Decision

Charity Inquiry: GiftingHumanity

Published 16 February 2026

Applies to England and Wales

The Charity

GIFTINGHUMANITY (‘the charity’) is a Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation (‘CIO’) registered with the Commission on 30 November 2016 and is governed by its constitution (‘governing document’) dated 11 November 2016.

The charity’s objects are:

(1) The relief of financial hardship of homeless people in particular but not exclusively by the provision of such items and support or services as shall be thought fit.

(2) The relief of financial need and suffering among victims of natural or other kinds of disaster in the form of money (or other means deemed suitable) for persons, bodies, organisations and/or countries affected as shall be thought fit.

(3) The relief of poverty of those in need anywhere in the world by means of but not exclusively by the provision of food, education, water and sponsorship programmes.

The Trustees

The charity trustees during this period, as they appeared on the Register of Charities, were:

• Trustee A: Appointed 21 August 2016
• Trustee B: Appointed 7 February 2017
• Trustee C: Appointed 30 November 2016 and resigned on 18 July 2025
• Trustee D: Appointed 1 July 2025 and resigned on 25 July 2025
• Trustee E: Appointed 25 July 2025

The references in this statement to ‘the trustees’ refer to the trustees in place at the relevant times.

Background to the Inquiry

On 29 November 2023, as a result of the charity’s failure to submit the trustees’ annual report, accounts, and annual return (‘accounting information’) to the Commission for the financial years ending (‘FYE’) 30 April 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the Commission placed the charity into the Double Defaulter Class Inquiry (‘class inquiry’). The class inquiry is for those charities that are in default of their legal duty to file accounting information for two or more years in the last five years.

On 4 December 2023, the class inquiry issued an Order under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’) requiring the trustees to prepare and submit the outstanding accounting information for the FYE 30 April 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 by 15 January 2024.

The trustees requested an extension to the deadline, and a three-month extension was granted on 11 January 2024, requiring the outstanding accounting information to be submitted by 15 April 2024.

The trustees failed to submit the required accounting information within the extended deadline.

Consequently, a decision was made to remove the charity from the class inquiry and open a separate inquiry into the charity. On 13 September 2024, the Commission opened a statutory inquiry (‘the inquiry’) into the charity under section 46 of the Act to examine:

• the trustees’ compliance with their legal obligations for the content, preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and other information or returns
• the extent to which the trustees have complied with previously issued regulatory guidance
• whether the charity has a sufficient number of trustees who are willing and capable of managing it and have managed it in accordance with its governing document
• the extent to which any failings or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity during the inquiry are a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

The inquiry closed with the publication of this report.

Findings

The trustees’ compliance with their legal obligations for the content, preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and other information or returns and the extent to which the trustees have complied with previously issued regulatory guidance.

The Inquiry found that the trustees had consistently and repeatedly failed to meet the statutory reporting requirements for the charity, those being the obligation to prepare and submit an Annual Return, Annual Accounts, and a Trustees’ Annual Report within ten months of the charity’s FYE. Charity trustees are under a legal duty to keep and maintain proper financial records and to ensure that their charity is accountable.

At a books and records visit on 18 December 2024 (‘B&R visit’), Trustee A advised that the accounting information was not submitted to the Commission as the trustee who had dealt with the financial records had resigned, and that Trustee A’s personal circumstances had impacted on their ability to carry out their duties. A volunteer had been helping to compile the accounts, but they had not been able to finish them.

As part of the class inquiry, the trustees had been advised to instruct an accountant to compile the charity’s outstanding financial accounts but failed to do so. An accountant subsequently provided their services voluntarily, following the opening of the second inquiry.

The inquiry found the charity was not keeping or maintaining proper financial records. For instance, the charity did not record its receipts and payments, and the accountant had to rely on bank statements, receipt books, and other information to prepare its overdue accounts.

The charity had a lack of policies covering expenses, cash handling, and use of charity funds overseas, which may have contributed to the difficulty in preparing the accounting information. This is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of a charity.

The inquiry found that the trustees’ repeated failure to submit the charity’s accounting information to the Commission was a breach of sections 163, 164, 169 of the Act. This is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

The charity has now submitted all the outstanding accounting information.

Whether the charity has a sufficient number of trustees who are willing and capable of managing it and have managed it in accordance with its governing document

The inquiry found that in practice the charity was being operated without the required number of trustees.

While the charity had three trustees listed on the Register of Charities at the opening of the inquiry, the inquiry established that two of the three trustees (Trustee B and Trustee C) had left the charity. Although they had not formally resigned, they had not acted as trustees for several years, leaving only one trustee, Trustee A, to manage its activities.

