Lessons from Wildlife Aid
This was a small charity, but the issues of public perception for the wider sector were important learning points, although the regulator found no evidence of the alleged maladministration and mismanagement.
Wildlife Aid runs a wildlife hospital, which also appears on the TV programme ‘Wildlife SOS’. The charity operates from premises owned by its founding trustee who uses the premises to run the production company Wildlife Productions Limited, makers of ‘Wildlife SOS’. The Charity Commission investigated a number of regulatory concerns, including the management of the charity’s relationship with the TV programme and production company, the employment of a family member of the founding trustee and the charity’s 2009 public appeal for a donation of land.
While it makes the points that “generous philanthropy and support to charity is invaluable to the public and charity beneficiaries”, the report goes on to remind the sector that “charities that have close relationships with their founders and trustees and those who are closely related to them do have to pay particular attention to ensuring that the management of those relationships is transparent.” This is also important when there are business relationships between a charity and organisations with which trustees, founders, patrons or employees of the charity could be closely connected or associated.
www.charitycommission.gov.uk/RSS/News/pr_wildlife_aid.aspx
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
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