Third Sector

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Duncan Shrubsole, director of policy, communications and research at the Lloyds Bank Foundation, and Elizabeth Jiménez-Yáñez, policy and communications manager at the Latin American Women's Rights Service (Lawrs), to talk about charities’ influencing work. Duncan highlights the importance of enabling grassroots organisations to influence policy by amplifying their voices, while acknowledging the difficulties of doing so. He gives his thoughts on the outlook for influencing work in the current political climate and explains how the Lloyds Bank Foundation is helping to strengthen the capacity, capability and confidence of small charities to engage in influencing work.Elizabeth describes Lawrs’ work to raise awareness of the plight of Latin American women in the UK who have an insecure immigration status and are experiencing domestic violence. She suggests different ways that charities can influence through storytelling and stresses the importance of working in coali

Lucinda and Emily are joined by James Cusack, chief executive of Autistica, to debunk some common misconceptions about neurodivergence and neurodiversity.James, who is autistic, describes his own professional journey and his conviction that workplaces are enriched by colleagues who think in different ways.He suggests basic workplace adjustments to accommodate neurodiversity to the benefit of all employees and points listeners to Autistica’s Employer’s Guide to Neurodiversity for further guidance.Also in the episode, news editor Andy Ricketts shares his thoughts on new social media guidance published by the Charity Commission which has allayed the concerns of some in the sector about the role trustees are expected to play in monitoring employees’ social media activity. 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 fo

Lucinda and Emily are joined by the fundraising consultant Lynda Harwood-Compton to discuss successful partnerships between charities and corporate entities.Lynda, who was the head of philanthropy and partnerships at the Brain Tumour Charity until August, describes a general shift in mentality by corporates to be more strategic in identifying charities with a shared purpose and values, as well as an evolution from corporate social responsibility to environmental sustainability. She highlights three very different but equally effective corporate partnerships: Overgate Hospice and the Yorkshire Soap Company; the Marine Conservation Society and Fat Face; and Together for Short Lives and Morrisons. Lucy Crisp, head of corporate partnerships at Together for Short Lives, joins the discussion and explains how the Morrisons partnership leans on individual stores’ existing connection with children’s hospices. Also in the episode, reporter Rory Poulter provides his perspective on the findings of C&E

Lucinda and Rory are joined by the charity coach Steve Allman to discuss how voluntary sector leaders can be better supported in their increasingly demanding roles.Steve describes some of the common issues clients bring to him and highlights the critical role of boards in cultivating a positive organisational culture which promotes professional development at all levels. He explains the distinction between management and leadership and warns against the pitfalls of measuring productivity through to-do lists, which he believes can set unrealistic expectations.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Claire Clark, whose life has returned to relative normality thanks to the swift intervention of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance after a serious accident.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

Lucinda and Rory are joined by Judith Moran, director of Quaker Social Action, and Jehangir Malik, policy and engagement director at Mercy Mission UK, to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing faith-based charities. Judith stresses the importance of Quaker values as a guiding principle to Quaker Social Action, forming a precious part of her organisation’s identity, but acknowledges that the inclusion of the word “Quaker” in the charity’s name presents both an opportunity and threat.Jehangir describes the Covid-19 pandemic as a pivotal moment in recognising the contribution made by Muslim charities in the areas of social action and civic engagement.He highlights some of the challenges facing Muslim charities as minority organisations establishing themselves in Britain’s civil society tapestry, and comments on a recent government decision to pause funding to a mosque and community centre in Birmingham.They also give their views on the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose.Chari

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Carol Botten, chief executive of the north east voluntary sector network Vonne, and Jack Chellman, chief project officer at the Global Returns Project, to understand how voluntary organisations can measure the impact of their climate work.Carol acknowledges the difficulties of measuring any form of impact and stresses the importance of establishing what it is you want to measure and why, framing the issues around people, place and planet. She describes some of the steps taken by members of Vonne’s Going Green Together initiative to reduce their environmental impact and measure the results using a carbon footprint calculator.Jack draws on the Global Returns Project’s expertise of reporting environmental returns through its work with leading climate charities and advocates for a rigorous framework that captures both quantitative and qualitative results.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Michelle, who describes the credit facility offered by Fair for You’s Iceland