Clause 9(3)(a) of the charity’s governing document, states that, “There must be at least three charity trustees. If the number falls below the minimum, the remaining trustee may only act to call a meeting of the charity trustees or appoint a new charity trustee …”

Clause 15(3)(a) states, “No decision shall be taken at a meeting unless a quorum is present at the time when the decision is taken. The quorum is three (3) charity trustees, or the number nearest to one half of the total number of charity trustees, whichever is lesser, or such larger number as the trustees may decide from time to time…”

At the B&R visit, Trustee A confirmed that no trustee meetings had been held since the start of the Covid Pandemic (March 2020), and as the sole remaining active trustee, he made all the decisions regarding the charity’s activities.

Trustee B and Trustee C had not formally resigned. Even if they had, their resignations may not have been effective as the charity’s governing document requires there to be enough charity trustees remaining to form a quorum (clause 12(a)). If Trustee B and Trustee C are considered to have remained trustees during this period, then they did not fulfil their duties as trustees due to their absence, and decisions made in the administration of the charity have not been quorate (in breach of clause 15(3)(a)) or made at meetings or by resolution of the trustees (in breach of clause 13).

If Trustee B and Trustee C are considered to have ceased being trustees, then the charity has fallen below the minimum number of trustees required and the remaining trustee, Trustee A, has made decisions other than to call a meeting or appoint new trustees, in breach of clause 9(3)(a). In the latter situation, Trustee A would also have been in breach of his statutory duty to update the Charity Register with the changes in trustees as per section 35(3)(a) of the Act.

The inquiry found that either way, the charity was in breach of its governing document, which is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

The charity now has the minimum number of trustees in place.

Conclusion

The Commission identified serious and persistent failures in governance, administration, and compliance with charity law. The trustees repeatedly neglected their legal obligations, including the submission of annual reports and accounts, maintaining proper financial records, and adhering to the charity’s governing document. The charity operated for extended periods with, in practice, an insufficient number of trustees, in breach of its governing document.

These failings constitute misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

The trustees have complied with regulatory advice and guidance issued during the inquiry to address and correct these failings and have put themselves back on a proper footing.

The Commission acknowledges that the trustees faced some challenges whilst striving to comply with the section 84 Order issued by the class inquiry and have taken steps to ensure these issues do not occur in the future. For example, by implementing improved financial controls and ensuring that they have the minimum number of trustees as per their governing document. However, should the charity be in default of its filing requirements again in the future the Commission will consider what, if any, further regulatory action is required.

Although no evidence was found that the charity’s funds were used for any other purposes other than to support and promote the objects of the charity, this case serves as a reminder to the wider sector of the necessity for robust governance, financial oversight, and compliance with statutory requirements to maintain public trust and ensure charitable resources are used effectively.

Regulatory Actions Taken

The inquiry exercised the Commission’s regulatory powers under section 47 of the Act on multiple occasions to obtain further information and copies of documents, including from the trustees and the charity’s bank(s).

On 1 December 2025, the inquiry issued regulatory advice and guidance to the charity under section 15(2) of the Act so that the trustees could effectively discharge their duties to the charity going forward.

Issues for the wider sector

The purpose of this section is to highlight the broader issues arising from the inquiry that may have relevance for other charities. It is not intended as further comment on the charity in addition to the findings and conclusions set out in the earlier sections of this report but is included because of their wider applicability and interest to the charity sector.

Trustees must ensure that their charity complies with charity law, and with the requirements of the Commission as regulator; in particular, ensuring that the charity prepares annual reports and submits accurate and timely accounts as required by law. There are legal requirements for charities, relating to the maintenance and retention of accounting records; the preparation of charity accounts and annual reports; the audit or independent examination of accounts; and the submission of these to the Commission. The Commission will not hesitate to exercise its statutory powers to ensure that a charity’s annual reports, annual accounts and annual returns are submitted to the Commission within the statutory deadlines where trustees persistently fail to comply with their legal duties.

Trustees must ensure that their charity has adequate financial and administrative controls in place. The Commission has produced guidance to assist trustees in implementing robust internal financial controls that are appropriate to their charity. Internal Financial Controls for Charities (CC8) is available on the Commission’s website. There is also a self-checklist for trustees which has been produced to enable trustees to evaluate their charity’s performance against the legal requirements and good practice recommendations set out in the guidance.

Charity trustees must comply with Orders and Directions of the Commission. In some circumstances it may be a criminal offence (or contempt of court) for a charity or a trustee to not comply with an Order or Direction of the Commission.

An effective charity is run by a properly appointed, clearly identifiable board or trustee body with at least the minimum number of trustees, as required by its governing document. Holding the position of trustee in name but failing to fulfil the legal duties and responsibilities of a trustee may amount to misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of a charity.