Category Archives: Voluntary sector

‘A colonial mindset’: why global aid agencies need to get out of the way

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With the world’s humanitarian system in crisis, many NGOs now recognise that local charities can deliver much more at far less cost

Before civil war engulfed her Ethiopian home region of Tigray in 2020, Tsega Girma was a prosperous trader who sold stationery and other goods. But when hungry children displaced by the conflict started appearing in the streets, she sold everything and used the proceeds to buy them food.

After that money dried up, Tsega appealed to Tigray’s diaspora for donations. At the height of the war, her Emahoy Tsega Girma Charity Foundation provided meals to 24,000 children a day.

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Orkney shop owner raises £3,000 for charity after Easter egg error

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Dan Dafydd, who accidentally ordered 80 cases of eggs, aims to raise £20,000 for the RNLI by Easter Sunday

For a small shop owner on a small island as far as mistakes go, Dan Dafydd’s was a pretty big one leaving him with quite a dilemma: how do you get rid of 80 cases of Easter eggs when you meant to order only 80 eggs?

For Dafydd, the owner of Sinclair General Stores on Sanday, one of the Orkney islands (population approximately 500), the 720 eggs were enough to feed everyone almost twice over. A few too many even for those with a sweet tooth.

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British public donated record £13.9bn to charity in 2023

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Average monthly donations rose by nearly 40% to £65, with poorest areas among the most generous

The British public donated a record £13.9bn to charity in 2023, with people in some of the country’s least affluent areas among the most generous, a report reveals.

The total marks a 9% increase on the 2022 figure – which stood at £12.7bn – as average monthly donations increased by nearly 40% to reach £65.

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Call for Covid memorial wall in London to become permanent monument

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People bereaved by Covid want government recognition and protection for South Bank place of remembrance

Volunteers at the Covid memorial wall are urging ministers to make the monument permanent as Britain marks its first national day of reflection after the pandemic.

The wall runs between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge on South Bank in London and is looked after by a group of volunteers, who rely on public donations to maintain it.

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Spa pool at Captain Tom’s daughter’s home removed as ‘unauthorised building’

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Family were given permission for L-shaped building in 2021, but instead built a large, C-shaped structure

The spa pool at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has been lifted out by crane as the unauthorised complex was demolished. The tub was hoisted up through the open top of the block, whose roof had been removed by workers earlier in the week.

Hannah Ingram-Moore, 53, and her husband, Colin, 66, lost an appeal against an order to remove the Captain Tom Foundation building in the grounds of their property after a hearing in October.

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Charity with Prince Harry as director investigating rape and torture claims

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African Parks examines alleged atrocities against Indigenous people by its Congo Republic guards after ‘decade of alerts’ from Survival International

A wildlife charity that has the Duke of Sussex as a board member is investigating allegations of rape and torture by its guards in the Republic of the Congo.

African Parks, which manages 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries, said the investigation was its “highest priority” and encouraged anyone with knowledge of any abuse to contact it.

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Starmer to defend RNLI and National Trust from ‘desperate’ Tory culture war

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Labour leader’s speech will be his most outspoken response to ‘woke’ politics criticisms by Conservatives

Keir Starmer will defend organisations such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the National Trust on Monday, accusing the Conservatives of attacking them to stoke a “desperate” culture war.

The Labour leader will mount a forceful defence of the institutions during a speech to a civil society summit on Monday in his most outspoken response to Conservative criticisms of “woke” politics.

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‘I need mum and dad here’: the charity helping young Afghan footballers reunite with relatives

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The Refugee Council is welcoming those who fled the Taliban and providing legal advice on resettlement in the UK

• Donate to our charity appeal here

Two years on from their arrival in South Yorkshire, young footballers Elaha Safdari, Najma Arifi and Narges Mayeli are still baffled by the array of regional accents in the UK. “I’m always like, ‘Pardon? Can you please repeat? What did you say?’” laughs Arifi, now 20.

This barrier is only a minor hurdle for the trio, who were forced to flee for their lives when the west pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

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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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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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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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Let private and third sectors cut NHS waiting lists, says Steve Barclay

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Health secretary says ‘every available resource’ must be used to help patients access diagnosis and treatment faster

More private and third sector providers should be used by the NHS to help cut post-Covid waiting lists, Steve Barclay, the health secretary, will say after a review of capacity in the health service.

Barclay will draw on the work of his “elective recovery taskforce” – a group convened by ministers to look at how to bring down waiting times.

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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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Coronation volunteers set to work making royal parks bloom

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A wildflower planting operation is under way in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, as part of The Big Help Out

After two days of playing host to thousands of flag-waving royal supporters, visitors were invited back to Green Park on Monday – this time to do some gardening.

As the machinery moved in and the clean-up effort got under way around Buckingham Palace, a few metres away, along a meandering line marked out in white through the park, volunteers got down on their hands and knees to plant wildflowers.

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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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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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Thousands at risk of heart attacks due to Covid disruption, experts warn

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Patients in England, Scotland and Wales missed out on starting blood pressure-lowering drugs, British Heart Foundation says

Thousands of people are at risk of avoidable heart attacks and strokes, experts have warned, after nearly 500,000 people in England, Scotland and Wales missed out on starting blood pressure-lowering drugs during the pandemic.

Researchers said that thousands of people could suffer a preventable cardiovascular event because they did not start taking vital medications known to stave off deadly heart and circulatory diseases amid the Covid related disruption to healthcare.

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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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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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