Category Archives: Charities

Regulator vows crackdown on ‘squeamish’ charities rejecting donations

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Chair of Charity Commission says funds should not be rejected due to the views or preferences of donors

The head of England’s charity regulator has promised to crack down on “squeamish” charity boards who reject large cash donations from corporations or wealthy philanthropists on moral grounds.

Orlando Fraser, the chair of the Charity Commission, said the regulator may intervene where trustees have rejected or returned donations simply because their “personal worldviews or preferences” were incompatible with those of the donor.

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Revealed: plan to brand anyone ‘undermining’ UK as extremist

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Leaked documents spark furious backlash from groups who fear freedom of expression could be suppressed

Government officials have drawn up deeply controversial proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and its values, according to documents seen by the Observer.

The new definition, prepared by civil servants working for cabinet minister Michael Gove, is fiercely opposed by a cohort of officials who fear legitimate groups and individuals will be branded extremists.

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Royal British Legion gives poppy plastic-free makeover

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Remembrance poppy created from renewable sources introduced as 2023 appeal launched

More than a century after its introduction, the Royal British Legion poppy has had a plastic-free makeover in its first major redesign in a generation.

With the launch of the 2023 poppy appeal on Thursday details of the symbol of remembrance are unveiled, revealing a paper poppy created from renewable sources including half from offcuts from the production of takeaway coffee cups.

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Battersea Dogs & Cats Home names vet hospital after Paul O’Grady

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Charity says fund set up in late ambassador’s honour has raised £480k, with other charities to benefit

The new veterinary hospital at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home will be named after Paul O’Grady, the charity’s ambassador who died in March.

The announcement on Monday came on what would have been O’Grady’s 11th anniversary in the charity role, with the organisation saying a tribute fund set up in his honour would go towards “life-saving and transformative medical procedures” for dogs and cats that need specialist care and treatment.

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Charities can campaign on ‘issues that provoke strong emotions’ – watchdog

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Exclusive: In wake of RSPB tweet controversy, Charity Commission says voluntary sector entitled to engage in political activity

Charities should not hold back from engaging in political activity and on emotive issues on social media such as race or immigration, even where they risk triggering controversy, the voluntary sector watchdog has said.

Guidance to be issued by the Charity Commission this week makes it clear charities are entitled to campaign robustly online in support of their mission and beneficiaries. To do so they must have the backing of their trustee boards, keep within the law, and act with “respect and tolerance.”

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RSPB v the Tories: Six claims, the truth or otherwise

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Do the charity’s accusations that the government has reneged on a range of environmental pledges stand up to scrutiny?

If the RSPB hoped to raise awareness about the perplexing concept of “nutrient neutrality” their post calling Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Thérèse Coffey “LIARS!” worked: it has, to date, been viewed by five million people.

“You lie, and you lie, and you lie again,” the conservation charity declared on X, formerly Twitter, listing a number of environmental statements from the trio over recent years.

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Charities watchdog criticises Care4Calais for administrative misconduct

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Inquiry finds, however, that charity acted lawfully in challenging government’s asylum policy through courts

Care4Calais, a refugee charity providing humanitarian aid to thousands of migrants living in appalling conditions in northern France, has been criticised by the charities watchdog over what it called administrative misconduct.

The three-year Charity Commission inquiry criticised the former chief executive and board of the charity and highlighted examples of lax internal financial controls, governance failings, poor record keeping and complaints handling.

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Forty days, 117 buses, 1,650 miles: man completes charity trip round England

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Stephen Chitty, 70, from Watford raised about £2,000 for Mercy Ships on ‘tiring but rewarding’ journey

A 70-year-old man has raised almost £2,000 for charity by completing a 40-day challenge to travel the length and breadth of England entirely by bus.

Stephen Chitty, from Watford, Hertfordshire, travelled 1,650 miles on 117 buses. He started and finished his ambitious journey in Watford and travelled to English cities including Newcastle and Norwich.

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Ex-paratrooper completes 19,000-mile UK coastline walk, raising £500,000

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Chris Lewis began his walk while facing homelessness in 2017 and acquired a fiancee, baby son and dog en route

A former British paratrooper, who set out alone on a 19,000-mile UK coastline walk has completed the challenge, raising £500,000 for charity and returning home with a partner, dog and baby son in tow.

Chris Lewis, 43, was joined by hundreds of cheering supporters as he completed the final mile of his walk, which began on Llangennith beach on the Gower peninsula, near his home city of Swansea, south Wales, on 1 August 2017.

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Jim Ratcliffe’s charity cleared by regulator after preliminary investigation

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Foundation set up by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the UK’s richest person, had provided funding for a luxury clubhouse at ski club

The Charity Commission has closed a preliminary investigation into concerns about governance at a charity set up by the UK’s richest person, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which helped fund a £16m luxury clubhouse for an exclusive French Alps club where he and his daughter have skied for years.

The UK charity watchdog announced on Thursday that it had closed its “regulatory compliance case” into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation after finding that “the charity’s activities further its purposes and that there is no further role for the regulator”.

