The Charity Commission’s report on the actions of the late fundraiser’s daughter and son-in-law exposed cruelly how in capitalist society charity can and occasionally does offer individuals entrusted to the management of any charity the opportunity to cynically enumerate themselves at the expense of the good faith of the public.
The report, published on 21st November 2024, found that the daughter of Sir Tom Moore, the World War II veteran who embarked on a fundraising campaign which raised almost £40m for the NHS, along with her husband, benefitted personally from the charity (called the Captain Tom Foundation) which was set up in his name to gather donations to charities with which Tom Moore had a personal affinity. The charity formally stopped accepting donations in July 2023 while the Charity Commission carried out an investigation into the operation of the Captain Tom Foundation. At the time of writing, the charity is still not accepting donations.
Sir Tom Moore, who served in India and Burma during World War II, began what was in effect a sponsored walk around his garden in 2020, when the country was locked down during the Covid pandemic and Sir Tom was 99 years of age. His aim was to complete one hundred 25-metre laps of his garden with the aim of raising £1,000 for his local hospital but, as his story became national news, the target was raised to £500,000 for the National Health Service. He reached his revised target having completed seventy laps, with his daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, telling the BBC that “We are completely floored by the amount of support flooding in – it’s just incredible and he is smashing his target,”.
In June 2020, the Captain Tom Foundation was founded to continue fundraising for the NHS and charities including hospices and the Royal British Legion. Tom’s daughter Hannah and her husband Colin were appointed as trustees of the charity following the passing of Sir Tom Moore in February 2021 at the age of 100. Within one month of these appointments, the charity proposed employing Hannah on a three-day week and on a salary of £60,000 per year: This was later revised to a proposal to employ her as a CEO on a full-time basis on £100,000 per year, but the Charity Commission refused this proposal on the basis that this was “neither reasonable nor justifiable”. The Charity Commission later found that Mrs Ingram-Moore was “very much involved in discussions around setting her salary” and told her fellow trustee Stephen Jones that her salary expectations were in the region of £150,000 per annum, despite her repeated and ‘disingenuous’ claims to Charity Commission that she was not offered a six-figure salary.
Within twelve months of the Ingram-Moores’ appointments as trustees, the Charity Commission had undertaken a review of the charity’s accounts and then commissioned a full investigation following the publication of the charity’s audited financial statement for the period up to the end of May 2021, which revealed that the Foundation had paid out just £160,000 in grants in that period, despite receiving over £1,000,000 in donations, with another £200,000 being paid out in ‘costs’, including over £160,000 in ‘management costs’.
A £1.4m advance on a deal to posthumously publish three books written by Sir Tom Moore was paid to a private company, Club Nook, set up by the Ingram-Moores, with repeated assurances given by them to Penguin Books that the advance would be used to fund the foundation. As of last month, none of the money paid in advance has been given to the Captain Tom Foundation. The same private company also held the rights to all Captain Tom Moore branding, which meant that the charity needed to request permission to use any Tom Moore branding on promotional material and merchandise which bore his name.
In 2021, the Ingram-Moores were granted permission from the local council to build a Captain Tom Moore Foundation building adjacent to their home – the application made multiple references to the Foundation and its registered charity number (1189808) in the application. They were forced by the council to demolish this building, which contained a spa and a home cinema room, earlier in 2024 when it was found to be ‘wholly unauthorised’ and that the Ingram-Moores had failed to consult with their fellow trustees on the application that they were to make using the name and number of the charity. The Charity Commission found that the Ingram-Moores “were using the charity and its name inappropriately for private benefit’.
In 2022, Hannah Ingram-Moore was paid £18,000 to judge in the Virgin Media Local Legends Awards. Her father had acted as a judge in the two previous years and was paid £10,000 each time. The Charity Commission report found that “the inquiry does not agree with Mrs Ingram-Moore’s assertion that this was something that she undertook in her personal capacity – there is no evidence to suggest that this work was done outside her contracted work hours, or that annual leave was booked to undertake the role”. The charity received only a £2,000 donation from Virgin Media for Mrs Ingram-Moore’s appearance at the event.
The scandal of the Captain Tom Moore Foundation demonstrates clearly the opportunities for shameless fortune-making that charities in capitalist society can offer. Charities under capitalism serve a key purpose, which is to fill the breaches created by capitalism itself, whether it be to help homeless people, prevent cruelty to children or promote the welfare of animals. Whilst the vast majority of those who donate to charity and, it is to be hoped, those who are entrusted to run them are doing so with the best of intentions, the case of the Captain Tom Moore Foundation is prima facie evidence that the goodwill and good faith of people can and will be betrayed for personal enrichment.
Hannah Ingram-Moore is a brand marketing coach, author, podcaster and motivational speaker. You can see her website (and her fees) here.
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