We provide an overview of some of the key headlines to make the charity sector news in 2024.
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Charity Times publishes over 1,000 news stories a year; from Charity Commission investigations, to charity closures, sector reports and beyond. Each year, our news website is bustling with a range of headlines - from the noteworthy to the outrageous - and here, we provide a summary of the key moments to look back on.

Charities in the news
The charity sector often finds itself a topic of conversation in the mainstream news media and in recent years, thanks to a series of culture wars, it’s not always for good reasons. With this in mind, the sector’s regulator, the Charity Commission, warned that it would not be ‘misused or weaponised’.

Charity Commission chair Orlando Fraser said that the warning applied to politicians, the media “or indeed the sector itself.”

Instead, he says the regulator “will march consistently, and confidently, to the beat of another drum, namely the law”.

He added that when the regulator does find itself “in contested territory” it will tackle such situations “in a way which seeks to promote respect, tolerance, and kindness”.

The Charity Commission has been a key voice in the news stories written in 2024. In September, it issued its first official warning to a local authority, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, after the council “failed to comply with its duties as trustee of 12 charities”.

Financial pressures

Throughout the year, news of charity closures and financial pressures organisations are facing have dominated headlines. Many of the closures have cited financial challenges as the reason, something that is likely to only increase in 2025.

One in five charities are cutting services due to closure, a survey by Pro Bono Economics warned in August. Pro Bono Economics director of research and policy said:

“Unfortunately, this new normal is an unhealthy one. Too many organisations in the charity sector are held back by the sector’s poor financial model, on a never-stopping treadmill of demand, without the right people and skills to meet the increasing needs of the people they serve.

“Charities’ unsteady foundations mean cuts to help for people across the country, with services appearing and disappearing despite need because the money and resources can’t be relied upon.”

Even industry-focused organisations are feeling the pressure. Trustee recruitment charity Getting on Board announced its closure in October. “Despite considerable efforts from
the staff, associates and the volunteer board, the reality of an increasingly challenging funding environment for infrastructure charities, coupled with acute resourcing pressures has left no viable alternative but to cease operations,” said the charity.

Funding will inevitably be one of the main conversations in 2025, and beyond, as more organisations struggle to stay afloat. The public demand for more charity funding is evident, as research by Eden Stanely found. Just under two in three people want to see more public funding provided by government to charities, it said.

Its founder Joe Barrell said the survey shows “strong public support across age groups and the political spectrum” for charities”.

Shop ‘till you drop

Over the last few years, there has been a rise in the use of charity shops. Fuelled by Gen Z, second-hand shopping is becoming the norm for the younger generation.

Vinted is an example of this transformation in mindset with the second-hand fashion platform reporting profit for the first time with 61% year-on-year growth for 2023, net profit of 17.8 million Euro, as Kate Bishop from Save the Children explained.

With that, online charity sales were reported in May to be on the rise as income from in-store sales continues to remain steady.

Data from Charity Retail Association showed that sales through online channels increased by 14.3% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.

At the same time, like-for-like in-store income grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024, with the average transaction value increasing by 4.2%. The first charity shop wedding was even held in September, and the first charity department store opened in Sheffield in July.

However the post-pandemic volunteer exodus could have a lasting impact on the sector, the Charity Retail Association warned.

Its strategic plan for the next three years warns that the charity retail volunteering workforce has declined from 220,000 in early 2020 to around 186,000 at present, a fall of 15%.

It warns that “it is unclear as to whether the situation will ever improve”, with charity retailers instead turning to offering paid roles to keep shops running.

“It’s notable that a number of our members have adopted a position of mitigation rather than cure by taking on more paid staff to fill the gaps,” said the CRA’s plan. “This is not always disadvantageous as paid staff can be very productive and often can pay for their own salaries and then some.”

But the CRA believes that the core of charity shops needs to “remain with volunteers” to preserve “the profitable business model that we have benefited from for so many years”.