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Mermaids v LGB Alliance: who was involved in tribunal case?

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As judges rule trans children’s charity cannot challenge charitable status of gay rights organisation, we look at decision

A tribunal has ruled that the law does not allow the transgender children’s charity Mermaids to challenge the charitable status of the gay rights organisation LGB Alliance. Who was involved?

LGB Alliance was founded in October 2019 to campaign for the rights of same-sex attracted people by two veteran lesbian activists: Bev Jackson, a founder member of the Gay Liberation Front in 1970, and Kate Harris, who was previously a volunteer fundraiser for the leading gay rights organisation Stonewall. They were concerned at the implications of Stonewall’s decision to alter its definition of sexual orientation in 2015 from “same-sex attracted” to “same-gender attracted”.

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‘Bittersweet’: bereaved charity founder honoured in King’s birthday list

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Bullying campaigner and founder of UK buddy system for Ukrainian refugees also among hundreds recognised

Suzanne Richards lost her son Joel, 19, brother Adrian, 49, and father, Pat, 78, in the 2015 terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia. Her other son Owen, then 16, was also shot and injured by the gunmen but survived the attack in which 38 people were killed.

Their memories live on in the Smile for Joel charity, supporting families who are victims of homicide, which she and Owen run from her home in Wednesbury, West Midlands.

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Watchdog considers action over Oxfam cartoon of anti-trans ‘hate groups’

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Oxfam International apologised and re-edited cartoon alleged to include racial stereotyping and JK Rowling attack

The UK charities watchdog is assessing whether it will take action against Oxfam after receiving complaints about a cartoon published by the charity that ignited a row about transgender issues.

Oxfam International put the cartoon out on Twitter last week to mark pride month, but took it down on Tuesday after a backlash against its use of the term Terf (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) in an image depicting anti-trans “hate groups”.

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St Mungo’s homelessness charity workers begin month-long strike

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Members of the Unite union will picket in London, Brighton, Bristol and Oxford after ‘pitiful’ pay offer

Workers at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s will begin a month-long strike on Tuesday in a dispute over pay.

Members of Unite who work at the organisation will mount picket lines outside its head office in Tower Hill in London and in Brighton, Bristol and Oxford. The union said the industrial action was over a “pitiful” pay offer of 2.25%, which was made in April 2023.

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Vulnerable UK women forced into ‘sex for rent’ by cost of living crisis

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Some women are turning to escort work to meet basic housing costs, charities warn

Women are increasingly being forced to engage in “survival sex” because of the cost of living crisis amid worsening conditions for Britain’s most vulnerable.

Charities warn rising costs paired with years of underfunding mean women, including those with trauma and mental health issues, are having to turn to sex in exchange for housing or to meet other basic needs.

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London charity concert told to pay royalties in ‘embarrassing’ copyright row

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Concert to be charged fee after using music by performer Earl Okin – even though Okin says he does not want the money

A charity concert in aid of needy musicians starring Dame Evelyn Glennie and the BBC Radio 4 announcer Zeb Soanes has been hit by an “embarrassing” copyright row over six minutes of suggestive comedy jazz.

The event at Cadogan Hall in London on 1 April mostly featured humorous arrangements of out-of-copyright classical works, and was intended to raise money for the Help Musicians charity.

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Over 850 people with community and charity roles to attend king’s coronation

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Guests will include more than 450 British Empire Medal recipients, many of whom helped in Covid lockdowns

More than 850 community and charity representatives have been invited to the coronation of King Charles III, mingling with the royals, heads of state, politicians, peers and diplomats at Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham Palace has announced more than 450 recipients of the British Empire Medal (BEM) will attend in recognition of the contributions made by volunteers and community champions across the country.

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Ex-homelessness charity bosses get 15-year ban for misuse of funds

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Charity Commission inquiry showed Ashley and Lee Dribben spent large sums meant for vulnerable people on themselves

Former homelessness charity bosses who authorised spending thousands in funds on watches, 50-in TVs and spyware to eavesdrop on clients have been found guilty of misconduct by the Charity Commission.

Ashley Dribben, an ex-trustee of the Ashley Foundation, and his father, Lee, its founder and former chief executive, personally benefited from funds intended to help vulnerable homeless people, the watchdog said.

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UK charities watchdog ‘assesses concerns’ about Campaign Against Antisemitism

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Commission opens ‘regulatory compliance case’ after complaints that the charity is politically partisan

The Charity Commission has said it is “assessing concerns” about the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was at the forefront of antisemitism allegations against Labour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

The commission has opened a regulatory compliance case against the CAA, after complaints including that the charity is politically partisan.

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Community champions dominate new year honours list

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Charity fundraisers and volunteers supporting refugees among those recognised for their contribution

The theme of public service is at the forefront of the new year honours list, with the majority of those receiving awards nominated for their work in their local communities.

Tricia Ward-Jones, 69, from Shropshire, receives the British empire medal (BEM) after 17 years as a volunteer fundraiser for Promise Dreams, a charity based in Wolverhampton, which helps the families of children who are seriously or terminally ill create memories.

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