Keith Colman, the founder of the Dove Trust, has appealed to the Charity Tribunal over issues relating to the Charity Commission's decision to shut down his organisation's donations website, CharityGiving.

The Dove Trust is the parent organisation of CharityGiving, which was shut down last year over concerns that funds given by members of the public might not reach the 1,800 charities they were intended for.

The Charity Commission opened an inquiry into the trust, froze its bank accounts, and appointed Pesh Framjee, a partner at accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehill, as interim manager.

It has since said that the money available was not sufficient to cover the amount due to charities, and has applied to the High Court for direction as to how the funds should be applied. A directions hearing will take place on 20 March.

The Commission also said it began the process of removing founder Keith Colman as a trustee of the Dove Trust, but that he had stepped down before that process could be completed. It has since warned that Colman and his fellow trustees could be personally liable for the missing money.

Colman has made two separate appeals with the Charity Tribunal, received on 24 January, according to a register of cases published last week. The Commission has confirmed that these refer to the decisions to freeze the assets of the charity, and to appoint an interim manager. The Tribunal is currently awaiting the Commission’s response.

A Commission spokeswoman said she could not make any further comment on the two cases. Civilsociety.co.uk could not reach Colman for comment.