Watchdog publishes highly critical report after charitable trust is required to return cash
A charitable trust supporting the work of Prince Andrew has been required to return more than £350,000 in payments made to a trustee after a public watchdog intervened.
The Charity Commission has revealed the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust broke the law by handing over large sums to the prince’s household to compensate for time spent on other activities by one of his employees.
Continue reading...Duke of Cambridge reveals he is trained volunteer for UK’s Shout text platform
The Duke of Cambridge has been secretly working as a volunteer supporting people contacting a crisis helpline for mental health support, he has revealed.
Unbeknown to those who have accessed the Shout 85258 text-messaging service, Prince William is one of its 2,000 trained volunteers.
Continue reading...Amid this unfolding disaster, we have seen countless acts of kindness and solidarity. It’s this spirit of generosity that will help guide us out of this crisis and into a better future. By Rebecca Solnit
Threatened job losses follow announcement of 1,500 redundancies internationally and closure of offices in 18 countries
More than 200 UK jobs could be lost at Oxfam, after the charity’s funding plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic.
The threatened UK job cuts are in addition to the loss of almost 1,500 staff roles internationally and the closure of offices in 18 countries, announced by the aid organisation in May.
Continue reading...Tobias Weller raises £60,000 for charity by walking up and down Sheffield road for 70 days
There were cheers from physically distanced crowds as nine-year-old Tobias Weller, a boy with autism and cerebral palsy, completed his remarkable challenge to walk a marathon to raise money for charity.
Nicknamed Captain Tobias, he has been walking up and down the Sheffield road where he lives for 70 days. He initially hoped to raise £500. A flood of support led to him raising the target to £30,000. On Sunday evening the total stood at more than £60,000.
Continue reading...Locals, NGOs and politicians express fears for world’s most vulnerable as charity announces withdrawal from 18 countries due to financial impact of Covid-19
Oxfam International’s announcement that it will close operations in countries including Afghanistan and Haiti has prompted fears that regions are being abandoned just as the coronavirus pandemic makes them more vulnerable.
Oxfam said the impact of Covid-19 on its finances had forced it to fast-track a global restructuring programme, which entails the closure of 18 country offices.
Continue reading...More cuts in the UK expected as global funding crisis follows Haiti sex-abuse scandal and charity shop lockdown closures
Oxfam International is to lay off almost 1,500 staff and close operations in 18 countries – including Afghanistan where it has worked for 50 years – after it emerged that the global aid organisation had been bleeding cash during the coronavirus crisis.
The agency has seen its funding model hit by an accumulation of crises.
Continue reading...British government urged to plug shortfall as Oxfam and Christian Aid reveal huge financial impact of Covid-19 outbreak
Charities are calling on the UK government for greater support as they report the loss of millions of pounds as a result of Covid-19.
Oxfam said it is losing £5m a month from the closure of its shops alone, while Christian Aid last week said it expected a £6m drop in its funds this financial year. Others said they were still calculating the impact.
Continue reading...Pop star unites with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey to support charities working with ‘communities of colour’
Beyoncé has announced a donation of $6m for mental health and other initiatives during the coronavirus outbreak.
The singer teamed up with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s relief fund #startsmall to make the donation to the National Alliance in Mental Health, University of California Los Angeles, and local community-based organisations working to improve mental health. In a statement on her website, Beyoncé said mental burdens were accelerating for people who can’t access basic necessities during the crisis.
Continue reading...Fundraisers for NHS Charities Together aim for £100m goal
The fundraising effort of Tom Moore, the 99-year-old who inspired many with his sponsored garden walk, drawing in £15m on behalf of the NHS, has focused attention on the health service charities which stand to benefit.
Captain Moore’s 100 laps of his garden began on 8 April with a target of £1,000 which snowballed rapidly as his efforts received national TV and social media exposure. The £15m he has raised dwarfs the £10m donated to the fund by the Duke of Westminster, and the £5m given by the Rausing family, and puts the Covid-19 Appeal, launched Monday,well on the way to its £100m target.
