information to create platforms that are used to inform the charity’s strategic decision-making.He suggests ways in which applicants to data roles can stand out, and stresses the importance of soft skills on top of technical know-how.Lucinda is joined by Third Sector’s editor, Emily Burt, to reflect on the visit. And senior reporter Emily Harle shares snippets from her recent interview with Dan Corry, outgoing chief executive of the think tank NPC.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

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Ndidi Okezie, chief executive of UK Youth, to discuss the need for the voluntary sector to overcome its siloed approach to solving systemic problems.Ndidi explains how UK Youth is pushing for a more integrated approach to delivering youth services through a new initiative called the Joined Up Institute. She shares her views on the role funders can play in generating action from evidence, and the need for bold leadership to drive an intentional process of learning between charities.Charity Changed My Life features the story of a service user who received support from For Baby’s Sake, a charity that helps families with experience of domestic abuse to give their baby the best start in life.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 t

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Collette Philip, founder of the anti-racist brand agency Brand by Me, to discuss the findings of its recent audit of anti-racism work by the top 30 charities listed in Third Sector’s Charity Brand Index.Collette explains why adopting a non-racist organisational approach and focusing primarily on diversity and the representation of racialised communities will never go far enough in the fight against systemic racism. She outlines the areas where progress has been slowest and describes ways in which charities can take meaningful action, starting with making a public commitment to anti-racist practice in order to promote accountability.Also in the episode, senior reporter Emily Harle talks about her recent long read, which suggests measures charities can take to enable meaningful contributions from their young trustees.Read Brand by Me’s Dismantle report.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so, we’

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Gemma Peters, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, to discuss the charity’s ‘year of transformation’.Gemma explains how its new strategy will enable Macmillan to better meet the needs of people living with cancer and describes the challenges of managing the accompanying organisational turbulence.She shares her views on the responsibility of larger charities to support their smaller counterparts and warns of the risks of focusing on current need to the detriment of driving longer-term change for good.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Michael, who was saved by the RNLI in Scarborough after a winter swim in the sea went awry.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

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Harle are joined by Clare Mills, deputy chief executive of the Charity Finance Group, and Mike Conroy, director of commercial finance at the banking trade association UK Finance.They start by listening to an account of contrasting experiences with two high street banks by Cat Ross, chief executive of Baby Basics and volunteer director of Rwanda Child.Clare describes recent progress in strengthening the relationship between banks and charity infrastructure bodies, as well as an uptake in digital banking services by charities. She also stresses the need for banks to simplify their administrative requirements.Mike explains why charity customers often present complications to banks, not least due to the varied nature of charity governance structures. He outlines measures to improve communication and understanding on both sides, including a new Voluntary Organisation Banking Guide published by UK Finance.Also in the episode, reporter Dami Adewale talks about his recent long read exploring h

Lucinda Rouse and Andy Ricketts are joined by Nathan Coyle, senior peace tech adviser at the Austrian Centre for Peace and author of the book Open Data for Everybody: Using Open Data for Social Good.Nathan explains how open data can be used by the voluntary sector to support work in areas including campaigning and influencing, completing grant applications and demonstrating charities’ expertise and openness to collaboration.He cites useful open data sources, from government and police data to 360Giving, and provides pointers to guidance on accessing and using data. These include the Open Data Institute, Open Knowledge Foundation, Open Data Day and Open Data Manchester.Also in the episode, Andy and Lucinda hear from Zoe Amar, founder and director of Zoe Amar Digital, and Anj Handa, founder of Inspiring Women Changemakers. They consider the sector’s response to the recent riots across the UK and suggest tangible actions that charity leaders can take to help tackle the root causes of racism and Islamophobia.Do y

Andy Ricketts and Dami Adewale are joined by Abi Long, executive team manager, and Yusuf Ciftci, head of refugee involvement at the Refugee Council.Abi presents the findings of research conducted by the Refugee Council into barriers encountered by refugees navigating the UK job market. She describes the intersectionality of challenges facing people with different types of lived experience, from homelessness to disability.Yusuf describes his own employment experiences in the voluntary sector after being granted asylum in the UK. He stresses the benefits of utilising the lived experience of staff at all levels and suggests ways of getting more people with lived experience into senior leadership positions.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Stephanie, who receives invaluable support from Zoe’s Place Children Hospice in Liverpool to help care for her daughter, Robyn.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 i

Lucinda Rouse and Andy Ricketts joined by Bekki Wilkins, special events manager at the Willow Foundation, and Sam Dimond, director of the event production company Spotlight Sound. Bekki recounts the challenges of organising events such as the Willow Ball and the London Football Awards in the face of inflated costs and lower corporate ticket sales. She suggests ways of reducing costs through contra deals with suppliers and moving to venues outside London.Sam sheds light on the types of charity approaches that are most appealing to suppliers, stressing the importance of forming long-term relationships and dedicating time to ensuring a supplier fully understands a charity’s mission and event goals.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Jerry, whose participation in a community horticulture programme at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has brought him comfort and inspiration after experiencing homelessness.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity

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 ch

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

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 who

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. Emai

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