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.

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 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.

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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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

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