Lucinda travels to London Zoo to meet the Zoological Society of London’s head of procurement, Sara Muller.Sara gives the low-down on the ins and outs of her role and describes her motivations for working in procurement, including a special interest in promoting sustainability in the sector.She provides tips for anyone interested in joining the procurement profession and outlines the key qualities she looks for in a budding procurement officer.Lucinda is joined by Third Sector’s editor, Emily Burt, to reflect on the visit. And reporter Rory Poulter provides analysis on two of the top news stories from the sector, namely the dismissal of new employees at the eating disorder charity Beat just four weeks into the job and an initiative to raise awareness about firms impersonating charities online.Watch footage and bonus content from the ZSL visit on the Third Sector TikTok page.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

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Leann Cross, director of the childcare support charity Home-Start Greenwich, to explore how inflationary pressures are impacting low-earning charity employees.Leann discusses multi-year term public funding cycles, which are designed to improve long-term organisational sustainability but have negatively affected Home-Start’s ability to respond to rising costs. She describes the often blurred line between Home-Start’s employees and service users and provides insight into effective forms of supplementary support to staff.Also in the episode, news editor Andy Ricketts provides his take on an undercover investigation exposing potentially unethical practices carried out by door-to-door charity fundraisers in Wales.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

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Natasha Ratter, environmental sector lead at the Environmental Funders Network, and Rachel Heydecker, senior policy and engagement officer at the Association of Charitable Foundations.Rachel explains how the ACF’s Funder Commitment on Climate Change is encouraging funders working across a wide range of cause areas to integrate climate considerations into their work. She highlights the opportunity for funders to support immediate and longer-term responses to the climate emergency.Natasha describes the paralysis felt by many funders who are overwhelmed by the scale of the climate crisis as a key barrier to tackling the emergency, along with difficulties in measuring the impact of climate work.She cites a blog post written by EFN trustee Nick Addington suggesting how voluntary organisations can play to their strengths in responding to the climate emergency and go further than making operational adjustments.Also in this episode, news editor Andy Ricketts provides his take on two of

Lucinda and Emily are joined by Graeme Marsh, head of the McCarthy Stone Foundation, to explore the evolving relationship between voluntary organisations and their corporate partners.Graeme explains the growth in corporate foundations over the past three years as companies move away from traditional philanthropic giving and seek a greater level of input to support ESG (environmental, social, governance) considerations.He provides tips on how smaller voluntary organisations can compete with major charity brands by offering local infrastructure and expertise.He also suggests ways in which charities can reposition their offering through commercial products or services and explains why he doesn’t have a problem with company employees painting a wall.Later in the episode, Richard Garside from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies shares his concerns about the news of the forthcoming closure of the Lankelly Chase Foundation. Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better than

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Janet Thorne, chief executive of Reach Volunteering, to hear how the charity has stepped up its efforts to fight climate change.Janet describes the steps taken to incorporate environmental considerations into Reach’s mission and why a “greening” of the charity’s operations wasn’t considered worthwhile.She flags the challenge of limited funding and highlights the importance of collaboration, providing pointers to sources of support such as Vonne’s Going Green Together initiative and Heritage Declares. Charity Changed My Life features the story of Hazel Carter, whose husband Alan received end-of-life care at the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull.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

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Jabeer Butt, chief executive of the Race Equality Foundation, to learn about how the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting already disadvantaged groups in the UK.The discussion opens with a clip from a previous episode with the Wildlife Trusts' chief executive Craig Bennett, describing the interlinked nature of the climate and nature crises and economic and social issues.Jabeer explains how some interventions to tackle environmental issues risk harming minority ethnic groups, citing the economic impact of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone on minicab drivers.He draws on NPC’s Everyone’s Environment programme, which examines how minority ethnic groups, younger and older populations and people living with a disability are impacted by the climate crisis.He suggests ways in which voluntary sector leaders can address the issue and calls for greater representation of minority groups in climate-related leadership and activism.Later in the episode, Lucinda and

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Nick Daniel, marketing director at Dogs Trust, and Denholm Scotford, sector head for technology, media, telecoms and entertainment at the market research agency Harris Interactive.Den breaks down the different aspects of a successful brand measured in Third Sector’s recently released Charity Brand Index, from public awareness and familiarity with individual charities to perceptions of their distinctiveness and relevance.Nick explains how Dogs Trust has strengthened its brand in recent years, placing a heavy emphasis on positive messaging and cultivating a sense of uniqueness through its switch from blue to yellow to drive up public awareness for the charity.Later in the episode, Lucinda and Andy discuss the finding in Enthuse’s latest Donor Pulse report that a sizeable proportion of donors are motivated to give in reaction to charities being criticised in the media.Do you have stories of people whose lives have been transformed for the better thanks to your charity? If so,

