Good Charity Bad Charity

The GCBC team consider the challenging world of fundraising and find out about how charities can use digital technology to link up with businesses which want to support them.  Keith, Camilla and David meet Veronica Bamford-Deane, Managing Director of the Work For Good platform.  She tells them about how the organisation is helping charities to raise funds from small businesses, why she believes that many new businesses want to do good from the start and the appeal to customers of businesses which embed charitable giving. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. This episode was produced by Dan Hardoon and Louise Adamson at Whistledown and it’s supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness.  The Work For Good website is https://workforgood.co.uk

There’s a sporty theme to this latest podcast as the GCBC team are joined by Paul Evans, the CEO of Leadership Through Sport & Business.  Paul explains how the charity uses sport to develop leadership skills and help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into careers with major firms.     Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest.  It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness.  The Leadership Through Sport & Business website is  https://ltsb.charity 

Founded 20 years ago, Magic Breakfast provides healthy school breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas of the UK, working with nearly 1,000 schools in England and Scotland. The GCBC team are joined by the charity’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, Alysa Remtulla, to discuss how the pandemic has changed its delivery model, the plan to train up 10 campaigners with lived experience of food insecurity, and why Magic Breakfast won’t be entering a bid for the new government tender to supply school breakfasts. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness.

The GCBC team are joined by Steph Harland, CEO of Age UK. Steph explains the steps taken by the national charity and local Age UK branches to support older people during Covid, the reasons for the decision to permanently close about a third of Age UK's charity shops; and shares her frustration at the government's lack of action on a long-term solution for social care. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness and City Bridge Trust.

The GCBC team are joined by Mike Adamson, CEO of the British Red Cross. Mike discusses the charity's role in responding to Covid, how he's planning to manage a significant deficit in BRC's income over the coming years, and what the pandemic has revealed about volunteering. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness and City Bridge Trust.

The GCBC team are joined by Matt Leach, CEO of Local Trust, which delivers Big Local: a 15-year programme which distributes £1.15m of funding to 150 neighbourhoods across England "with no strings attached to use as they see fit". Matt discusses the ethos of Big Local and the insights into place-based funding that are emerging from the initiative. They’re also joined by Sandi Phillips, Chair of the Elthorne Pride Big Local in Islington, North London. Sandi describes how Big Local funding has transformed her community, and the projects launched in response to the pandemic. You can watch Drawn Out, a short film made in collaboration with Elthorne Pride, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OEuq5szR7I&t=628s Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. 

The GCBC team are joined by Fozia Irfan OBE, who started her new job as  Director of Children and Young People at BBC Children in Need in October 2020. Fozia explains why working for the organisation is her “dream job”, what she hopes to achieve in her new post, and why grantmakers need to be wary of imposing a model which charities must conform to. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness and City Bridge Trust.

The GCBC team are joined by Catherine Roche, Chief Executive of Place2Be, the UK's leading school-based mental health charity.  Catherine discusses the impact of the pandemic on children's mental health; the benefits of having HRH The Duchess of Cambridge as the charity's patron; and the charity's plan, in partnership with Young Voices, to smash the Guinness World Record for "largest simultaneous sing" by leading thousands of children in a rendition of Bill Withers's "Lovely Day" for Children's Mental Health Week in February 2021. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. 

The GCBC team are joined by Dr Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust, which works to improve quality of life in the UK by reducing all kinds of inequality. Wanda discusses The Equality Trust's current campaigns and how the events of this summer have focused people's attention on structural inequality. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. 

We have 300 Muslim response groups across the country just for Covid – Fadi Itani, CEO, Muslim Charities Forum The GCBC team are joined by Fadi Itani, Chief Executive of the Muslim Charites Forum. Fadi discusses the response of Muslim communities to the pandemic; the importance of charity within Islam and the role of faith charities in the UK today. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. 

