During the dark times of the Covid 19 pandemic many of us felt warmed by the efforts of our fellow humans to raise money for NHS Charities Together. One such inspirational individual was the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, which makes the recent news of the Charity Commission’s inquiry into The Captain Tom Foundation a tough read.
Captain Tom was never involved in the foundation that was set up in his name, and it was instead managed by his daughter, whilst his son in law joined the board as a trustee.
In its inquiry the Charity Commission found there to be repeated instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity, in numerous areas such as the management of conflict of interests and remuneration of trustees.
In particular it noted the charity’s poor management of its fundraising and commercial participation agreements. In some cases fundraising collaborations were publicised without proper contracts being in place.
How a charity chooses to fundraise can build or damage its reputation and all collaborations should be considered carefully. It is the duty of the trustees to protect the interests of the charity by fully complying with the relevant regulations. These regulations are designed to ensure fundraising arrangements are transparent to potential donors.
Where a charity enters into an arrangement with a commercial participator it must ensure that written agreements are in place. These agreements must clearly state which charities will benefit from the venture and the proportion of the proceeds that will be due to the named charities.
In the case of The Captain Tom Foundation the Charity Commission identified instances where the public could have felt misled as a result of promises made in the press regarding book sales. There were indications that donations would be made, but they never were. This behaviour led to significant damage to the reputation of the charity.
Further guidance on this topic can be found on the Charity Commission website in the document Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20).