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 ..read more

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 ..read more

Lucinda and Andy are joined by Philippa Cornish, head of client experience at the Charities Aid Foundation.  They discuss the implications of CAF’s report into individual giving, which found a smaller pool of donors giving more led to a total uplift in 2023 in spite of the median monthly figure remaining stagnant at £20 since 2017.  Philippa provides suggestions for how charities can encourage donors to adjust their monthly donations in line with inflation, including by enhancing trust, and to contribute to unrestricted funding pots. Charity Changed My Life features the story of ..read more

Why donate to a charity if you can just help out a fellow human yourself – or buy a piece of premium fashion that promises to generate a similar result? In episode three of The End of Charity, Lucinda Rouse explores two very different alternatives to the charity model: mutual aid theory, and the rise of buzzy “for good” business. The activist and founder of Mutual Aid UK, Eshe Kiama Zuri, discusses mutual aid as an alternative to the “oppressive dynamics” of traditional charitable structures, suggesting that charities could act more effectively and meet community needs by devolving fundin ..read more

Lucinda and Emily Burt are joined by Dhivya O’Connor, chief executive of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Dhivya provides insight into her previous experiences as an interim chief executive, describing the pros and cons of holding a short-term leadership role, and stresses the importance of cultivating a healthy organisational culture from the outset. She talks about the foundation’s recent research into the use of artificial intelligence by female entrepreneurs and the need for charity leaders to be mindful of the high potential for women to face abuse in the online space. Also in the e ..read more

Meet Jimmy Donaldson, perhaps better known as MrBeast – the 25-year-old YouTuber who some say is on the verge of sparking a revolution in online philanthropy.  With more than 236 million YouTube subscribers and an estimated net worth of $500m, MrBeast has turned his focus from filling houses with Lego bricks to curing blind people and building wells.  Lucinda asks Darren Margolias, the executive director of Jimmy’s charitable venture Beast Philanthropy, why MrBeast’s storytelling may have the edge over charities in reaching a younger generation of potential donors.  Plus, t ..read more

Lucinda and Andy are joined by the fundraising historian Marina Jones to track the development of the fundraising profession and perceptions of charity fundraisers through the ages. Marina, who is leading a history project for the think tank Rogare, traces the roots of fundraising back to the time of Moses. She draws parallels between contemporary fundraising methods and instances of their use centuries before, as well as past mistakes that could be avoided by better knowledge of fundraising history. She recounts some of her favourite fundraising stories, including a cathedral tower which was ..read more

Last year the UK food bank network the Trussell Trust distributed almost 3 million emergency food parcels, 1 million of which were for children, up from 50,000 a decade ago. How has the UK landed in such a severe hunger crisis – and can food banks ever be the solution? In episode one of The End of Charity, journalist Lucinda Rouse hears from the Trussell Trust’s chief executive, Emma Revie, about the need to reimagine our social contract at a time when demand for charities is greater than ever. And the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies traces the history of charity from its mediaeval and Victo ..read more

Lucinda and Emily are joined by the digital specialist Zoe Amar and Karen Marter, head of technology strategy at the British Heart Foundation. Zoe outlines key developments in the AI space over the past year and how charities are reacting to them, including the use of virtual assistants in working life. She stresses the need for a sector-level response to the increasing normalisation of AI usage.  Karen describes the function of the BHF’s AI working group, which focuses on education, governance and conducting an ongoing value assessment of AI innovations to the organisation. She explains ..read more

In a world where need is spiralling out of control and new, radical forces are shaping the landscape for doing good, can charity be the answer to the world’s social and environmental problems? Lucinda Rouse presents The End of Charity, a new podcast series from the makers of Third Sector.  Guided by some of the leading voices of the philanthropy world, as well as radicals who believe the current model is on the brink of implosion, Lucinda asks: what are the flaws and contradictions baked into the ways charities work? How has the sector’s problematic past shaped its present? And ..read more