A charity providing support for victims and people who have lost loved ones in road crashes has announced its sudden closure after 34 years due to a “significant” financial shortfall.
In a copy of an email sent out to the charity’s supporters, shared on BlueSky, RoadPeace said that the decision had been “an extremely difficult one, taken with deep personal sorrow by the trustees”.
It said: “Not all of the income streams forecast and actively pursued by the charity materialised as anticipated.
“As a result, the charity experienced a significant shortfall in expected revenue, which was essential to the continued operation of RoadPeace as a viable organisation.”
It added that this was exacerbated by rising costs, “which increased the overall funding required to sustain the charity’s activities”.
The charity’s trustees “considered all options” before seeking advice from accountants and business advisers Moore Kingston Smith, who advised that the charity was insolvent “with no ability to continue operations”, causing the charity to enter into liquidation last week, on 9 January.
It added that “all employees of the charity will be made redundant and the charity will effectively cease operating with immediate effect”.
According to the charity’s latest accounts for the year to March 2024, it recorded an income of £440,000, an expenditure of £459,000 and had 11 full-time equivalent employees on average.
Staff member ‘saddened and angry’ by sudden nature of closure
Staff member Abbie Brooks, who was the charity’s West Mercia project and outreach coordinator, wrote in a post on LinkedIn that her “heart is truly shattered” by the closure.
Brooks added: “On a personal note, RoadPeace started as a support network for me, following the death of my sister.
“This very quickly turned into lifelong friendships, and my place of work - a passion I never knew I’d have.
“I am so proud of the work we have done, and I will miss working alongside my lovely colleagues every day, truly making a difference.
“Saddened and angry at the way this was handled, immediate redundancy is certainly something we never saw coming on Friday afternoon.”
Clare O’Neill, who identified herself as a supporter and beneficiary of the charity and its services, wrote in a post also on LinkedIn that “the dedicated and passionate staff were completely blindsided by this, without consultation”.
She added: “We supporters and beneficiaries, as well as the staff, deserve to know more about why this happened and what specific options were considered.”
A RoadPeace spokesperson told Civil Society that the decision to close the charity “was an extremely difficult one”.
“Despite sustained efforts to secure the funding needed to continue, not all anticipated income streams came to fruition, leaving the charity unable to operate on a financially sustainable basis,” they said.
In a statement, trustees expressed their sadness at the closure, “alongside pride in the charity’s achievements, and extended their sincere thanks to RoadPeace’s staff, volunteers, supporters, partners and most importantly the people it existed to support, for their trust, compassion and courage over more than three decades”.
