News of the World sales raise £2.8m for charity 3

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 13 Jul 2011

The final edition of News of the World has raised £2.8m for the three partner charities it promised to give its final circulation profits to.

Barnardo’s, the Force’s Children’s Trust and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity will each receive a third, £933,000, of the final total. They also stand to gain a further windfall from souvenir sales of the final and first edition, which News of the World is selling via post for £2.95, £1 of that will also go to the charities.

The Force’s Children’s Trust and the Hospital Charity were both approached only on the day before of the final issue being sold with the offer of being a partner. The latest financial records available for Force’s Children’s Trust show that it had an annual income of just under £80,000; suggesting that the News of the World donation could signal a step change for the charity.

The newspaper sold 3.8 million copies, up by over a million on regular sales. 74p from the £1 cover price went to the three partner charities.

Directory: Barnardo's

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Nigel Edward-Few
CEO
15 Jul 2011

How will a charity that has received £80,000 p.a previously suddenly be able to handle the best part of a millon pounds?

I am staggered. This whole sorry saga is becoming more unbelievable and fantastic, in the proper sense of the word, by the minute.

[Reply]

Carl Allen
13 Jul 2011

The funds should have been refused with a letter to NotW raising the point ... it is not clear if other parties have a better claim to the charitable funds in the circumstances surrounding the closure of NotW.

Indeed NotW should consider if charities dealing with whistleblowing, employee bullying, data protection and related matters are better deserving recipients of such funds.

[Reply]

John Thompson
Director
Changing Business
13 Jul 2011

They were approached on Saturday, in other words. The obvious question is then: which charities turned down this on-pack promotion element and why?

It’s quite amazing that the charities that got involved were able to consider, at such short notice and on a weekend, whether this would actually be deemed a commercial participator promotion and all that entails e.g. the need to consider contractual requirements, compliant solicitation statements and any prospective direct tax and VAT issues. All this, whilst considering the ethical dilemma that was also thrust upon them.

[Reply]

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