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The royal family

Archewell report by Charity Watch

209 replies

BemusedAmerican · 15/03/2024 21:57

It's tax time and Charity Watch is revising charity ratings. Archewell Foundation is now old enough to have a rating:
https://www.charitywatch.org/charity-donating-articles/archewell-foundation-charitywatch-rating

Here is info about Charity Watch for the curious: https://www.charitywatch.org/about-charitywatch/mission-goals

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
AliceOlive · 14/05/2024 14:03

Yes and at a certain point lawyers get involved and then it starts getting expensive.

shockthemonkey · 14/05/2024 14:04

Quite, @SecretSoul

State of California DOJ lists Archewell's "entity type" as Foreign Corporation.

I thought it was registered in Delaware though? Can it be registered in Delaware and qualify as a Foreign Corporation at the same time?

smilesy · 14/05/2024 14:17

SecretSoul · 14/05/2024 14:02

I think it’s an honest mistake but it’s been caused by incompetence, poor governance, or similar.

When an organisation is run properly, it shouldn’t matter if staff leave. As a charity there should be a framework in place that means nothing gets lost or missed.

Part of good governance is ensuring that nothing crucial rests on just one person. It’s too risky. There are supposed to be controls in place that ensure compliance is always maintained. That doesn’t seem to be the case here and underlines previous concerns raised about the lack of a robust structure and oversight at Archewell.

That’s what I meant only you put it much better than I did 😆

BemusedAmerican · 14/05/2024 14:40

@shockthemonkey It's a foreign corporation since it is registered in Delaware and not California.

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User7947433 · 14/05/2024 14:47

Wasn't there evidence that the charity only had two major donors the past year? Most likely friends of H&M, or their own money funnelled through another company so it looks like a third party payment. The admin has gone to shit now because the charity serves no purpose and they don't expect any more money to come in. They're clearly not getting tons of donations from the public which need to be admin-ed and spent.

We have lawyer friends whose bread and butter work is to oversee foundations and charities for extremely rich families. It's literally all legal tax-avoidance, and very little to do with altruism or philanthropy.

I'm willing to bet that Archewell will always run parallel to H&M's earnings. If they continue to lose projects and income then the charity may be dramatically slimmed down or even closed within a few years. If they land another project then the charity will magically start running again with all fees paid.

MillionsofYearsintheMaking · 14/05/2024 14:51

You have to wonder what on earth is going on here. You don't get these types of orders as a first follow up for a missing cheque. You get reminders, warnings, red letters etc.

It is basic governance. They have an army of staff. It really does question whether they even take this foundation seriously themselves - never mind expect others to.

I mean can you imagine this happening to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or the Obama's foundation?

It does also make you ask why they haven't corrected it already. Do they have concerns about what the latest filings will reveal when they are available online? Just bizarre. They have had so much criticism for being all mouth and no action - this was a simple thing they could have done correctly but didn't.

Vespanest · 14/05/2024 15:16

Forget the check or admin error, I cannot believe you need to pay hundreds of thousands to staff who do not fundraise and the majority of the donation is a bank transfer to other charities, what the hell do the do.

ThatLibraryDebate · 14/05/2024 15:38

User7947433 · 14/05/2024 14:47

Wasn't there evidence that the charity only had two major donors the past year? Most likely friends of H&M, or their own money funnelled through another company so it looks like a third party payment. The admin has gone to shit now because the charity serves no purpose and they don't expect any more money to come in. They're clearly not getting tons of donations from the public which need to be admin-ed and spent.

We have lawyer friends whose bread and butter work is to oversee foundations and charities for extremely rich families. It's literally all legal tax-avoidance, and very little to do with altruism or philanthropy.

I'm willing to bet that Archewell will always run parallel to H&M's earnings. If they continue to lose projects and income then the charity may be dramatically slimmed down or even closed within a few years. If they land another project then the charity will magically start running again with all fees paid.

Yes it says in this report; two major donors, whose identity the foundation isn't obliged to provide.

I continue to assume that it's set up in the way many charities or foundations are: the capital (presumably invested by H&M) stays in the bank, and the interest is used to fund the charitable activity. I used to work for a charity who treated it's books like that, and it's fundraising efforts effectively paid for our salaries while the interest from the capital funded the charitable work. As a member of the fundraising team I didn't care for ethics of my efforts effectively paying for me to have a job and nothing more, and I left.

I presume that Archewell is similar in that it isn't designed to fundraise, it's designed to be a ringfenced pot of capital well invested that provides a sustainable source of income for charitable activities, a bit like a pension pot. There's nothing wrong with that in principal, and no evidence that Archewell is fundraising only to pay for staff salaries (or that they are fundraising at all!).

