To think Great Ormond St et al. shouldn’t give the money back...

[coconuttella]

... from the President’s Dinner. Hundreds of thousands of pounds that could be used to support children now is presumably just going to sit in some bank account as it’s become toxic. How does that help anyone.

It’s a crazy world here virtue signalling is more important than children’s welfare!

And it would be interesting to see if you found any time for GOSH, if your own child was seriously ill and you needed their world-renowned help and care.

That money was made by abusing and exploiting women. I'm glad GOS is giving it back.

It doesn't make the abuse of women ok if the money goes to children. Not even sick children.

Nobody is saying it does legitimise the abuse. But they should keep the money - there is no benefit in giving it back. It can do more good this way. GOSH is a wonderful institution

They had to give it back. This episode dragged its name through the mud and the money is toxic. It's a great shame but inevitable. I see India Knight maintains they should have kept it and asked for more to compensate for the damage to its reputation.

It doesn't make the abuse of women ok if the money goes to children. Not even sick children.

But no one, but no one, thinks that....

So where should this money go then?

It's a tricky one. I run a charity, named after an exceptional young woman who died aged 19. To beat her form of cancer we have a target of £2.5m in fundraising. IF the President's Club were to offer me £2m (as if!) it would be an awful moral dilemma. On the one hand: we could save 5000 lives a year in the UK alone with that money. On the other hand: it would seem totally disrespectful to take that money made partly due to the exploitation of young women, and if our girl had been lucky enough not to die aged 19 maybe she'd have been doing waitressing gigs to help fund her uni life and so could have been one of these girls.

It doesn't make the abuse of women ok if the money goes to children. Not even sick children.

What to do with it then? It's got to go somewhere.

GOSH could have kept the money. But there was a danger that it could cost them a lot more in the long run if their reputation was tarnished.

GOSH took the safer option.

The money should all be given back and spent only on work to challenge mysogany and discrimination.

How about women's charities?

“So where should this money go then?”

As someone said upthread, it should go to Women’s Aid/Rape Crisis charities. Or maybe a fund for women to use to sue sleezy, powerful, men who assault them.

The thing is, no one who believes charities should accept this is consistent.... If they were an Iraqi living in Baghdad in the 80s, would they have refused to take their child to its main hospital Saddam Medical City because it had been funded by Saddam Hussein’s largesse?!.... and whatever wrongs that went on at that dinner, they don’t match up to Saddam Hussein’s behaviour!

pecunia non olet. GOSH clearly doesn't need the money, and I shan't donate to it in future.

‘Shouldn’t’ not ‘should’

Well if you were an Iraqui living under Saddam Hussain, youre living under a dictatorship. They wouldn’t really have much say in anything at all.

Is anyone wondering what on earth a rich country like ours is doing needing charity to fund essential services for sick children😮? And yes they were right to give it back - some people (me for one) will donate to them now.

I think it's a shame that GOSH feel they have to return the money, but I can see why they are doing so - after the onslaught of vicious screaming bucketheads they had to deal with over Charlie Gard, they probably can't face (or can't ask their staff to face) another shitstorm from self-righteous idiots.

I agree it's a good idea that the money be passed on to the likes of Refuge and Rape Crisis, though.

I think it’s ok for gosh to not accept this years proveeds but I would not like to see a charity have to give back funds from previous years

I think probably as much money should go to reverse the transactions (not sure exactly what they were). Maybe rich banker bidded £100k to have dinner with someone famous. Well, give the £100k back to the banker. It’s his if the charity it’s going to doesn’t want it. And cancel the prize dinner. Whilst I can see ideologically the argument fkr it going to a women’s charity, it feels a bit like theft as that wasn’t the deal. 2 wrongs don’t make a right.

GOSH were put in a difficult position legally (Inland Revenue, Charities Comission, NHS funding regulator etc) and probably followed advice.

President's Club should split the money between Rape Crisis and Women's Aid.

I find the whole episode so terribly sad (have moved past the anger and sense of resignation that things have changed so little). I can see of course that Great Ormond St felt they have to refund any money gathered under such circumstances. I just feel sad that sick children will be the ones to lose out.
Perhaps the suggestion upthread that a campaign seeking that GOSH get to keep money previously donated would make it more acceptable for them to use the money? Perhaps a campaign to ensure that all money remaining in the kitty be equally distributed between the children's charities originally intended as beneficiaries and women's charities such as Women's Aid?

YA110%NBU. I was actually going to a start a thread myself but I thought I'd get devoured.
Theyre only hurting their own charities by giving the money back.

the whole thing is vile and just makes me think of Jimmy Saville
prolific sex offender who (presumably) justified it to himself by raising money for charity

I'm sure there are other hospitals who deal with very sick children who would be glad of a miniscule percentage of the money that is thrown at GOSH.