The Captain Tom Foundation is under investigation for concerns about the charity’s management and independence from the deceased veteran’s family.
The charity commission opened a case in the charity in March 2021, just a month after Sir Tom’s death, and began reviewing the organization’s founding.
The oversight body launched an investigation after worrying about agreements between the charity and a company linked to Sir Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband, Colin.
Concerns were also expressed about the decision-making of the trustees and how the charity is run.
Sir Tom was put in the spotlight during the COVID pandemic after raising £ 38 million for the NHS, walking 100 tours of his garden before his 100th birthday in the midst of the first blockade in the UK in April 2020. .
The Authority says the money raised for the NHS, which was donated to the NHS Charities Together, is not part of the scope of its investigation.
The Captain Tom Foundation was registered in June 2020 after the war veteran’s fundraising efforts.
The publication of the foundation’s first annual reports in March 2022 revealed that the charity had made £ 240,000 and given £ 160,000 to good causes.
But the commission said it was concerned that “failure to take into account intellectual property and trademark issues” in setting up the charity gave a private company called Club Nook Limited the opportunity to mark variations of the name “Captain Tom” without objection from charity.
This could generate “significant profits” for the company, which is controlled by Ms Ingram-Moore and Mr Ingram-Moore, the commission added.
Launched on June 16, the investigation assesses whether the trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation were responsible for mismanagement or misconduct in the charity’s administration, which led to losses, adequately managed conflicts of interest and complied with their duties and responsibilities under charity law. .
Prior to opening the inquiry, the committee engaged with the charity on several issues.
In March 2021, the charity requested permission from the regulator to hire Ms. Ingram-Moore, a former trustee, with a salary of £ 60,000 a year, for three days a week. The Commission requested evidence of the comparative analysis carried out.
The charity provided the committee with this evidence and a revised proposal to appoint Ms Ingram-Moore on a full-time salary of £ 100,000.
Image: Charity seeks permission from regulator to hire Ms Ingram-Moore with a salary of £ 60,000 a year
Then, in July 2021, the regulator refused permission to appoint Ms. Ingram-Moore as CEO with a salary of £ 100,000 – given that the proposed salary was neither reasonable nor justified.
The following month, the committee authorized the charity to appoint Ms Ingram-Moore as interim CEO with a salary of £ 85,000 a year, on a three-month continuous contract, for a maximum of nine months while the trustees run an open recruitment process.
Since then, the charity has appointed a new CEO.
Helen Stevenson, chief executive of the charity, said: “The late Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired the nation with his courage, perseverance and concern for others. It is vital that public trust in charity is protected and that people continue to feel confident in supporting good causes.
“We are not making any decision to start an investigation lightly, but in this case our fears are growing. We believe it is in the public interest to examine them through a formal investigation, which gives us access to the full range of our protective and law enforcement powers. “
The commission had previously expressed concerns about the payment of consultancy fees to third parties, but said it was later “satisfied” that these specific payments were a reasonable reimbursement of the costs incurred by the companies in setting up the charity.
Image: Sir Captain Tom Moore died at the age of 100 last year
He added that he was also satisfied that the payments had been “adequately identified and managed”.
Stephen Jones, chairman of the Captain Tom Foundation’s Board of Trustees, said: “Of course, we will work closely with the committee in its investigation into intellectual property management.
I note that the trustees confirmed to the committee during the registration process that “image rights and intellectual property rights in the name are held within a private family trust” and the committee was aware that this was always intended to be the case. . .
We welcome the fact that the Charity Commission today reports that it is “satisfied” with the issues raised on the Foundation’s annual report, which was published in February, and concludes that the payments were reasonable and that they were identified and managed. conflicts of interest “
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1:01 Captain Tom’s daughter: “You will always be with me”
Jack Gilbert, who took over as CEO earlier this month, added: “My appointment marks the beginning of an important period of transformation for the Captain Tom Foundation.
“With a revitalized and more focused mission in the coming months, we will announce a range of charitable activities at both local and national levels that change the way we think, feel and act on age and aging, fight age and build meaningful relationships between communities and generations.
“Working with the board, I use NCVO-supported standards for trusted charities to ensure that the foundation meets best practices in all respects, including management and finance. They will be externally validated as part of the process. “
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