Making a difference in changing times
Helen Stephenson thanks trustees leading their charities through changing, and challenging, times and invites all trustees to join in Trustees' Week 2022 (7-11 November).
Governance
Listening to charities’ experiences of the coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a shared experience like no other, but it has also affected everyone - countries, organisations, people - in innumerable different ways. This summer we held a series of roundtable discussions with small and medium-sized charities to hear about their experiences.
The Charities Bill: 5 key changes to charity law
The Charities Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech on 11 May 2021, proposes several technical, but important, changes to charity law. This blog explains what 5 key changes would mean practically for charity trustees, and why we support them.
Engaging with controversial or divisive issues - reflections for charities
People rightly have high expectations of charities, and when their actions cause controversy it is our job to listen carefully to those concerns and take robust action when necessary. So as we conclude the National Trust case today, I’d like …
Barriers to responsible investment - what we learnt from our listening exercise
In January, the Charity Commission began a listening exercise to help us understand the barriers that may be preventing some charities from investing their assets in a way that is consistent with their purpose and values. A great deal has …
Why should trustees explain the difference that their charity makes?
Charities exist to make a difference - to the lives of those they were set up to help and to wider society. Trustees, volunteers and supporters share a passion for their charity’s cause, in common with those working in the …
This #TrusteesWeek ‘take 5’ to read our new quick and easy guides
As we all know, this year has been turbulent to say the least, bringing with it unprecedented challenges to charities throughout England and Wales. We have seen admirable efforts of trustees, the majority of whom are volunteers, to support their …
Building Charity fit for a post Covid-19 world
This article was first published on The Times website on Monday 15 June 2020. The pandemic has merely reinforced the fundamental challenges charities face rather than changed them. As if dealing with the impact of coronavirus were not enough charities, …
Covid-19 highlights the lifeline that charities are to so many – and we are playing our part as regulator
As many thousands of people continue to step outside their homes to go to work each day amid a national lockdown, I am struck by how many of these frontline workers will be employed by charities. Care homes, hospices, specialist …
Read all about it: when can journalism be charitable?
The government has today (27 January 2020) responded to the recommendations made in Dame Frances Cairncross’s independent review of the sustainability of high-quality journalism in the UK. The response recognises that charities can and do use journalism as a tool …