Third Sector – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt  are joined by Emma Turner, chief executive of Mind in Croydon.

Emma lays bare the operational realities of meeting soaring service demand in the face of cuts to local authority and integrated care system budgets, which form the bulk of Mind in Croydon’s income.

She explains how the charity has formed partnerships with other local organisations at the instigation of commissioners, enabling all parties to innovate and find new solutions to collective challenges.

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Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt  are joined by Richard Angell, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, and Rupert Whitaker, psychiatrist, immunologist and co-founder of the charity. 

They discuss the legacy of fellow co-founder Martyn Butler, who died on 21 February, remembering the use of his home telephone number as the charity’s first support line in the early 1980s.

Rupert shares his memories of Martyn as an organiser and driving force in the organisation’s early days and reflects on the ebbs and flows of their involvement with the THT over 44 years.

Richard shares his perspective on the role played by both co-founders in keeping the THT at the cutting edge, rather than falling into the common trap for charity founders of idealising times past.

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Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Kate Lee, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, to discuss some of the issues facing the voluntary sector in 2026.

These include ensuring financial sustainability and the role of civil society in a world of uncertainty in the face of some big existential questions.

Kate also shares her reasons to be optimistic, including the next generation of sector leaders coming up and a growing trend of interrogating impact data to improve organisational efficiency.

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Lucinda and Emily are joined by Mary Rose Gunn, founder and chief executive of the small charity funder The Fore, to discuss the challenging funding environment facing small charities.

They start by listening to an account by Jane Evans, chief executive of West Norfolk Carers, about the growing difficulty of securing enough funding to keep the charity afloat.

Mary Rose explains why trusts and foundations have historically erred towards supporting specific projects rather than offering unrestricted funding to small charities. 

She describes how this is shifting with the emergence of a new generation of largely self-made philanthropists and provides tips for small charities seeking to strengthen their funding applications. 

Also in the episode, Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change, outlines some of the common pitfalls associated with appointing corporate chairs to charity boards and provides suggestions for overcoming them.

Hear more from Jane Evans in Third Sector’s podcast documentary, The End of Charity: What is a world without charity?

Read Debra Allcock Tyler’s column: Corporate chairs – a blessing or a curse?

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.

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Read the transcript.

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Lucinda and Emily are joined by Holly Penalver, founder of Indigo Volunteers and volunteer development manager at ShelterBox, and Karolina Praskova, a volunteer at the education charity Climate Ed.

Holly provides pointers for effectively managing the volunteer recruitment stage and stresses the importance of an induction to motivate new volunteers and make them feel appreciated. She also outlines the value of conducting an exit interview when volunteers leave an organisation.

Karolina describes her volunteer journey at Climate Ed, from her motivations for applying to the charity to the importance of simple, open communication channels with staff and the value she takes from volunteer social events.

Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle shares the headline figures from a record-breaking London Marathon.

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.

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Read the transcript.

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In November 2023, the finance officer of West Norfolk Carers came to a devastating realisation: after more than a year of rejected funding applications, the charity wouldn’t be able to stay afloat for longer than four months.

Several months earlier, the Lankelly Chase Foundation, a grantmaker tackling severe social disadvantage and extreme marginalisation, had reached a similarly terminal conclusion.

After finding that its very existence perpetuated past harms and injustices, the foundation’s leaders decided the best way forward was to shut down.

In the final episode of The End of Charity, Lucinda Rouse is joined by Jane Evans and Julian Corner, the chief executives of West Norfolk Carers and Lankelly Chase, respectively, to ask: what’s next for the charity sector?

Rhodri Davies, Martha Awojobi and Eshe Kiama Zuri consider the road ahead for doing good, while Steve O’Donnell, a recipient of West Norfolk Carers’ services, lays out the impact of the recent rash of charity closures on vulnerable citizens.

Read the transcript.

If you have enjoyed The End of Charity, please consider rating and reviewing the series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice.

Series writer and presenter: Lucinda Rouse

Editor: Emily Burt

Executive producer: Ollie Peart

Production manager: Louise Hill

Series producers: Riham Maged, Penny Bell, Matt Hill

Studio producers: Nav Pal, Inga Marsen, Til Owen

Art director: David Robinson

Videographer: Julian Dodd

Video producer: Til Owen

Sub-editor: Rachel Jerden-Cooke 

Contributing editor: Andy Ricketts

Voicing support: Emily Harle, Dami Adewale

Concept developer: Rebecca Cooney

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Lucinda and Andy are joined by Matt Corbishley, deputy chief executive of Ashgate Hospice, to discuss the charity’s use of new tech solutions in its operations and service delivery.

Matt explains why Ashgate Hospice encourages staff to experiment with new forms of IT and artificial intelligence, and outlines the benefits of a digital apprenticeship programme to train existing team members.

He provides pointers for other charity leaders considering their approach to new technology and recommends resources such as Hospice UK, Forrester and Gartner.

Also in the episode, news reporter Dami Adewale considers the findings of recent research into legacy giving by Cancer Research UK and Remember a Charity.

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.

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Read the transcript.

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When The Times newspaper’s chief reporter Sean O’Neill broke the story that senior Oxfam aid workers had committed sexual abuse while working in the disaster zone of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, it sent shockwaves around the charity sector and wider society.

O’Neill reflects on his memories of uncovering the scandal, while experts including Chilande Kuloba-Warria and Martha Awojobi discuss how the very foundations of charity can create imbalances of power – and environments in which abuse can thrive.

How do the ways we think about the “haves” and “have-nots” perpetuate these inequalities? And how have the historical roots of charitable work steered us in this direction?

Kolbassia Haoussou, director of survivor leadership and influencing at Freedom from Torture, suggests how the balance can be tipped to allow the people that charities exist to serve to exercise power on their own terms.

With commentary from the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies.

Read the transcript.

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Lucinda and Emily are joined by the author and mental health consultant Dimple Dhabalia. 

Dimple warns of the dangers facing organisations that focus on their charitable mission at the expense of staff wellbeing. She notes the sense of guilt often felt by humanitarian workers suffering the effects of workplace trauma.

She provides pointers for how organisations can make staff wellbeing a cornerstone of internal policies and processes, including prioritising social connections, supporting rest and recovery and providing constructive feedback.

Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle provides insight into a recent piece of research into the “NGO halo effect”: a mindset which can lead to unethical behaviour going unchecked in voluntary organisations.

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.

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In May 2018, three climate activists called time on lukewarm campaigning over the climate crisis. They wanted a different and radical approach.

The plan: mass civil disobedience. The name: Extinction Rebellion. 

And the first major act of the movement? Stage an occupation – of the Greenpeace offices in London. 

Why is it that charities are so often perceived to be “the opposite of disruptive?” Experts including The Wildlife Trusts’ chief executive, Craig Bennett, and the domestic violence campaigner Janey Starling outline the legislative and political challenges that defang charities’ ability to campaign. 

Lucinda also speaks to Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, and the Trussell Trust’s Emma Revie about the tussle encountered by charities seeking to both deliver services and advocate for change. With commentary from the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies.

Read the transcript.

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