Charity Commission

On Friday 6th May 2016, the Charity Commission published reports into the funding of the organisation Cage by two UK charities, including The Roddick Foundation.  The Roddick Foundation has issued the following statement in response:

 

The Roddick Foundation welcomes the Charity Commission’s finding that the Foundation intention was to fund programmes that were capable of furthering its charitable purposes; that it has sound grant-making and due diligence processes; and that its trustees acted in good faith in taking the decision in 2009 to fund Cage.

 

The Commission has made a series of procedural recommendations for the Foundation, particularly relating to the funding of non-charitable organisations. These were first provided to us in a letter from the Commission in December 2014. We welcome the advice and guidance the Commission has provided and we have already revised our processes accordingly. We also appreciate the Commission’s conclusion that we took seriously the task of selecting the partners with whom we worked and to whom we gave grants.

 

Our funding relationship with CAGE came to an end in 2012 and the Charity Commission’s report recognises the time that has elapsed since the grants in question were made.

 

Notes:

 

• The Roddick Foundation is a grant-giving Foundation which awards funds in a range of areas including environmental protection, humanitarian aid and human rights.
• The Roddick Foundation made a series of four grants to Cage, totalling £120,000, between July 2009 and December 2012. The grants were made to support work promoting education and human rights.
• The Foundation has fully cooperated with the Charity Commission throughout its assessment, which began in March 2014.
• The Roddick Foundation will not be accepting media interview requests in relation to this statement.

Media enquiries: Craig Westwood at Pagefield Communications – (020) 3327 4050 and craig.westwood@pagefield.co.uk