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Emily Harle

London-based journalist currently working as a Senior Reporter at Third Sector, the UK's leading publication for the charity and voluntary sector. 

Latest Articles

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Research charity appoints chief executive

Bowel Research UK has welcomed a new chief executive after its leader for the past three years announced plans to retire.

Lindsay Easton, who was previously chief executive of Brain Research UK, took up the chief executive post at the medical research charity yesterday (1 May).

She succeeds Lynn Dunne, who has held the chief executive post at Bowel Research UK since December 2021.

Dunne, who will retire at the end of June after a handover period, said it had been a “real privilege” to lead th
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Workplace volunteering can reduce sickness absences, report finds

Participation in workplace volunteering schemes could reduce an employee’s sickness absences by an average of 0.9 days a year, a report from Pro Bono Economics has found.

This is the equivalent to a 1 per cent reduction in the UK’s total sickness absence days if rolled out to all staff currently without access, the think tank’s report says.

The report, which was produced for the business volunteering charity Pilotlight, says workplace volunteering schemes offer a “potential triple dividend” th
Third SectorMainNet •

Education charity adopts co-leadership model as chief steps down

The international charity Stir Education has appointed two interim leaders after chief executive Girish Menon announced plans to step down.

Menon, who took up the role in January 2021 after five years leading ActionAid UK, is leaving in June to take a short break from the sector.

The charity has appointed Jenny Willmott, senior director of programme delivery, and John McIntosh, director of learning and impact, as interim co-chief executives.

Menon said it was the right time to step down and h
Third SectorMainNet •

National Aids Trust reveals next chief

The National Aids Trust has appointed Robbie Currie, lead commissioner for the London HIV Prevention Programme, as its next chief executive.

Currie will succeed Deborah Gold, who announced her resignation in February after a decade in the role, saying she was ready to “explore new challenges”.

Currie brings more than 20 years of experience working in HIV, sexual and reproductive health to the role, most recently having led the London HIV Prevention Programme in the London Borough of Lambeth fo
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Major end-of-life charity appoints NHS director as next chief

The palliative care charity Sue Ryder has appointed James Sanderson, a current national director for NHS England, as its new chief executive.

Sanderson, who has been the national director of community health services, personalised care and palliative and end-of-life care for NHS England since 2015, will take up the reins at the charity in August.

He succeeds Heidi Travis, who has been chief executive of Sue Ryder for 14 years and who announced her departure in November.

Travis is stepping dow
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Islamic charity warned by regulator after ‘inflammatory and divisive’ sermon

The Charity Commission has issued an official warning to an Islamic charity after it hosted a sermon that discussed party politics and included “inflammatory and divisive” content.

The Nottingham Islam Information Point, which aims to educate the public and clear up misconceptions about the religion, has been warned that failure to remedy the breach would result in further regulatory action.

The watchdog issued the official warning after a video of a sermon was shared online and by the media,
Third SectorMainNet •

Refugee support charity shuts down due to ‘challenging fundraising environment’

A 35-year-old refugee support charity has announced its closure, saying it has been unable to generate enough funds amid a “difficult giving landscape”.

The International Refugee Trust, which raises funds to make grants to overseas projects supporting refugees, said it decided to close after “careful consideration of various factors, including changes in the macroeconomic landscape, which have created a more challenging fundraising environment”.

In a statement announcing the closure, the chari
Third SectorMainNet •

Educational charity reveals next chief

Hassun El-Zafar has been appointed director of the educational charity Edinburgh Science, succeeding its current chief who has led the charity for nearly 30 years.

El-Zafar is currently the senior producer for public programmes at the science charity the Royal Institution of Great Britain. He is also a non-executive director for the Union of Justice, a European organisation aiming to advance racial and climate justice.

He was the public engagement executive for the Royal Society of Chemistry f
Third SectorMainNet •

‘Concerning’ fall in payroll giving

The number of employees donating to charity through payroll giving has declined by 13 per cent since 2020, new research has found.

