Third Sector Podcast

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Kirsty Marrins, the digital communications specialist and a trustee of CharityComms, to talk about the minefield that social media interactions can pose to voluntary organisations.The discussion follows a consultation by the Charity Commission on new social media guidance, which was prompted by a growing number of complaints about charities’ social media activity.Kirsty summarises the objections from within the sector to the new draft guidance, including the impracticalities of trustees monitoring staff members’ personal social media accounts. She provides pointers for voluntary organisations seeking to refresh their social media policies and stresses the need to consider the mental health and wellbeing of the team members responsible for organisational accounts.Later in the episode, The New Humanitarian’s Isabelle Roughol makes an appearance to plug the publication’s flagship podcast, Rethinking Humanitarianism.To find out more about the Third Sector C-Suite Summit, please click here.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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Priya Singh, chair of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, who led the NCVO's internal reform after a review in 2020 identified structural racism, homophobia, sexism and classism.Priya describes the role played by the NCVO’s trustee board in guiding the organisation through the process, knowing when to lean in and when to step back. She offers advice for other voluntary organisations embarking on a similar culture change, stressing the need to be open, listen and prepare for “comfortable conflict”.In Charity Changed My Life, we hear from Ben Peters about the invaluable practical and emotional support he has received from the Teenage Cancer Trust since his cancer diagnosis.To find out more about the Third Sector C-Suite Summit, please click here.Do you have stories of people like Ben 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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Georgia Paton, gaming and streaming manager at the British Red Cross, and Tom Downie, UK charity manager at the fundraising platform Tiltify, to discuss ways in which charities can take advantage of the growing livestream world.Georgia describes how the British Red Cross has reached a new fundraising demographic by collaborating with online content creators and their audiences, raising over £1m and gaining more than 6,000 new followers for the charity in four years. She suggests how other charities can get involved and engage creators, starting with immersion in platforms such as Twitch.Tom explains the terms ‘fandom fundraising’ and ‘creator economy’ and provides an overview of how different charities make use of the streaming world. He describes how the tools provided by Tiltify help bring more traditional forms of fundraising into the online space.Also in the episode, Alina talks about her recent interview with Jo Todd, chief executive of Respect, which covered the argument for supporting perpetrators of domestic violence as well as victims, and what Todd might do differently were she to start over.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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Kat Dixon, outgoing director of partnerships at Catch22, whose team tripled the charity’s voluntary income in the space of four and a half years.Kat talks about the need to strategise and think deeply when forming and executing partnerships with forward-thinking corporate organisations, such as Microsoft and TikTok, in order to successfully link social and business aims.She provides insight into the growth of her team, bringing in talent from outside the sector and gaining internal buy-in. She also gives her perspective on ways in which women can be better supported in the fundraising space. News editor Steven Downes provides analysis on two of the week’s top stories, namely the growth of Muslim charities and the rebrand of the music therapy charity, Nordoff & Robbins.  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 additional 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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Andy are joined by James Oakes, chief international officer at Omaze, and Paul McKenzie, director of engagement at the Teenage Cancer Trust.James describes Omaze’s business model as a for-profit organiser of high-value prize draws, with a proportion of its profits shared with selected charity partners. He outlines what the company looks for in a charity partner and addresses some of the concerns about the model, including its potential to encourage gambling.Paul explains how the Teenage Cancer Trust benefitted from being Omaze’s first charitable partner in the UK, with sums raised from two campaigns far exceeding expectations. He highlights the value of the exposure the charity received and provides advice for other voluntary organisations looking to get involved.Also in the episode, news editor Steven Downes shares his thoughts on the voluntary sector’s top stories of the week, from a high-paying new role at the Wellcome Trust to a move by two charities to fully remote working.And Andy provides details of the upcoming launch of Third Sector TV, featuring a live interview with the head of the Charity Commission at 11am on 2 March.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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Keith Valentine, chief executive of Fight for Sight, to look behind the scenes of the sight loss research charity’s ongoing merger with the Vision Foundation.Keith describes how the merger was motivated by a quest for growth, responding to the absence of a national funder that combined scientific research with service delivery for visually impaired people.He talks about the operational practicalities of bringing two organisations together, as well as his personal experience of being the only visually impaired chief executive working in the national sight loss sector.The interview is preceded by a discussion on the findings of the recently published Good Merger Index, which revealed a sharp dip in the number of charity mergers in the past year. And Third Sector’s news editor, Steven Downes, provides analysis on his top stories of the week, from Islamic Relief’s response to the Turkey-Syria earthquake to the fake football ticket sale by scammers impersonating the Sick Children’s Trust.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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Campbell Chalmers, strategic engagement lead for the third sector at the RNIB and Joseph Howes, chief executive of the grant-making charity Buttle UK, to discuss how voluntary organisations can benefit from working together. Joseph talks about Buttle’s experience of joining groupings such as the End Child Poverty coalition. He stresses the importance of taking time to build trust between organisations and drive long term change.Campbell describes the need for persistence and maintaining focus on the desired outcome of a collaboration, along with other lessons from the RNIB’s work to galvanise the sight loss sector during the pandemic. This has included changes in internal culture.The episode also features news analysis from Third Sector’s news editor, Steven Downes, and an appearance from acting editor Andy Ricketts to plug the upcoming launch of Third Sector TV.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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Russ are joined by Stephanie Draper, chief executive of Bond, to talk about issues affecting the international development sector.Stephanie describes the impact of funding cuts on international development charities at a time of intensifying humanitarian crises. She suggests ways in which UK-focused charities can work with their international counterparts in campaigning to protect democratic rights and freedoms and promote local community-led decision-making. Also in the episode, Russ travels to Petworth in West Sussex to speak to Hilary McGrady, director general of the National Trust. They discuss redundancies, her optimism about the ever-increasing need for voluntary organisations and the future of the organisation she leads. Charity Changed My Life features the story of Razia Yazid Mohamed, a resident of the Kirandongo refugee settlement in Uganda who has received valuable leadership training from ActionAid.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! Click here to record a voice message like Razia’s, or email lucinda.rouse@haymarket.com for additional guidance.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.Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Alina are joined by Lord Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet secretary and chair of Pro Bono Economics, to discuss the findings and recommendations contained in the recently released final report from the Law Family Commission on Civil Society.O'Donnell talks about the need for civil society to be involved in discussions and decision-making alongside the government and private sector. He outlines the profile of the ideal candidate for a proposed “philanthropy champion” and calls on charities to be more efficient while quantifying the benefits of their services to society.The Good News Bulletin features the story of a Cartier watch, worth £10,000, which was found in a bag of donations at the British Heart Foundation in Hounslow.Read the full transcript.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 Ian MacQuillin, director of the fundraising think tank Rogare, to consider the ethics around accepting monetary gifts from donors with questionable morality.They also talk about the implications of returning donations or other measures to atone for historical wrongdoing, following the Church of England’s recent acknowledgement of its connection to the transatlantic slave trade.Ian stresses the need for charities to have a gift acceptance and refusal policy in place to help decide whether or not it is in the best interests of the organisation and its service users to turn a donation down. He points listeners to relevant guidance from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Commission.The Good News Bulletin features a moonlit owl flying display organised by the Hawk Conservancy Trust to raise funds and awareness for conservation issues affecting birds of prey. 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.