From what I can tell Charity Watch has requested some data that Archewell is not obligated to provide. I can see that Charity Watch say things like Archewell only has 2 directors when it is "widespread best practice in the US" that a charity should have 5-7 or so, but it also goes on to say that by law in their state a charity only has to have one director.

MaturingCheeseball · 14/05/2024 15:54

Hmmm, things do not seem very transparent. Wd don’t know who the two donors are, but very probably they don’t give a damn about any charitable endeavours and this was just a way of passing money to H&M. The interest on the capital can then be funnelled off to “expenses” - is there scrutiny of such things or is this common practice?

Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar · 14/05/2024 15:56

I'm still scratching my head over sophisticated businesses sending cheques in the post in this day and age. Sounds a bit like the dog ate my homework, and your wedding invitation got lost in the post, Dad.

thecatsthecats · 14/05/2024 16:03

To be fair on the cheques thing, we had to submit an application to the Apple app store to become a verified supplier.

You had to send it to the specific international application fax number. Which they only switched on during USA working hours.

That's one of the biggest tech giants in the world, with a fax machine. That isn't always switched on.

OP posts:
oakleaffy · 14/05/2024 16:32

It’s such a clunky name - A cross between a dog chew manufacturer and a grimy London Tube station.
” We are now approaching Archewell- mind the gap”

The “Chew Well” is very doggy.

Lifestooshort71 · 14/05/2024 16:40

BemusedAmerican · 14/05/2024 13:19

@Mylovelygreendress I don't write checks. I either directly transfer from my bank account, pay by credit card or use PayPal. NYS, NYC, and the IRS encourage electronic payment. My job eliminated payment by check 5 years ago. It is really easy to go online and pay tax payments, tickets, bills, rent, etc. I actually know people who don't own checkbooks.

My children in their 40s have never ever owned cheque books - I still have a very dusty one used to post birthday money to grandchildren which they snap with their iPhones and money is transferred instantly (in the UK).
(Sorry for the derail....)

Ratsoffasinkingsauage · 14/05/2024 16:47

The problem with this minor issue is that it is a sign that things at Archwell are not well organised. It might just be the tip of the iceberg as far as mismanagement and misappropriation goes.

Abouttimeforanamechange · 14/05/2024 16:57

Oops, wrong thread.

ThatLibraryDebate · 14/05/2024 18:45

It's a story in the daily fail about (ex) royal family. I don't put much faith in there being many grains of truth in it.

DewinDwl · 14/05/2024 20:12

Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar · 14/05/2024 15:56

I'm still scratching my head over sophisticated businesses sending cheques in the post in this day and age. Sounds a bit like the dog ate my homework, and your wedding invitation got lost in the post, Dad.

This has been answered upthread

DewinDwl · 14/05/2024 20:13

thecatsthecats · 14/05/2024 16:03

To be fair on the cheques thing, we had to submit an application to the Apple app store to become a verified supplier.

You had to send it to the specific international application fax number. Which they only switched on during USA working hours.

That's one of the biggest tech giants in the world, with a fax machine. That isn't always switched on.

Shock
Vespanest · 14/05/2024 20:17

I’m interested in seeing the independent audit, I’ve read plenty that all the forms have been handed in but it’s the one thing that stood out in the charity watch findings.

Sageyboots · 14/05/2024 22:21

It’s got the whiff of captain Tom’s memorial pool house about it all.

Vespanest · 14/05/2024 22:41

It’s apparently been satisfied now, but what a complete faux pas for them

TheFirmBiscuit · 15/05/2024 05:41

Much ado about nothing, no good deed goes unpunished.

A statement released by California’s Department of Justice on Tuesday night revealed that the delinquency notice had been removed. It said the Archewell Foundation is “current and in good standing”.

https://archive.ph/IsWRt

Serenster · 15/05/2024 06:20

Much ado about nothing, no good deed goes unpunished.

Spin it as you like, it’s a clear sign that behind the scenes, Archewell is not a well-run enterprise.

TheFirmBiscuit · 15/05/2024 06:44

Serenster · 15/05/2024 06:20

Much ado about nothing, no good deed goes unpunished.

Spin it as you like, it’s a clear sign that behind the scenes, Archewell is not a well-run enterprise.

Ahem lest we forget and even though the Charity Commission determined after an internal inquiry that they were satisfied that due diligence had been done just imagine the uproar if Archwell had done the same. Wise heads would have refused the cash and askd for it to be sent by more acceptable means. But they didn't. If it looks and smells dodgy it usually is.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/25/prince-charles-is-said-to-have-been-given-3m-in-qatari-cash

Prince Charles given €3m in cash in bags by Qatari politician, according to report

Money was passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities, says Clarence House

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/25/prince-charles-is-said-to-have-been-given-3m-in-qatari-cash