Third Sector Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Gemma Peters, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, to discuss the charity’s ‘year of transformation’.

Gemma explains how its new strategy will enable Macmillan to better meet the needs of people living with cancer and describes the challenges of managing the accompanying organisational turbulence.

She shares her views on the responsibility of larger charities to support their smaller counterparts and warns of the risks of focusing on current need to the detriment of driving longer-term change for good.

Charity Changed My Life features the story of Michael, who was saved by the RNLI in Scarborough after a winter swim in the sea went awry.

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 Rouse and Emily Harle are joined by Clare Mills, deputy chief executive of the Charity Finance Group, and Mike Conroy, director of commercial finance at the banking trade association UK Finance.

They start by listening to an account of contrasting experiences with two high street banks by Cat Ross, chief executive of Baby Basics and volunteer director of Rwanda Child.

Clare describes recent progress in strengthening the relationship between banks and charity infrastructure bodies, as well as an uptake in digital banking services by charities. She also stresses the need for banks to simplify their administrative requirements.

Mike explains why charity customers often present complications to banks, not least due to the varied nature of charity governance structures. He outlines measures to improve communication and understanding on both sides, including a new Voluntary Organisation Banking Guide published by UK Finance.

Also in the episode, reporter Dami Adewale talks about his recent long read exploring how charities can contribute to the longer term response to the recent riots. 

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a session recorded at the Third Sector Conference, Lucinda and Emily are joined by Rhodri Davies, director of Why Philanthropy Matters, to reflect on some of the themes covered in Third Sector’s recent podcast documentary, The End of Charity.

These include the rise of influencer philanthropists, such as the YouTube megastar MrBeast, and their potential role in attracting a new, younger support base for charities. 

They discuss the need for charities to sustain the momentum in tackling historical power imbalances in the voluntary sector, as articulated in an interview clip from series contributor Chilande Kuloba-Warria. They also question the very role of charity in the modern day.

Listen to The End of Charity.

Read Rhodri’s article in the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing.

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 Zia Salik, head of fundraising at Islamic Relief, to discuss some of the innovations behind the charity’s record growth figures over the past four years.

Zia explains how a shift before the pandemic to increase digital engagement with younger donors allowed the charity to adapt to the suspension of in-person fundraising events. He describes the organisation’s willingness to take risks on volunteer-led innovations, including a cake-selling initiative which has become a regular feature in the charity’s Ramadan campaigns, and how taking a relationship-based fundraising approach has paid off.

This week’s Good News Bulletin covers the news that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to give most of his $124bn fortune to philanthropic causes during his lifetime. And Russ reports back from the Association of Charitable Foundations’ annual conference.

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 seek to demystify TikTok with the help of Rebs Curtis-Moss, interim social media manager at Shelter, who previously worked at the RNLI and led preparations for the launch of the Lifeboats’ highly successful TikTok campaign. 

Rebs highlights the importance of TikTok for raising awareness of charity causes among younger audiences, but stresses the need for a clear strategy prior to posting, including defining success and allocating sufficient staff resources to produce regular, high-quality content.  

They provide practical tips for tracking algorithms and jumping on the latest trends to maximise audience numbers while ensuring the tone remains consistent with charities’ wider messaging. 

Equipped with Rebs’ advice, and after reviewing examples of successful content from the RNLI and Shelter, Alina and Lucinda set out to create Third Sector’s first TikTok video.

This week’s Good News Bulletin features involuntary charitable donations resulting from drug busts.

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.

Russ and Lucinda celebrate Trustees Week by speaking to Liv Clarke and Ria Shah, trustees at the youth leadership charity Reclaim and the conservation charity The Wildlife Trusts, respectively. Liv and Ria explain what motivated them to become trustees in the early stages of their careers and why they object to the term “young trustee”.

They provide their views on the importance of including younger people on boards and highlight some of the barriers facing them, including heavy time commitments and imposter syndrome. They also suggest ways in which charities can help overcome the challenges common to younger board members.

This week’s Good News Bulletin explores the trend of politicians putting their pay-outs and I’m a Celebrity… appearance fees to philanthropic use.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Russ speak to Vic Turnbull, founder of the podcast production and training company MIC Media, about the various ways charities can use podcasts, from awareness-raising to educating service users.

Vic provides practical guidance for charities looking to start a podcast of their own, from considerations of purpose, audience and content to funding options and utilising in-house talent. She also demystifies the technical aspect of podcast production and demonstrates the ease of creating high-quality audio content on a shoestring.

We listen to extracts from two very different award-winning charity podcasts: Log Books from the LGBT+ helpline Switchboard, and Made By Mortals’ children’s podcast Armchair Adventures.

Later in the episode, Russ and Lucinda discuss the criticism surrounding English Heritage’s acceptance of a £1.25m donation from AirBnb.

Footnotes

• Grab the MIC
• The Log Books
• Armchair Adventures

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda and Andy speak to Sue Tibballs, chief executive of the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, about attitudes towards campaigning by charities in the current political climate. This follows the release of a Charity Commission guide, the timing of which she questions in the context of a backlash to recent campaigns.

Sue tells us why, despite some renewed calls for charities to “stick to their knitting”, she is confident that civil society voices will increasingly be heard.

The Good News Bulletin has the bear facts about where the teddies left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II are headed - and gives the gen on the generosity of Generation Z.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senior news reporter Russell Hargrave and reporter Alina Martin speak to Anne Fox, chief executive of Clinks, and Riana Taylor, chief executive of Circles UK, about the challenges of fundraising for charities working in the criminal justice system. 

Anne and Riana offer insight into the difficulties of fundraising from the general public when the general perception of their service users - people who have been in the criminal justice system - is low.

They discuss the potential impact of the cost-of-living crisis on this area of the sector and share advice on building relationships with funders.

This week's Good News Bulletin features an independent bookshop in Norwich whose crowdfunding appeal grabbed the attention of none other than the Hollywood star Russell Crowe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senior multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse and acting editor Andy Ricketts speak to David Fielding, managing partner of the recruitment firm Attenti, about the debate surrounding bonus payments for charity executives. 

David offers his unique industry perspective on the appetite for bonuses among candidates and organisations and suggests other ways of attracting and retaining stellar leaders in the context of depressed salaries. These include supportive, flexible trustee boards and commitment to a clear purpose.

The Good News Bulletin features Norfolk’s TikTok charity shop star and follows four friends on a whirlwind fundraising trip around 92 football league grounds in a campervan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.