The Charities Aid Foundation has warned that charities are “missing out on millions” through payroll giving, as its new research shows that the number of employees donating through the scheme and the total amounts given is declining year on year.

The number of employees using payroll giving to donate fell from 591,000 in 2020 to 516,000 in 2022, data from Payroll G
Third SectorMainNet •

London Marathon breaks its fundraising record for first time in five years

This weekend’s TCS London Marathon has raised more than £67m so far, beating the existing world record for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

London Marathon Events, which organises the annual 26.2-mile race around the capital’s streets, said this year’s fundraising total had already beaten the existing world record of £66.4m, which was set at the 2019 London Marathon.

Before the Coronavirus pandemic struck, the London Marathon would break the world record every year for the hi
Third SectorMainNet •

Reasons for giving can be linked to donor age groups, research suggests

Motivations for giving can be directly linked to a donor’s age group, new research has found.

Part two of the Tomorrow’s Donor Today research, which will be published in full next week, argues that UK donors can be divided into five categories based on their motivations for giving, which can be predicted based on an individual’s age group.

These are: ‘Protectors’, who researchers say are motivated by causes that directly affect them or their loved ones; ‘Believers’, who are moved by a compelli
Third SectorMainNet •

Girlguiding sells £4m-listed activity centre

An activity centre owned by Girlguiding UK, and listed for sale with a guide price of £4m, has been sold and is set to reopen under new management, the charity has said.

Blackland Farm, in West Sussex, was one of five activity centres Girlguiding put up for sale last year, because the charity said it could not afford the level of investment the centres required.

Third Sector understands that the site has been sold to a new adventure operator called Blackland Farm Outdoor Centre, which is the t
Third SectorMainNet •

More than half of charities disagree with linking fundraising levy to Consumer Price Index

More than half of charities disagree with the Fundraising Regulator’s decision to link the fundraising levy to the Consumer Price Index from 2025, according to the regulator’s consultation on its levy proposals.

The regulator confirmed today it planned to implement an increase of 50 per cent for the largest fundraising charities in the amount they pay under the levy, which is a voluntary fee that charities spending £100,000 or more a year on fundraising are asked to pay.

The regulator said tha
Third SectorMainNet •

‘Serious misconduct’ at charity that failed to hold trustee elections for three years

An Islamic charity failed to hold valid elections for three years and attempted to introduce invalid reasons to reject membership applications, a Charity Commission inquiry has found.

The regulator found serious misconduct and mismanagement at the Jamia Hanfia Ghosia Mosque and Princess Street Resource Centre, which operates under its working name Princess Street Mosque and is based in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

The inquiry, which was opened in April 2022, found that the charity’s former
Third SectorMainNet •

Food bank faces closure after being given weeks to leave its base

A charity that supports disadvantaged families has warned that it could be forced to close after being given just weeks to leave its base.

Smile London and Essex supports families in crisis by providing clothing and food bank services from its support hub in Romford, east London, but last week the charity said it was suddenly asked to leave the premises.

The charity said that on Tuesday, its landlord unexpectedly issued notice giving Smile just seven days to vacate the premises, which the char
Third SectorMainNet •

Housing charity quits X due to the platform’s ‘often prejudicial, racist’ content

A social housing charity will close its social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that content on the platform is “often prejudicial, racist and deeply unpleasant”.

Manningham Housing Association, which provides social housing for diverse communities in West Yorkshire, said it planned to withdraw from X after a review of its internal and external communications strategy.

A spokesperson for MHA said it “cannot be ignored that the general content on the platform is often preju
Third SectorMainNet •

Acevo invites charities to participate in year-long anti-racism programme

The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations is inviting up to 50 charities to take part in a year-long anti-racism programme.

Acevo’s Further, Faster programme offers up to 50 civil society chief executives and senior executives the opportunity to learn how to challenge power, racism and white supremacy culture as part of its Home Truths 2 project.

The programme will be delivered by Martha Awojobi, founder and director of JMB Consulting, and Pari Dhillon, director of the Soc
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