Raising the profile and voice of charities and their leaders

About the Charity Reform Group (CRG)
The Charity Reform Group (CRG) brings together fourteen charity CEOs with a shared interest in harnessing the potential and voice of charities and their leaders.
The journey
The CRG came together in early 2022. Its foundational report Speak Up, We Need You, published in Spring 2023, asked why charity CEOs are under-represented in public debate and whether it matters. The answer from a range of external stakeholders was a resounding yes.
The report goes on to explore barriers to charity CEOs being able to speak more openly and identified three key areas of onward work which we are taking forward:
- A lack of clarity & confidence in campaigning, particularly amongst trustees
- A lack of understanding of what modern charity is for outside the sector
- The absence of a positive vision as to the future role of charity in society, and, in particular, its future relationship to the State.
The CRG, working with SMK, is taking this work programme forward by:
Forces for good: report and essay collection.
CRG members have written a series of essays sharing a personal account of what they believe charities contribute to society – and their vision for how charities can work in a more equal and fruitful partnership with other sectors and, in particular, the new Government.
Forces for good
The Charity Reform Group is calling for government, charities, and businesses to re-set their thinking and start treating one another as critical partners in the endeavour to build a better nation.
Published a new Guide for Trustees to help charity boards navigate their organisations’ approach to campaigning.
There are many ways to make change, just as there are many definitions of what campaigning is. There is no single or ‘right’ way to do it. This Guide is designed to help trustees ensure they have the right approach for their own organisation. It is framed as a set of questions to help trustees support their organisation to campaign with confidence. It is not legal advice but is intended to work alongside more detailed legal and strategic guidance the Guide signposts to.
Hosting events with partners from other sectors to build understanding of what this sector does and explore common cause.
What could better charity-business partnerships deliver for Britain? This discussion event, held at the Conduit in London, brought together charity and business leaders. Lewis Iwu (CEO and Co-Founder, Purpose Union) was in the Chair, and was joined by Harriet Oppenheimer (CEO, RNID), Matt Downie (CEO of Crisis), and James Perry (Co-Chair, COOK, and Co-Founder of B Lab UK). You can now view the whole conversation here.
For any queries regarding the CRG please email here.
Get to know the Charity Reform Group
Who is in the Charity Reform Group?
Th Charity Reform Group is made up of charity leaders from across the sector, working towards four outcomes.
A productive relationship with government and business
The Charity Reform Group paints a picture of how charities, government, and business can build better relationships in pursuit of social change.
Speak up, we need you!
What do other sectors want to see from charities when it comes to speaking out?
Confident campaigning governance
Research, guidance, and tailored support for trustees who want to support their organisation to speak up.
Latest blogs and articles
Tackling complex problems requires partnership – and partnerships require humility from all of us
Grace Wyld, Head of Policy and Research for The Future Governance Forum, discusses the government’s commitment to a mission-driven approach to national renewal and asks what missions mean for how government is delivered. Missions are more than a communications tool to...
Campaigning and the Covenant
Expert charity lawyer, Rosamund McCarthy Etherington, Partner at Stone King, takes a look at the Civil Society Covenant: where we are, what it could mean, and what civil society needs to press for as we come closer to its launch. The Covenant between Government and...
Don’t just wait nicely for our civic space to be repaired – fierce challenge can be rooted in love
Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain, reflects on the state of UK civic space, the demand that charities campaign with ‘niceness’, and why we must press for urgent change. I grew up in a free country. One in which people were free to express their...
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