X-odus

Another key momentum in 2024 was a significant decrease in the number of charities using X (formerly Twitter).

In August, Acevo joined a raft of charities to quit X, amid concerns around a proliferation of disinformation since Elon Musk took over the social media platform.

ACEVO said that “recent changes” at the platform, which Musk changed from Twitter to X, mean it is “no longer aligned with our values of inclusivity and honesty”.

“We will no longer be actively posting on X and will close our account in November,” it stated, adding that its members are urged to continue following its accounts on LinkedIn and Instagram.

The move follows growing concern over toxicity on X since billionaire Elon Musk took it over two years ago. This has included concern that the number of racist and other offensive posts have increased and complaints are being ignored.

Some, however, are making the decision to stay on the platform, including the Directory of Social Change. Its senior digital content and communications officer Gabriella Poznansky said: “We felt that leaving would cause more harm to us and the sector than staying.

She added: “It’s not just charities on these platforms, it’s politicians, journalists and influencers, as well as a large proportion of the world and the people we serve. It’s a central forum that even governments don’t want to leave.

“And for all the negativity and hate – there is also a great deal of love and goodness on display. And as a charity, we felt we needed to put our beneficiaries and service users at the heart of our decisions, who are not leaving these platforms in droves.”

The big vote

One of the biggest stories of the year was, unsurprisingly, the UK’s general election. It took place on July 4 and as it needed to happen in 2024, charities were preparing for it from January onwards.

At the beginning of the year, the Charity Commission assured charities of their right to campaign amongst other rules around election coverage.

NCVO meanwhile warned organisations of a “challenging year ahead” with delays expected in decision-making around contract tendering processes and financial decision-making and the risk of culture wars igniting in mainstream and social media.

“A general election year will lead to an increase in the attention paid to some issues as some politicians and media seek to engage in manufactured ‘culture wars’,” it added.

“This is almost guaranteed to play out on social media – so you must have organisation-wide agreement on what and how you go about engaging on issues through these channels.”

The organisation had a busy election period and was well prepared to advise and support the sector. Along with ACEVO, the two sector bodies published a sector manifesto, which called on the next government to make a number of changes – some of which have yet to materialise.

At its launch, ACEVO chief executive Jane Ide said: “It makes clear our offer to politicians of all parties: we, our members and our sector stand ready to work with you, and to bring to the table the knowledge, the expertise, the relationships and the understanding our sector holds in order to build together the solutions our communities need,” she said. “And it also makes clear that we want to see our sector valued, acknowledged and supported by politicians across the spectrum to be the powerful force for good that we know it can be.”

The work the sector did ahead of the election seemed to be successful; after the election it was reported that complaints about charities’ general election campaigning fell in 2024.

There had been a 60% fall in high-risk cases being investigated by the
regulator compared to the 2019 general election.

Now and beyond

Analysis found that more than a third of Labour’s new cabinet have a charity sector background. One of these is secretary of state for culture Lisa Nandy, who used to work for Centrepoint and The Children’s Society.

The rest includes eight members of the cabinet, according to research by Pro Bono Economics, which found that 242 MPs have publicly advertised their connection to the charity sector.

This is 37% of all MPs.There is perhaps a level of optimism that the new government will work to generate more funding for the charity sector; something is desperately needs.

NCVO chief executive Sarah Elliot said the election result “marks a significant shift in our political landscape” amid Labour pledges to involve the sector more in its decision making process - although this is yet to be backed up in practice.

“Now we must be really clear – charities aren’t just here to deliver,” she said.

“We must have a seat at the table from the very start of planning new policy and initiatives, so the voices of communities are heard.

“Now there is a real opportunity for the new government to grasp.

The voluntary sector has an army of untapped and undervalued skills
and potential, that will help turn this country around.

“Government must forge a new relationship with charities where wem work in true partnership to build a better society. We stand ready and willing to do this.”

While the year ahead highlights some areas of challenge, it’s also possible it could bring more reasons to be optimistic too.

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