What do charity trustees need to know about campaigning?

About this event

Catch up on this event on our YouTube channel, and sign up to our next free event on 2 May do discuss how charity trustees can centre lived experience?

Campaigning is a key tool for charities to make change. However, there is uncertainty around the role of charities, how political they can be, and what constitutes overstepping the mark. This was brought to public attention recently when the RSPB was forced to apologise for its approach to calling the government out.

With a general election coming up, there are significant opportunities for charities to bring attention to the issues they are fighting for. But trustees need to be mindful of the extra regulations the 2014 Lobbying Act places on charities in the run up to an election.

At this free event, run in partnership with Clothworkers Company, and targeted at trustees, we will:

• Exploring the opportunities and challenges around campaigning in light of a general election
• Finding out about the legal parameters for campaigning
• Thinking through how trustees should be managing risks around political activity

We will be joined by the following speakers:

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk of Quakers in Britain, will be chairing the event. And will be joined by:

Sanchita Hosali

Sanchita is the CEO of the British Institute of Human Rights, where she has championed the charities practice-based work. She has expertise in human rights and equality law, policy and practice, with over twenty years of working both in the UK and internationally. Sanchita is currently a Trustee of the Centre for Women’s Justice and was previously the Chair of Rights of Women.

Suhan Rajkumar (Bates Wells)

Suhan Rajkumar is a senior associate at law firm, Bates Wells, advising charities, not-for-profits, and businesses seeking to have a positive social impact. Suhan has a particular focus on campaigning and electoral law, and is recognised in the Legal 500 in this area. He also advises on a wide range of charity governance, commercial, regulatory and crisis management issues. Outside of Bates Wells, Suhan is a charity trustee, currently as Chair for Bail for Immigration Detainees and a trustee of CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).

Accessibility

We are actively working to improve the accessibility of our online and in-person events. As part of our commitment, for all online events we use live closed captions and upload the recordings to YouTube which has the capability to select subtitles. For in-person events we strive to use accessible venues. If you have any additional accessibility requirements that we can assist with, please email us at Events@thinkNPC.org.