In the news last week...

Northern Ireland’s political impasse and the charity sector

Nora Smith, head of the charity chief executives body CO3, said that 590+ days without a government has left charities in a state of uncertainty, and the sector is in ‘desperate need’ of a resolution. Last week, the Northern Ireland marked 590 days without a government – a record for democracy. Nora Smith says, “We all work in a very challenging environment, but it’s becoming more and more frustrating to be in a leadership role on the ground in the community…charities need to plan for the future, but many don’t know where the finance for their important and often life-changing work will be coming from’’. DSC took a trip to Belfast a couple of weeks ago, where we spoke to some key fundraisers. They highlighted challenges and successes across the sector in the Northern Ireland – read the full article here.

Diversity in top charity finance roles

According to the latest survey from Charity Finance magazine, of the largest 100 charities in the country, men hold 68 top charity finance roles with woman holding 31. Of the 69 finance directors who gave their ethnicity, 64 identified as either ‘British, Caucasian British, English, White British, White Non-British, White Irish or White European’. The remaining five, representing 7%, described themselves as ‘British Asian, British Pakistani, Chinese, Indian, and mixed Caribbean and Irish’ – read the full article here.