United Kingdom
Experienced digital journalist covering the charity sector.
When Baroness Barran was announced as the new minister for civil society, she received a broadly positive reaction from the sector, which by and large viewed her as "one of the gang". Before entering the House of Lords she founded and ran the domestic abuse charity SafeLives, and also worked at the charity sector think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC).
Exclusive news and interviews
Groundwork UK had just agreed a new strategy as the scale of the coronavirus crisis became clear, but the last few weeks have reaffirmed its ambitions. Chief executive Graham Duxbury speaks energetically about how the charity is making sure it will be in the best shape possible to pick up the pieces in the coming months.
The NHS Charities Together coronavirus appeal to support frontline NHS staff has so far raised over £50m - less than a month after it launched. NHS Charities Together, an umbrella body for NHS charities, launched an urgent fundraising appeal in March and is aiming to raise £100m.
Age UK has confirmed that thousands of current and past staff are affected by two data breaches which occurred at the end of last year, meaning it is likely to cost the charity tens of thousands of pounds. The ICO confirmed yesterday that it was investigating two breaches at the charity.
The Scout Association is consulting staff about redundancies because it faces a "very challenging financial climate" and has been put under pressure by increased regulation. In an email to staff seen by Civil Society News, chief executive Matt Hyde said the charity had "reluctantly" concluded that it needs to reduce its staff costs in an effort to become more sustainable.
Around 6,000 charities, including the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust, missed last week's deadline to file their annual accounts or annual return with the Charity Commission. As of 3 February, the Commission's online search tool shows that 22,160 charities have out-of-date documents, up from 16,225 at the end of January, meaning that nearly 6,000 missed their deadline on Friday.
Charities are unhappy after being asked for up to £22,000 to guarantee places for runners in next year's London Marathon. The London Marathon is the biggest single fundraising event of the year, and this year's event has so far raised over £40m for charities.
Domestic abuse charity Refuge faces claims that it has a "toxic" working environment where staff would cry at their desks because of treatment by managers, and where its chief executive is "grossly overpaid". Earlier this year the trustees made a serious incident report to the Charity Commission over the behaviour of a senior staff member and the treatment of staff.
Over a year after its creation, and after two recruitment rounds, the new body set up to run the National Citizen Service has appointed a chair. Brett Wigdortz was named today by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as the new chair of the NCS Trust.
Analysis
In recent years the Charity Commission's caseload has steadily increased. It is now registering more charities than at any point in the recent past and its regulatory activity has stepped up. Last year it saw a 36 per cent increase in compliance cases, year-on-year, to a record 2,269, as well as a record number of applications for registration.
It has been two weeks of lockdown, three weeks of social distancing, and one month since charities warned of a cash flow crisis. So why is there still no emergency government fund to help the sector through this? The charity sector is facing its biggest challenge in living memory, and every day counts.
Nearly a year ago, the hottest ticket in town was entry to the RSA to hear the Charity Commission's chair, Baroness Stowell, unveil the regulator's new strategy. The Commission, she promised, would provide better support for charities but at the same time would demand higher standards from those it regulates, and crucially would not hold back from calling out wrongdoing.
On Friday the Times reported details of an internal investigation into staff who had found to be paying vulnerable Haitian women for sex. There were more revelations over the weekend: that the staff involved had been able to secure jobs in other charities, as well as separate allegations about Oxfam and other charity workers.
Fun pieces
Social media is a key part in the modern politician's communications toolkit. Who needs spin doctors, speech writers and communications advisers to craft perfectly honed messages when you can fire off 280 character missives into the ether? Politicians all have their own approach to engaging with the great unwashed on Twitter.