NCVO research and insight manager, Anya Martin, looks at the key findings of the Almanac 2021 and what they show about the UK’s voluntary sector. Click here to read more.

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) increased the frequency of their UK charity surveys from March 2020. These surveys help charities, donors, government and everyone interested in the work of charity to understand the impact of the crisis on the sector and giving. Read the latest results here.

Charity Finance Group (CFG) are urging charities to act soon to avoid the potential pitfalls of new pensions rules. The new regulations, which are expected to come into force in 2022, will significantly change how charities and other employers fund their defined benefit pension schemes. Click here to find out more.

Charity Commission allows electronic signatures on balance sheets, trustees’ annual reports and independent examiner’s reports

Third Sector have reported that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has launched a consultation on plans to reform some of the key elements of the General Data Protection Regulation, such as its data processing principles, its data rights for citizens, and its mechanisms for supervision and enforcement. Read the article here.

Donations to charity by text message rose by almost two-thirds last year to a record high of almost £66m, according to new figures. Find out more here.

This latest update from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) aims to help organisations to assess the risks and continue to reduce COVID-19 transmission. It includes links to information on vaccination, as well as on testing and tracking and tracing. Click here to read the full update.

Civil Society have reported that Vodafone has launched charities.connected, an initiative allowing UK charities to apply for free data. The aim is to help individuals and families supported by charities, as well as enable organisations to improve their own digital capacity. Read the article here.

Civil Society have reported that Access – The Foundation for Social Investment (Access), Social Investment Business (SIB), and Power to Change, commissioned a report, Minoritised Ethnic Community and Social Enterprises, to understand how well they are supporting organisations from minoritised ethnic communities. Read the article here.

Civil Society have reported that the project will be chaired by Becky Hewitt, former chief executive of the charity Changing Faces, who said that the pandemic had shown that charities ‘urgently need to change our attitude to flexible working’. Read the article here.