Third Sector Podcast

Lucinda and Emily are joined by James Dunbar, chief executive of the poverty reduction charity New Start Highland.

James describes how the charity was able to move from being a predominantly grant-receiving organisation to generating three-quarters of its income through trading and contracts.

He explains how he identified income-generating opportunities for New Start Highland, from furniture-making to removal services, as well as some of the risks of taking a more commercially-minded approach.

He provides pointers for other charities considering taking a similar route and stresses the importance of communication with all stakeholders.

Also in the episode, news editor Andy Ricketts joins Lucinda and Emily to consider Labour’s landslide election victory and its implications for the voluntary sector.

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 [email protected] 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.

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Lucinda and Alina are joined by Courtney Scott, head of policy and research at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, and James Goodman, director of partnerships at the Local Trust.

Courtney and James make the case for why all third sector leaders need to be active participants in debates on food availability and affordability, regardless of their specific organisational focus.

James describes how food insecurity and food poverty are indicative of wider insecurity and poverty issues that community organisations are seeking to alleviate. Food, he argues, is a good place to start to strengthen communities and enable them to become better partners to third sector organisations.

Courtney stresses the importance of charities’ lived experience to help influence food policy, and draws on a new FFCC report on how funders and communities can work together on longer term food security solutions.

Charity Changed My Life features the story of Phoebe, who attributes getting back on her feet following the breakdown of her relationship to the advice and support she received from Gingerbread, a charity that supports single parents.

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 [email protected] 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.

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

Lucinda Rouse and Emily Burt are joined by Jayne Taylor and Matt Jones, chief executive and chair of the Elephant Group, a charity that helps state-educated students access top universities.

Matt, who founded the Elephant Group in 2018, describes how his role has evolved since the arrival of Jayne as the charity’s first chief executive in 2022. This has included moving away from lower level operational issues and focusing on the big strategic questions to support the Elephant Group’s transformation from a start-up to an established organisation.

Jayne describes the challenge of balancing her priorities of delivering on the charity’s purpose while overseeing an internal operational restructure. She explains how Matt’s approach has enabled her to perform her role to the best of her abilities through a space of mutual trust and safety.

Also in the episode, senior news reporter Emily Harle joins Lucinda and Emily Burt to reflect on the recent pause in funding by several grantmakers in response to an overwhelming level of demand. They cite the list of funders compiled by the trust and foundations fundraising consultant Joanna Jeffery.

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 [email protected] 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 Dami Adewale are joined by Kirsty MacDonald, deputy principal for advancement at the Royal Academy of Music, to discuss the charity’s ongoing campaign to raise £100m.

Kirsty describes how the academy saw annual fundraising revenues grow from £1.5m to £18m in less than a decade, after investing in necessary systems and infrastructure including research, data and due diligence functions.

She stresses the importance of fostering long-term relationships with major donors, bringing them into the wider academy family using a variety of methods including one-to-one pairings with staff in the fundraising team and beyond.

The episode also features snippets from a recent Third Sector interview with Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Hilary talks about changing perceptions around dementia, the controversy caused by ARUK’s 2023 advertising campaign and the importance of role models for working mothers.

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 [email protected] 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.