The GCBC team are joined by Mike Wilson, Chief Executive of Pembroke House. Founded in 1885 by students from Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke House is a “settlement” in the neighbourhood of Walworth, South London, which aims to “bridge traditional divides and unite people” in the local community. Mike discusses what it means to be a “settlement” in the 21st century; how his organisation transformed itself into a “food hub” during the pandemic, and why he hopes Pembroke House won’t need to operate in this way for long. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. 

The team are joined by Gabby Edlin, who founded the charity Bloody Good Period in 2016. The organisation aims to supply period products to those who can’t afford them; provide menstrual education to those less likely to access it; and to “help everybody talk about periods”. Gabby explains why she refuses to use traumatic stories to fundraise; her hope that BGP’s work will be done within a decade, and how Covid-19 has made her rethink how her organisation operates. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. Bloody Good Period's website is https://www.bloodygoodperiod.com/

The GCBC team are joined by Stephen Hale, Chief Executive of Refugee Action - one of the UK’s leading charities supporting refugees and asylum seekers. Stephen explains how he’s dealing with a situation in which the government won’t pick up the phone to refugee charities; why the charity sector needs to tell a better story about itself; and how Covid-19 has provided a unique opportunity for collaboration with other refugee charities.  Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. Refugee Action’s advice and support hub for refugee and asylum organisations is  https://www.ragp.org.uk/

We need the whole of government to think about civil society not as the cleaners that come in after the mess has been made, but as the central agency of our society – Danny Kruger MP The team chew over Danny Kruger MP’s new report into the role of charities in the UK’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. They’re joined by the author himself, who explains his proposal for a “national volunteer reserve”; how he thinks government and civil society could work together more effectively; and why there’s a role for big tech in turning libraries into twenty-first century community hubs. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. Danny’s full report, “Levelling Up Our Communities”, is available here: https://www.dannykruger.org.uk/communities-report

In the final episode of this series, Keith, Camilla, and David are joined by one of the charity sector’s most famous faces: Dame Esther Rantzen. In 1986, Dame Esther founded Childline – a helpline for children suffering from neglect and abuse. In 2012, she drew on that experience to establish The Silver Line, a helpline for older people struggling with loneliness and isolation. Both charities have since merged with larger organisations: Childline with the NSPCC, and The Silver Line with Age UK. Today, Esther remains a patron of several charities. In the podcast, Dame Esther discusses the impact of the pandemic on the charities she founded, reflects on what decades of experience in the charity sector have taught her, and explains why it can be useful for a charity to have a “loose canon” around. This episode was recorded in August 2020. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Char

Keith, Camilla and David are joined by Craig Bennett, who started his new job as CEO of the Wildlife Trusts just as lockdown began. Craig explains what a herd of four bison are doing in the Kent countryside; what his previous job as CEO of Friends of Earth taught him about running effective campaigns; and why he’s less than impressed with the government’s talk of a Green New Deal. This episode was recorded in July 2020. Good Charity, Bad Charity is presented by Keith Davis, Camilla McGibbon and David Prest. It is produced by Dan Hardoon at Whistledown and supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. 

As Captain Sir Tom Moore receives his knighthood from the Queen, the Good Charity Bad Charity team hear from the head of the charity he raised £33 million for: NHS Charities Together. Ellie tells the team how she’s coping with the rapid expansion of her organisation during Covid-19.

Aidan Lang tells the Good Charity Bad Charity team that running a world beating opera company is a challenge at the best of times, but surviving the effects of Covid-19 has made him re-assess what the audience wants.

The GCBC team are joined by Paul Streets, Chief Executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation, to discuss how his organisation is responding to the challenges of Covid-19, and whether the crisis could lead to a new economic settlement. This episode was recorded in May 2020.

Keith, Camilla and David reflect on the dramatic impact that Covid 19 is having on the charity sector. The GCBC team are joined by Alex Skailes from the Cass Centre for Charity Effectiveness to discuss cash flow, the dilemmas of furloughing, government bailouts, Colonel Tom, the return of the community spirit, reactive funders, and a new vision for UK charity.  This episode was recorded in May 2020.