Happy New Year and welcome to the first show of 2026.
In this episode, Tim and Piers kick off the year by reflecting on life in the sector, the realities of charity leadership and what smaller organisations can teach the rest of us about agility, innovation and resilience.

They’re joined by Sharon Bell, who shares her “squiggly career” journey from chartered accountant to Chief Executivem of Services For Education, trustee and education leader. It’s an honest conversation about governance, perspective, lived experience and why getting involved at different levels of the sector really matters.

As always, the episode also shines a light on two brilliant small charities doing big things in their communities.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why the New Year Honours List matters for charities – not just celebrities

• What a “squiggly career” really looks like in the charity sector

• Moving between large and small charities – and what each can learn from the other

• Governance challenges and opportunities at different organisational sizes

• Why smaller charities are often forced to be the most innovative

• Encouraging charity professionals to get involved as trustees, governors and volunteers

Useful links

• Services for Education – https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk

• Baby Basics Northampton – https://baby-basics.org.uk/centre/northampton

• Friends and Places Together – https://www.friendsandplacestogether.org.uk

• New Year Honours List (UK Government) – https://www.gov.uk/honours

• NCVO – Trusteeship and Governance – https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance

• The Good Studio – Great content for good causes: https://www.thegoodstudio.co.uk

Get involved:

• Listen to The Charity Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favourite platform

• Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thecharityshowpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Send a voice message to TheCharityShow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Find every link you need: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/thecharityshow⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Enjoyed the episode? Leave a five-star review and follow/subscribe to support the show!

💡 If you enjoyed this episode, hit follow or subscribe on your podcast app, and please leave us a five-star rating — it helps more people find conversations with real charity experts across the UK.

This episode is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Good Studio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – Creating great content for good causes.From podcasts and campaigns to film and copywriting, The Good Studio helps charities tell powerful stories that make people care.👉 Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thegoodstudio.co.uk ⁠⁠⁠⁠

This week, Tim and Piers are joined by Howard Taylor, CEO of Lumos Foundation, the international charity founded by J.K. Rowling that is working to end the institutionalisation of children around the world.

Howard shares the staggering reality that four out of five children in orphanages aren’t orphans, the systems that separate families, and Lumos’s mission to help children grow up safely, with love, in families — not institutions.

Along the way, Howard reflects on Lumos’s 20-year journey, the challenges and breakthroughs of global child protection, and what needs to change if we’re serious about protecting the world’s most vulnerable children.

Between the conversation, Tim and Piers dive into the week’s charity news — from Giving Tuesday scam warnings to a controversial PETA Christmas ad — and shine the Small Charity Spotlight on two inspiring organisations supporting families through cancer.

In this episode

• 🌍 Why 80% of children in orphanages worldwide have at least one living parent — and what drives family separation.

• 👶 Lumos’s mission to end the institutional care of children and rebuild family- and community-based alternatives.

• 🏠 What deinstitutionalisation really looks like on the ground — and why it’s complex, long-term work.

• 💬 Howard’s reflections on leadership, working internationally, and staying mission-focused in difficult contexts.

• 📣 How storytelling, language and public perception influence global child-protection policy.

• ❤️ The role of hope, partnership and persistence when tackling huge systemic problems.Useful links

• Lumos Foundation – https://www.wearelumos.org

• Milly’s Smiles – Childhood Cancer Charity - Millys Smiles

• The Brain Tumour Charity – https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org

• PETA UK – https://www.peta.org.uk

• The Good Studio – https://www.thegoodstudio.co.uk

Get involved:

• Listen to The Charity Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favourite platform

• Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thecharityshowpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Send a voice message to TheCharityShow⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Find every link you need: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/thecharityshow⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Enjoyed the episode? Leave a five-star review and follow/subscribe to support the show!

💡 If you enjoyed this episode, hit follow or subscribe on your podcast app, and please leave us a five-star rating — it helps more people find conversations with real charity experts across the UK.

This episode is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Good Studio⁠⁠⁠⁠ – Creating great content for good causes.From podcasts and campaigns to film and copywriting, The Good Studio helps charities tell powerful stories that make people care.👉 Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thegoodstudio.co.uk ⁠⁠⁠