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The charity podcasts UK fundraisers should actually listen to in 2026
July 14, 2026
⚡TL;DR — The Short Answer
Most small UK charities do not need more podcasts. They need a handful of the right ones that fit into a commute, a dog walk, or the drive home from the trustees meeting.
Fundraising Everywhere is the UK and Ireland show built for small-charity fundraisers first, not enterprise consultants.
Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio, We Are For Good, and The Ethical Rainmaker are US-based, but the fundraising craft they teach translates cleanly into a UK charity context.
Before subscribing to any US show, check the audio output from NCVO, CIoF, Charity Digital, and Charity Excellence: the four UK sector bodies whose content is anchored in Gift Aid, the Fundraising Regulator Code, and UK trustee governance.
One note per episode, shared with your team once a fortnight, is the habit that turns listening into change.
Here is the honest verdict first, before the list: for most small, time-poor UK charities, a podcast is not the highest-leverage learning channel available. A 45-minute episode is a real ongoing commitment for a no-staff team, and the return on that time is usually beaten by a focused blog post, a peer call, or one hour of hands-on practice with your donor list.
That said, podcasts genuinely fit some readers. If you have a commute, you are a sole chief executive with drive time, you sit on a board of trustees and prefer audio, or your alternative is doomscrolling, audio learning is a real upgrade.
A note on this list: most charity fundraising podcasts are produced in the US. Many UK volunteer fundraisers and charity trustees slot audio learning into moments that US shows never imagined, such as the school run, the commute on the Northern Line, or the walk from the church hall to the car after the Wednesday-evening committee meeting. This guide has kept a small number of US shows whose fundraising craft, donor storytelling, or community-centric thinking translates cleanly into a UK charity context. Shows locked to US tax law, 501(c)(3) framing, or US board culture have been left out entirely.
Quick comparison: find your charity podcast in 60 seconds
Show
Episode length
Frequency
Ideal for
UK or US
Fundraising Everywhere
30 to 60 min
Regular
Small UK and Ireland charity fundraisers wanting sector-specific advice
UK/Ireland
Third Sector Podcast
20 to 40 min
Occasional
Charity professionals following UK sector news and policy shifts
UK
Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio
30 to 60 min
Weekly
Fundraising discipline and donor psychology (US-based; fundraising craft translates)
US (retained)
We Are For Good
30 to 45 min
Regular
Donor storytelling and building a culture of giving
US (retained)
The Ethical Rainmaker
45 to 60 min
Occasional
Community-centric and equity-aware fundraising thinking
US (retained)
Best charity podcasts for UK fundraisers
Before you subscribe to a US show, check the audio output from these four UK sector bodies. Their content is anchored in Gift Aid, the Fundraising Regulator Code of Fundraising Practice, and UK trustee governance in a way that US shows simply cannot be.
NCVO produces audio and webinar content for voluntary sector organisations across England and Wales. It is the largest UK sector body and covers funding, volunteering, governance, and policy.
Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) is the professional body for UK fundraisers. It regularly publishes guidance and audio resources covering the Code of Fundraising Practice, major gifts, and digital fundraising.
Charity Digital covers technology for UK charities and produces accessible content on digital fundraising tools, data, and strategy. Its output assumes a UK regulatory context throughout.
Charity Excellence (Ian McLintock) runs one of the UK's fastest-growing small-charity communities and produces practical audio and written guides aimed specifically at organisations under £500k income.
1. Fundraising Everywhere
Where to listen: Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Fundraising Everywhere, co-hosted by Nikki Bell and Simon Scriver, is the UK and Ireland charity sector's most accessible podcast for small-charity fundraisers. The show covers donor engagement strategies, supporter retention, and the kind of hands-on fundraising decisions that a part-time fundraising manager at a community charity actually faces week to week.
The hosts run Fundraising Everywhere as a learning community, not just a content channel, which means episodes often emerge directly from conversations within the sector rather than from a consulting circuit. There is no US tax framing, no 501(c)(3) scaffolding, and no assumption that your team has fifteen people and a six-figure prospect list.
Fit for a small UK charity: ✅ Fits. Built around the realities of small-charity fundraising in the UK and Ireland. Save it for the commute, the dog walk, or the drive home from the trustees meeting.
Best charity podcasts for fundraising and donor engagement
This is the section most readers will care about. A podcast can also drive donations directly: a host who mentions a short link to a free Zeffy donation form during the episode and again at the close can convert listeners into donors from their phone in under a minute.
Three US shows earn a place here because the fundraising craft they teach, covering donor psychology, campaign storytelling, and the relationship between fundraiser and supporter, does not change much when you cross the Atlantic. Where these shows reference US tax categories or domestic grant bodies, take the fundraising principle and set aside the compliance detail.
Tony covers donor psychology, campaign planning, and fundraising craft. Episodes are weekly and feature working fundraisers, not just consultants. Where the show references US tax specifics, file those details separately and focus on the fundraising discipline, which travels well.
