Third Sector Podcast

Lucinda Rouse, Emily Harle, Emily Burt and Dami Adewale reflect on some of the top sector stories from the past month.Emily Burt gives her thoughts on the state of the sector in 2025 following her recent return from maternity leave.Lucinda shares snippets from an interview with Peter Sparkes, chief executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, in which they discuss a new five-year plan that aims to improve engagement with the charity’s fundraising and volunteering communities.Dami explores conflicting narratives on the health of volunteering more broadly and the key motivators for people signing up to volunteer roles.And Emily Harle reflects on what the recent closure of Manchester Pride says about how charities communicate financial difficulty.Listen back to Janet Thorne on the Third Sector Podcast: Cultivating a more flexible volunteering offer.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 Rouse and Emily Harle discuss snippets from a recent interview Emily conducted with Andy Fletcher, chief executive of Muscular Dystrophy UK.As Andy enters his second year in post, they reflect on his ambitions to almost double the charity’s income by 2035, raise awareness for the organisation among people living with muscle-wasting and weakening conditions and cultivate a sharper strategic focus.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 Rouse and Andy Ricketts  are joined by Laura Kerby, chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK. Laura outlines the due diligence conducted by the charity to try to alleviate concerns about its partnership with the gambling company Paddy Power, which has allowed it to deliver live-saving interventions to men at risk of prostate cancer.She describes the complexities of engaging with political parties such as Reform UK, whose policies are often at odds with the charity’s priorities but who nonetheless need to be factored into its influencing work.She explains how Prostate Cancer UK is working to keep prostate cancer in the spotlight, through bold and ambitious programming, working with celebrity ambassadors and clearly demonstrating its impact.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 Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by the civil society consultant Alex Evans to talk about the role of freelancers in the charity workforce.They discuss the findings of a survey by the freelancer platform Blume, from the pros of flexibility and autonomy reported by self-employed workers, to feelings of uncertainty and the fact that more than a fifth of respondents began freelancing as a result of redundancy.Alex shares his perspective on the push and pull factors that lead charity professionals to leave full-time employment, including his view that some people are forced to take on uncertainty because of structural inequalities, including the gender pay gap. They also hear from Georgie Moseley, chief executive of the cancer charity Help Harry Help Others, about why her organisation has opted to contract a majority of its workers on a freelance basis.Read Alex’s blog, Barely Civil Society.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 Rouse, Andy Ricketts, Emily Harle and Dami Adewale reflect on some recent voluntary sector news.Emily shares snippets from an interview with Breast Cancer Now’s chief executive Claire Rowney, in which she articulates her vision to shift the organisation from a medium to a large charity mindset, accompanied by a £40m annual revenue uplift.Dami asks what the move by several charities to distance themselves from the Duchess of York in the light of Jeffrey Epstein-related revelations says about royal patronages.And Lucinda talks about some of the different ways that charities are approaching enterprise in a bid to diversify their income streams and utilise their assets in new ways.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 Rouse and Dami Adewale are joined by Helen McShane, director of research, innovation and systems change at Young Lives vs Cancer.Helen explains how Young Lives vs Cancer came to launch an innovation lab, with the aim of using its assets as a trusted charity brand to support the development of early stage business ventures that align with its mission of supporting children and young people with cancer.She describes the challenges associated with carving out time and space to work on long-term innovative solutions as a charity supporting the immediate and urgent needs of people in crisis.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 Rouse and Emily Harle are joined by Paul Winyard, head of policy at the Fundraising Regulator. Paul provides insight into the new Code of Fundraising Practice, which will take effect from 1 November. He explains how a more prescriptive set of rules has been replaced by a principles-based approach to regulation.He describes how the Fundraising Regulator is working to overcome the reputational risks that unscrupulous street fundraisers from community interest companies pose to wider charitable fundraising.They also discuss the regulator’s approach to artificial intelligence and new considerations around commission-based payments.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 Rouse and Emily Harle  are joined by Manny Amadi, chief executive of C&E Advisory, to talk about the firm’s Corporate-Non-Profit Partnerships Barometer 2025.Manny provides context to the finding that corporate partnerships remain a resilient and effective mechanism for driving societal change, in spite of concerns that businesses are reneging on their environmental, social and governance commitments.He explains how aid cuts have affected cross-sector collaborations and puts forward his predictions for the likely trajectory in the year ahead.Access the 2025 barometer here.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.

Mark Russell, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, shares his extensive leadership experience in charities, tackling the unique challenges of leading through a time of polycrisis. He candidly discusses the mental health toll of constant crises and the importance of boundary-setting for well-being. Mark emphasizes the necessity for leaders to model healthy behavior and calls for boards to better support exhausted executives. He also highlights a major fundraising appeal aimed at improving child well-being and the vital role of collaboration in driving impactful change.

Stuart Pearson, Head of Innovation at Citizens Advice Stockport, shares insights on developing Caddy, an AI chatbot designed to support charity advisors. Zoe Amar, founder of Zoe Amar Digital, highlights the skills gap hindering AI adoption in charities. They discuss the importance of human involvement in AI integration to enhance service delivery while maintaining trust. The conversation explores current AI trends and resources for charity professionals, emphasizing a thoughtful approach to technology that aligns with organizational values.