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Cathy Pharoah, visiting professor of charity funding at Bayes Business School. Cathy provides tips on the right way for voluntary organisations to approach potential major donors, stressing the importance of building networks and emphasising shared local links.She also suggests ways in which charities can offer something in return and points out that forward-looking activities tend to be most enticing to potential supporters.Later in the episode, the consultant and podcast host Alex Blake makes an appearance to promote the Charity Impact Podcast.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, cli

Lucinda and Andy hear from the head of the children’s charity on leadership, government engagement and sticking to a purposeThey discuss the differences between his leadership roles in the Civil Service and voluntary sector and explore some of the challenges he is tackling now at the NSPCC, including falling volunteer numbers.Peter also explains his use of social media as a charity boss and his reticence to back causes that are not directly connected to preventing cruelty to children.Later in the episode, Justine Hendry, director at Ultimate Content, provides her top charity podcast picks, from Life After Prison by the Prison Radio Association to Diabetes UK’s Diabetes Discussions and Centrepoint’s Point Made. Listen to our previous episode, Podcasting for Charities, for more tips on starting a podcast for your organisation.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 s

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Sarah Vibert, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and Vic Hancock Fell, organiser of Small Charities Week.They discuss the challenges facing small charities in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, combined with the closure of the small charity infrastructure bodies the Small Charities Coalition and the Foundation for Social Improvement. Sarah lays out the NCVO’s plan to fill the gap, acknowledging an inevitable deviation away from the “by small, for small” approach but highlights the work of new, complementary small charity-led support structures such as the Small Charities Advisory Panel.Vic lists the existing peer-to-peer support networks available to small charity leaders and describes how Small Charities Week will aim to formulate concrete calls to action to stimulate long-term change for the sector.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Sandy Nash, a long-time volunteer for the Sobell House Hospice Charity who describes the pr

Acting editor Andy Ricketts is joined by reporters Lucinda Rouse, Russ Hargrave and Alina Martin and, for the first time, a live audience for a special podcast recording from the Third Sector Fundraising Summit on 7 June. From Gift Aid to charity shops and more recent digital inventions, they each make a case for their chosen fundraising innovation and explain why they believe it should be considered the greatest. Will one of these be crowned the winner or will an audience member swoop in with a better idea?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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Courtney Scott, head of policy and research at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, and James Goodman, director of partnerships at the Local Trust.Courtney and James make the case for why all third sector leaders need to be active participants in debates on food availability and affordability, regardless of their specific organisational focus.James describes how food insecurity and food poverty are indicative of wider insecurity and poverty issues that community organisations are seeking to alleviate. Food, he argues, is a good place to start to strengthen communities and enable them to become better partners to third sector organisations.Courtney stresses the importance of charities’ lived experience to help influence food policy, and draws on a new FFCC report on how funders and communities can work together on longer term food security solutions.Charity Changed My Life features the story of Phoebe, who attributes getting back on her feet following the breakdown of h

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, to talk about the need for voluntary sector leaders to contribute to debates on issues beyond the bounds of their specific cause areas.Craig explains how the Charity Reform Group is working to shine a spotlight on the wider contribution charities can make to society and give their leaders the confidence to engage in public policy conversations.He also gives his views on direct action movements for environmental causes such as Extinction Rebellion.Lucinda visits the Chelsea Flower Show to speak to some of the charities and designers behind the gardens funded by Project Giving Back, namely the Royal Entomological Society, the Teapot Trust, Fauna and Flora International and Horatio’s Garden, which was awarded best in show.The Third Sector Fundraising Summit is taking place from 6 to 7 June and will feature a live recording of the Third Sector Podcast. Click here for registration details.Do you have stories of people whose lives

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Neil Heslop, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, to discuss how voluntary organisations can maximise their Gift Aid earnings.Neil describes the need to digitise a process that was first introduced in the 1990s, to make it quicker and easier for donors to boost their charitable gifts by 25 per cent and raise a potential £2bn per year. He calls on voluntary organisations to put time and effort into understanding the process, and to participate in an ongoing government consultation on the future of the scheme.Also in the episode, Russ and Lucinda discuss Third Sector’s reporting on the departure of Care4Calais’ boss. They consider the role of business publications in covering a story that has also attracted the attention of the mainstream media.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