Continue reading...UK’s biggest cancer charity expects income to fall by up to 25% as a result of the coronavirus crisis
The UK’s biggest cancer charity is cutting research funding by £44m because of a sharp fall in income and has acknowledged that the move could set back the fight against the disease for many years.
Cancer Research UK (CRUK), which funds nearly half of the cancer research in the country, said it was the most difficult decision it had ever taken but explained that it believed limiting spending now would enable it to continue to support life-saving research in the long-run.
Continue reading...Duke and Duchess of Sussex reveal plans for foundation to replace Sussex Royal brand
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to launch a charitable organisation named Archewell, the couple have said.
Prince Harry and Meghan said they “look forward” to launching the foundation, which will replace their Sussex Royal brand, with plans reported to include their own charity as well as a website.
Continue reading...The wave of illness and death brought on by coronavirus is only beginning. How do we prepare for the sadness that will be thrust upon us?
• Join Tim Costello as he gives the inaugural Australia at Home lunchtime briefing at 1pm
Like many people, I am re-reading The Plague by Albert Camus. I haven’t picked it up for years.
“The first thing the plague brought to our town was exile ... It was undoubtedly the feeling of exile – that sensation of a void within which never left us ... they drifted through life rather than lived, the prey of aimless days and sterile memories, like wandering shadows that could have acquired substance only by consenting to root themselves in the solid earth of their distress.”
Continue reading...Caitlyn Jenner and Harry Redknapp have both accepted thousands of pounds in return for backing a fake charity set up by Channel 4 in a sting operation.
In a Dispatches documentary, Celebs For Sale: The Great Charity Scandal, to be broadcast on Monday evening, the two well-known faces are revealed to be part of a widespread practice of paying celebrities for public support.
Continue reading...Charity Commission condemns ‘serious failures’ in handling of harassment allegations against senior staff
Save the Children “let down” its staff and the wider public over its handling of alleged sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour by senior managers, according to a fiercely critical report published on Thursday.
The Charity Commission said the organisation’s handling of complaints against its former chief executive, Justin Forsyth, and Brendan Cox, its former policy director, amounted to mismanagement and had a “corrosive effect” on the organisation’s culture. The charity must work hard to rebuild its reputation, said the commission.
Continue reading...Charity Commission accuses organisation of mishandling sexual harassment allegations levelled at former senior staff
The head of one of Britain’s biggest charities resisted calls to resign on Wednesday after a damning inquiry into the organisation’s handling of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour against senior managers.
A Charity Commission investigation into Save the Children’s handling of claims against Justin Forsyth and Brendan Cox, respectively the charity’s former chief executive and policy director, will be published on Thursday.
Continue reading...Patrick McLarry sentenced to five years for defrauding scheme of more than £250,000
The former head of a charity has been jailed for five years after he admitted defrauding a pension scheme for workers with disabilities and using the money to buy houses in England and France.
Patrick McLarry took more than £250,000 from the pension scheme of Yateley Industries for the Disabled and used it to buy homes for himself and his wife and pay off a debt for a pub lease.
Continue reading...By providing free school meals to some of the poorest children on Earth, a UK charity is also ensuring they get an education
It’s breakfast time in Domagbamatma (population: 63) in the depths of the Liberian rainforest, but there’s no food in evidence in the home of Massa Kamara. The eight-year-old has been up since dawn, collecting firewood, fetching water.
Now she’s ready for school in a crisp white shirt and navy-blue skirt in her family’s muddy, two-room shack.
Continue reading...Move follows BBC interview about association with sex offender Jeffery Epstein
Prince Andrew is to withdraw from scores of charities in a move that appeared designed to protect the monarchy from further humiliation over his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday that the Duke of York was “standing back from all his patronages” but indicated he still hoped to return to a public role at some point by saying the move was only temporary.
Continue reading...Government critics fear purge of sector as more than 12,000 organisations lose registered charity status
More than 12,000 charities have been told they can no longer operate in Uganda as critics raised fears that government regulatory measures effectively amounted to a purge.
The government said a review that took place in August and September would root out poorly performing organisations and create “a reliable data bank on all NGOs” in the country.
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