Fit for a small UK charity: ✅ Fits. Long enough to go deep, weekly enough to build a habit. A solid anchor subscription for any fundraiser who wants to sharpen their craft consistently.
3. We Are For Good (Jonathan McCoy and Becky Endicott)
Where to listen: Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Hosts Jonathan McCoy and Becky Endicott focus on the human side of fundraising: donor storytelling, supporter experience, and building a culture of giving throughout an organisation. Episodes feature working fundraisers from organisations of every size and budget.
Fit for a small UK charity: ✅ Fits. The storytelling lens is something a small team can act on this week with no expensive software required. Listen when you are preparing a fundraising appeal or a case for support, and you will hear language you can borrow directly.
Michelle Shireen Muri challenges fundraising orthodoxy and pushes toward more inclusive, community-centric practice. The show has reshaped how many fundraisers think about donor relationships. Episodes are longer and demand reflection time, but the equity framing is as relevant to a UK charity as it is to a US one.
Fit for a small UK charity: ⚠️ Situational. Important ideas, but episodes are long. Save for a quiet hour when you have a governance or ethics question on your mind, or when you are thinking about how to shift your organisation's relationship with its community.
The donor engagement ideas these shows discuss are far easier to act on when every gift, contact, and note lives in one place. Zeffy's free donor management does exactly that, at no cost.
Best charity podcasts for charity operations
This section covers shows that help you run the organisation, not just raise money for it.
5. Third Sector Podcast (Third Sector)
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the Third Sector website.
Third Sector is the UK's leading trade publication for the charity sector, and its audio output covers sector policy, regulatory change, and the operational realities facing UK charities. Because it is produced by a UK editorial team, it addresses Charity Commission guidance, Fundraising Regulator obligations, and sector-wide governance questions directly, rather than by analogy with a US equivalent.
Episodes are occasional rather than weekly, which makes them more like topical briefings than a regular subscription habit. Listen when a new piece of regulation or a sector news story makes the headlines and you want to understand the practical implications quickly.
Fit for a small UK charity: ✅ Fits. The most straightforwardly UK-anchored option on this list. Useful when you need to understand what a regulatory shift or sector trend means for your charity in practice. Save it for the drive home after a challenging trustees meeting.
Best podcasts for social impact and advocacy
UK-specific social impact and advocacy podcasting is a thin landscape. The most reliable sources of UK-anchored content on public policy, sector-level campaigning, and systemic change remain the audio and webinar output of NCVO and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising rather than dedicated podcast series. Check their websites for current audio resources before subscribing to a US advocacy show whose regulatory references will not map onto UK charity law.
For organisations working on community-centric fundraising and inclusive practice, The Ethical Rainmaker (listed in the fundraising section above) addresses many of the same themes that a UK advocacy team would care about, even though the show is US-produced.
Specialist charity podcasts worth your time
Most specialist charity podcast production happens in the US. Rather than carry US-specific legal or tax content into a UK context, this section points you to the specialist bodies whose UK-anchored audio output is more directly applicable.
For legal and compliance questions (trustee responsibilities, mission drift, donor restrictions, charity governance), the Charity Commission for England and Wales and OSCR both publish guidance and occasional audio content. The Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025, now including Section 9 on online platforms) is the primary compliance reference for UK charities, and its practical implications are regularly covered by CIoF and Charity Digital.
For major gifts and donor cultivation, the fundraising principles discussed by US shows translate well, but the regulatory context differs significantly. Gift Aid does not apply to payments for goods or services, UK data protection is governed by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Fundraising Preference Service creates obligations that US scripts will not account for. Treat US major-gift content as a source of techniques, and apply UK compliance thinking before acting.
How we selected these charity podcasts
No survey, no internal panel. The criteria are straightforward and verifiable.
Active in 2026. Each show on this list has published recent episodes on a public feed. Dormant or defunct shows were left out.
Publicly visible listener ratings where available. Where Apple Podcasts and Spotify ratings exist for a retained show, they are listed so you can sanity-check independently. No ratings are carried over for UK shows, as the ratings apply to different programmes.
Actionable, not just inspirational. The list favours shows that send you back to your desk with something to try, not just something to feel.
Relevant to small and mid-size UK charities. We weighted toward hosts who talk to working practitioners, not enterprise consultants.
Speaks to UK charity realities, or is universal enough to translate cleanly. US shows on this list are here because the fundraising craft, donor psychology, or community-centric thinking crosses borders. Shows locked to US tax law, 501(c)(3) framing, or US board culture have been excluded entirely.
If you only subscribe to two shows from this list, choose Fundraising Everywhere for UK-grounded sector advice and Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio for weekly fundraising discipline.
Why charity podcasts matter (for the charities they fit)
If a podcast fits your week, the value is real.
