Peter Neal’s Post

Such an important point here by Phil Kerry about the damage done by these misleading headlines about charity CEO salaries, and the truth behind the numbers. And yes, the Charity Commission should categorise charities better - but more than that, our sector would be much better off if they stopped periodically throwing red meat to the right wing press, knowing exactly what the results will be. Because the results are always the same - wilful oversimplification of the data to intentionally erode public trust. A bit like those periodic headlines about "mega rich charities" that are actually funders which make use of a huge endowment to give grants to the sector. There's nothing wrong with debating how much charities of different sizes should pay their CEOs, and how much of their endowments funders should pay out. But we rarely have proper debates, we just have pile-ons.

No doubt this story will cause X, formerly known as Twitter, to go into a periodic meltdown about charity sector salaries. Thousands will make posts claiming they'll be cancelling direct debit donations to charities, that they probably don't even have in place. But few are left on that site that can put the matter in perspective. Phil has done a good job putting the latest attempt to create a scandal out of a molehill in context, but the sector needs to communicate more robustly and openly about pay as a whole. However, I don't see the likes of The Telegraph getting uppity and upset about the issue of low and stagnant pay that affects many people who work for causes. Or the fact that a recent survey found that 46% of charity sector job adverts posted on LinkedIn failed to include salary details. Perhaps it thinks charity sector workers don't have bills to pay, and can survive on a diet of air and raindrops? Perhaps there's a need for a new campaign, #GrowTheSalary, to be run alongside a revived and reinvigorated #ShowTheSalary?

I am starting to wonder if the Charity Commission for England and Wales needs to add categories of membership to stop some of these damaging headlines and help the public understand the sector better. Because I read this and my hearts sinks, because I know what the implications of the piece will be. All because 19 charities (out of 170,000) paid 44 people (out of a workforce of over a million) more than £400,000. Yes it is a huge sum but it is worth noting that 20 of these come from Wellcome Trust who have a turnover of >£500million and won't be in receipt of individual donations. And a handful more come from Nuffield Health whose £1billion+ turnover would dwarf most private sector companies. As a sector we need to do more to educate the public on the modern day role that charities play in society, but I can't help but think that we might also need a better way of categorising the 'super charities' so that it is clear that charity in the year 2025 takes many forms - and this is not a representative one.

The increasing pressures on local authorities, health services, and other public sector budgets have heightened the demand for the essential support provided by the charity sector. While this highlights the critical role of charities, it has also intensified the competition between smaller and larger charitable organisations for local contracts. Gary Beharrell, Lloyds Bank Foundation’s regional manager, delves deeper into this issue and explores how larger charities winning local contracts could cause small charities to close. Click the link below to read how commissioners could improve the process for local contracts and create equal opportunities for all charities. https://lnkd.in/e-ZCF7zR #Notforprofit #charitypressures #localcontracts #WeAreMerrifield

I wonder how charities how come through recent years? OSCR reports charity numbers, at end Mar-24 as 25,057 with 2023 the first year of reduced numbers (from 25.445 at 31-Dec-22), but: Q3, 2023 registered 194, removed 282, down 88 Q4, 2023 registered 194, removed 283, down 89 Q1, 2024 registered 210, removed 261, down 51 Their report includes this statement, no surprise about volunteers, but quite a surprise on paid staff. Charities include: 18 Scottish Universities 24 Further Education Colleges 149 Social landlords and housing associations 53 or more Arms Length external organisations used by Local Authorities to deliver services. Some sector! #charities #OSCR

Charity people in England and Wales, you're probably aware of the huge delays at the Charity Commission causing an epidemic of annual returns that have been submitted on time not being approved quickly enough. Even in the last few days I've seen a crazy number of charities with their most recent set displaying as late, who other have a fully punctual history of annual return history. At Marla Cunningham's Trusts and Foundations roundtable networking session yesterday, we were discussing how charities can best acknowledge this when submitting applications. My gut this morning though is telling me that, surely this issue has now come to affect so many organisations that it should be taken higher – to the Charity Commission. Surely charities affected by this are entitled to have this 'late submission' rectified, to represent the date the accounts were actually submitted – rather than the date they were publicly released? The CC are no doubt aware of the difficulties they've had in responding to the backlog – but this shouldn't fall to the detriment of individual charities, who have done everything they should have. Maybe I'm being idealistic here...but I'd love to hear people's thoughts. Is it worth the fight to take this higher? #ukcharities #fundraising #nonprofits #charitycommisssion

The public trusts charities twice as much as other UK institutions. That’s what our Donor Pulse Summer research tells us. 73% of the public say they have moderate or high trust in charities. This is twice as much as the next best scoring institution, faith and religious groups (36%), and comfortably ahead of corporations (32%), government (29%), the media (28%) and political parties (20%). When you combine this with the fact that the percentage of people intending to give in the next quarter is the highest it’s been since 2020, there’s plenty of cause for optimism for charities. Charities should take pride in the fact that the public values their work and people want to support them. For more insights like this, you can download our new Donor Pulse report here for free: https://lnkd.in/eiZjiZa8 #DonorPulse #Charity #Research

"A huge thank you to Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation UK for funding our brand new hub in partnership with Poplar HARCA in their recently revamped Feldy Community Centre. From January, this programme will provide 12 primary school children and their families with vital academic support in English and Maths over 27 weeks, and give meaningful paid work experience to two university student as tutors, and one sixth former as a classroom assistant, who we're thrilled to have recruited in partnership with We are Spotlight's youth centre. We're passionate about bringing together innovative partnerships – with national companies and local grassroots organisations who share our mission and values – to reach even more young people in 2025 and beyond!" — Amy Whitelock Gibbs, CEO of Tutors United

Which charities are cherished by UK consumers? Our latest report, UK’s Most Loved Charity Brands 2024 is now available – with sentiments from 60,000 UK consumers on more over 120 charities, spotlighting the Top 100 Most Loved charities on a ranked table. Who’s rising, who’s falling, and where is the third sector heading? The answers are a download away, click below. #Savanta #BrandVue #MostLovedCharities

DID YOU KNOW?... Five reasons why local government is important to charities 1️⃣ Unlike central government, which is focused on national issues, local government is focused on delivering change at the level of local communities – where the majority of charities operate. 2️⃣ Local government is responsible for a range of frontline services that link to the work of charities, such as social care, education and housing. 3️⃣ Charities often deliver these services in partnership with or on behalf of local government. 4️⃣ Policymakers in local government can find innovative solutions to problems using the insight and experience of charities. 5️⃣ Strong local leadership can inspire residents to support and volunteer for charities. NCVO #Election2024 #HaveAVoice