Many Third Sector readers will be familiar with the terrain covered by the Dispatches programme on the London Marathon at the weekend: the intense feelings of unfairness among some charities about the Gold Bond system of allocating places for runners; the deep reluctance of the marathon’s leaders to talk openly about its organisation and finances;… Read more »
Posts By: Stephen Cook
Another scalp for Joanna Lumley
It might well be that some former Gurkhas have exercised their right to come to Britain and arrived with unrealistic expectations about housing and subsistence; it might well be that, in Nepal, unscrupulous fixers and middlemen have been exploiting the credulity of some former soldiers. These are all matters that need to be examined and… Read more »
The mauling of Dame Suzi Leather
Dame Suzi Leather’s membership of the Labour Party has never been a disqualification for her to be chair of the Charity Commission. But it has created an opening for the piranhas of the Daily Mail and other right wing organs to sink their teeth into her. They have attacked her on a political level, suggesting… Read more »
The bullying row and the human factor
There are three aspects to the Gordon Brown bullying row – the political one, the charity one and the one where these two meet. The political aspect attracts most attention, and in it there’s more heat than light – witness the splendid shouting match between journalist Andrew Rawnsley and former deputy prime minister John Prescott… Read more »
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo…how about you, you, you?
A woman of principle, or a bit of a crank? The question relates to Angela Smith, Minister for the Third Sector, who has made it clear that she’s not prepared to attend an event at London Zoo because she’s a strong supporter of animal rights and a patron of the Captive Animals Protection Society. That… Read more »
Has Gift Aid reform come any closer?
Some experts on giving and philanthropy have been wary about the idea of redirecting to charities the tax rebate that can be claimed by higher-rate taxpayers on Gift Aided donations. Such a move might have unpredictable effects on giving by the rich, they warn – especially in a continuing recession with a new 50 per… Read more »
Full marks for Pell & Bales
There was a bit of lull in the rugby between England and Argentina – in fact, the whole thing was a bit of a lull – so I didn’t object too much to taking a call from a charity on a Saturday afternoon. And when the young woman said she was calling from “P&B on… Read more »