You learn from people who have done the thing. Most hosts and guests are working fundraisers, chief executives, or sector specialists, not pure theorists.
You go deeper than a blog post. A 30-minute conversation can sit with one hard topic, such as donor attrition or trustee conflict, without flattening it.
You reclaim dead time. A commute, a walk, or an admin block becomes professional development without adding an hour to your day.
You hear how other organisations talk about the same problem. Language matters in fundraising, and good shows give you better words for things you already do.
There is a UK-specific reason to prioritise audio learning at the moment: regulatory shifts such as the new Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025, including the new Section 9 on online platforms) and the Gambling Commission's ongoing guidance on small-society lotteries are easier to absorb in conversation than in a PDF. Podcasts and audio briefings from UK sector bodies help translate abstract regulatory changes into practical, operational language. (Fundraising Regulator Code)
For a small charity: the value is real only if audio fits an existing slot in your week. If you are trying to carve out a new hour, that hour is almost always better spent on the work itself.
And when an episode sparks an idea worth acting on, the fastest way to turn that attention into gifts is a free online donation form, with no platform fee, no transaction fee, and no card fee.
How to make time for podcast learning
Three things separate people who get real value from podcasts from people who just collect episodes.
Pair listening with something physical. Drive time, walking the dog, stuffing appeal envelopes, prepping the fete. The brain absorbs better when the body is occupied, and you are not borrowing time from anything else. The walk from the church hall to the car after the trustees meeting is a 15-minute episode.
Take one note per episode, not ten. A single sentence in your phone: 'Try the Tuesday follow-up email.' Anything more becomes a backlog you never act on.
Share one insight with your team or board every fortnight. That is how listening turns into change. A quick message or a five-minute item on the trustees agenda works well.
One more practical use: if you host or guest on a podcast, you can drive listeners straight to giving with a short link to a free Zeffy donation form. Gift Aid handled, no platform fee, no transaction fee, no card fee. Ever. Zeffy is trusted by over 100,000 charities and has helped raise over £2 billion for causes like yours. The host reads the link, the listener taps once, the donation lands.
For a small charity: if you are only going to adopt one of the three habits above, choose the one-sentence note. It is the difference between a year of podcasts and a year of changes.
Yes. Before subscribing to any US show, check the audio output from four UK sector bodies: NCVO (the National Council for Voluntary Organisations), the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF), Charity Digital, and Charity Excellence. Their content addresses Gift Aid, Fundraising Regulator Code compliance, and Charity Commission and OSCR governance in a way that US shows simply cannot. For a dedicated UK and Ireland podcast built around small-charity fundraising practice, Fundraising Everywhere (Nikki Bell and Simon Scriver) is the strongest starting point on this list.
Only if your audience clearly wants audio content and you have someone who can record consistently. The commitment is real: scripting or outlining, recording, editing, and distributing one episode a month is a meaningful part-time workload. A well-written email newsletter usually reaches more of your existing donors with less effort.
If you do launch, the Fundraising Regulator Code of Fundraising Practice (Section 9, effective 1 November 2025) applies to any donation ask made via the show. Any Gift Aid claim also requires the standard HMRC Gift Aid declaration from each donor. Start with a short run of six episodes before committing to an ongoing series.
Very little, to begin. A decent USB microphone (around £40 to £120), free recording software such as Audacity or GarageBand, and a quiet room with soft furnishings to reduce echo. Many small-charity podcasts sound perfectly professional on this setup. Add a second microphone if you have a co-host recording in the same room, or use a remote-recording tool such as Riverside or Zencastr if you are recording guests in different locations.
The sweet spot for most audiences is 25 to 45 minutes. That covers a commute, a lunchtime walk, or a short admin block without demanding too much of a listener's attention in one sitting. If your content is genuinely dense and practical, 45 to 60 minutes is defensible. Episodes over 60 minutes require a very loyal audience to sustain regular engagement.
Directly, yes, if you handle the ask well. A host who mentions a short link to your donation form during the episode, and repeats it at the close, can convert listeners into donors. Keep the link simple, place it in the episode description, and make sure the form loads quickly on a mobile. Zeffy's free donation forms are built for exactly this use: no platform fee, no transaction fee, no card fee, and Gift Aid handled automatically.
Start with the section of this list that matches your most pressing current challenge. If donor retention is the problem, begin with the fundraising and donor engagement section. If you need to understand the UK regulatory landscape, prioritise the UK sector body audio output listed in the introduction to this article. Subscribe to one show for a month before adding another. More subscriptions without more listening time is just more guilt.
Look for people who attend related events, follow relevant Facebook groups, or subscribe to aligned newsletters.These aren’t just potential donors—they’re your future advocates.
Look for people who attend related events, follow relevant Facebook groups, or subscribe to aligned newsletters.These aren’t just potential donors—they’re your future advocates.
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