David Babbs sacked

Floomph I'm really sorry that I don't know what to suggest. Perhaps you could complain to the Charity Commission? Charlie I'm also sorry to hear what your relative has been through.

I think people give themselves permission to do whatever they like, including things they would condemn others for, when its for 'the cause'.

I spotted a weird coincidence in the article hoodathunkit posted about the Kids Company psychologist doing drugs with the service users. The article mentions Nicci Shall, who would go on to 'my pronouns are they, you fucking cunt' fame. (See Magdalen's footage from the Jam Jar in Bristol - masked protestors etc). Interesting that someone would go from dodgy behaviour from a dodgy charity to being an aggressive trans warrior... comes back to the 'giving self permission' thing maybe.

Birdsfoottrefoil yes, that's true, size is no guarantee. Unlike your example, due to the nature of the work that the charity set up by my family member did, they were extremely closely supervised, inspected and/or audited several times a year, strictly regulated with accounts checked or funding (which was continuous) cut off immediately. Of course, we have since also found out that the behemoth is not supervised to that degree and loads of the really strict, and justified, rules flaunted by them with no consequences.

But I think here in the UK we've already seen just how useful regulatory capture is for charities willing to exploit this and how useful it is to be closely connected to powerful political parties when others finally raise their concerns.

From that Reuter's article:
"The inquiry follows a year-long investigation in six countries by BuzzFeed News published in March that found WWF had provided salaries, training and weapons to paramilitary forces implicated in atrocities against indigenous communities."

Unfortunately there is a long and horrible history of some wildlife conservation organisations and charities committing serious abuses against indigenous people

I have ambivalent feelings about Vice, however this is an excellent documentary on the subject that may interest you

I imagine he'd lose his shit at the sight of a plastic straw but cocaine, and its trail of destruction from Colombia to a rolled-up twenty in London is just fine.

Undoubtedly.

The attitude of "well, I'm doing good in this area so I can do no wrong" seems to infect all of the charity sector. A student contemporary of mine went to work for a small charity after graduation. And on paper it genuinely looked like a good thing - working in rural Africa in the healthcare sector, genuinely empowering local people, very much in the mode of "give the person the fishing rod rather than the fish." But even then, after about 6 months or so it became apparent to him that the CEO was syphoning off large amounts of money from the charity into his daughters' education.

He agonised about whether to whistle-blow or not, but eventually concluded he couldn't put together a convincing enough paper trail, and would just end up rendering himself unemployable, so he left.

Small charities are not always great either - Over the last year I have watched as an individual set up a small charity which they claimed would provide a specific service to local council, giving it a misleading and ambitious name. They haven’t provided the service but instead have used it as a means to get on council groups and then government groups. By the time people have realised what she is up to she has moved onto another group at a higher level. It is quite scary watching how someone with so little knowledge but so much confidence in their own opinion manipulate their way up the greasy pole.

I've never trusted or donated to big behemoth charities, have lived in various places around the world and have well travelled family living and working abroad to have seen and heard enough to give me a distinctly uncharitable view of them.

Agree with a previous poster about politicians cosying up to these charities which gives the politician brownie points and the charity an untouchable status.

Sorry for your family member CharlieParley I'd like to say I'm surprised but, sadly, I'm not.

CharlieParley

For your family member

That seems a similar scenario to what is playing out here:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-gymnastics-accused-of-trying-to-eradicate-rivals-pd6j9qsxk

Systemic. A family member was pursued through the courts for more than a decade by a huge charity, because their local charity offered the same service cheaper at a higher quality with much higher success rates.

Perjury, judges bullied, libel, accusations of fraud and in the end a local charity destroyed (with over 100 staff losing their jobs) by a politically well-connected behemoth for profit.

The worst thing from my perspective was how many people were taken in by the whole no smoke without fire insinuations and how much trust these well-known charities continue to command even when - as this one did - they decide to be open about putting their corporate profit before people. The judge even stated in the last verdict that there is something inherently untrustworthy about small charities and therefore she was inclined to trust the accusations of the huge one.

