Lucinda Rouse, Emily Harle, Emily Burt and Dami Adewale reflect on some of the top sector stories from the past month.

Emily Burt gives her thoughts on the state of the sector in 2025 following her recent return from maternity leave.

Lucinda shares snippets from an interview with Peter Sparkes, chief executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, in which they discuss a new five-year plan that aims to improve engagement with the charity’s fundraising and volunteering communities.

Dami explores conflicting narratives on the health of volunteering more broadly and the key motivators for people signing up to volunteer roles.

And Emily Harle reflects on what the recent closure of Manchester Pride says about how charities communicate financial difficulty.

Listen back to Janet Thorne on the Third Sector Podcast: Cultivating a more flexible volunteering offer.

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