Of course now everyone locally has come to understand who the bad guy was, but it's no good to them, as the local community has been damaged and no good to my family member as their livelihood and reputation were destroyed, and they were bankrupted. Of course we've since found out a truly sinister reason as to why the establishment supported the huge charity and it is too despicable for words.

There is something that seems to go wrong when charities grow to a certain size or stature in terms of reputation and power. And it seems near impossible to police because by the time whistleblowers or outsiders manage to raise their concerns, these charities are too powerful to take on successfully. I think it's because politicians love to align themselves with charitable causes and well publicised organisations that have become part of the establishment for the instant recognition factor.

And this seems to happen in every single sector, whether that is environmental, medical, or international aid related.

I think the majority of people are too scared to stand out from the crowd to do anything but comply with whatever they think the group approve of, and that predators can manipulate that behaviour for their own ends

I’d certainly agree with that!

I've been in some situations where I've watched the reactions and behaviour of people around me, and been shocked by how utterly spineless they were. People who claimed the moral high ground but
caved at the first sign of pressure.

I think the majority of people are too scared to stand out from the crowd to do anything but comply with whatever they think the group approve of, and that predators can manipulate that behaviour for their own ends.

I think predators are far more prevalent than anybody can bring themselves to admit.

But yes there is also a problem with boundary erosion and people not standing up to be counted as we are currently witnessing on a national if not global scale

And this is why effective safeguarding is so important.

It breaks my heart, when I was younger charity used to equal good now I am just sceptical. It was reading about Haiti and what some of the "charities" were doing to children, fronting as rescuing them while trafficking them to be sold for sex.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7259907/Haiti-judge-frees-eight-of-ten-US-missionaries-accused-of-kidnapping.html
www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/sunday-nights-matt-doran-goes-undercover-with-operation-underground-railroad-to-bring-down-haiti-child-sex-ring/news-story/dcecf5950ca5b6d501c48ed927127bc3
www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-25/clinton-silsby-trafficking-scandal-and-how-media-attempted-ignorecover-it

Predators are attracted to positions that give them access to victims but I don't believe that all of the guilty people started out with that intent.
I think the majority of them went along with what was happening around them and lost their moral boundaries one inch at a time.

I imagine he'd lose his shit at the sight of a plastic straw but cocaine, and its trail of destruction from Colombia to a rolled-up twenty in London is just fine.

It surprises me that people are surprised that charities are a natural magnet for malignant arseholes. Any organisation that works with the vulnerable is going to attract people like this in droves. Of course at the point we finally tightened up on safeguarding in this country and clamped down on sex tourism to Thailand etc paedophiles and rapists were going to go to war zones to abuse with impunity under the guise of ‘charity’.

I am very cynical and today I have really had enough

Christ alive. Collated together like this, it does appear to be a systemic/cultural issue.

Not enough oversight? Old-boys network equivalent?

So much for championing the vulnerable.

I read The Times report and wondered whether they'd been infiltrated by Chris Morris in a very dark mood.

From that Reuter's article:
"The inquiry follows a year-long investigation in six countries by BuzzFeed News published in March that found WWF had provided salaries, training and weapons to paramilitary forces implicated in atrocities against indigenous communities."

Today's mumsnet seems to be a succession of WTAF moments. I am just gobsmacked by this.

Honestly the only charities that I trust to donate to now are small women focused and women run charities.

This was in today's Reuters news about WWF:

news.trust.orgitem/20190404182231-0ta9t/

The whole sector, in terms of the big established charities, looks to be rotten.

Male run and staffed charities, well funded, that work with vulnerable women and children seem to be the ones to avoid

Its almost as though this is some sort of safeguarding red flag, isn't it.

Apropos of nothing at all, perhaps someone should do some digging into the men at the helm of the NSPCC.

Reminds me of this psychologist behaving badly

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/12093263/Drugs-charges-against-Kids-Company-psychologist-all-proven.html

I can't think how I trust which charities are staffed by decent people.

I agree that there is an issue in charities. However I've worked for charities my whole life, volunteered as well and do now and have never experienced any sexual coercion or abuse (unlike in other parts of my life).

Male run and staffed charities, well funded, that work with vulnerable women and children seem to be the ones to avoid. Particularly in the majority world.