The True and Fair Foundation threatened to sue the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School over its response to the charity's report, A Hornet’s Nest: A Review of Charitable Spending by UK Charities.
The commentary by the Cass Centre for Charity Effectiveness was one of a number of critical responses to the True and Fair Foundation’s first piece of research, which analysed charity accounts and claimed that charities were not spending enough on good causes.
In a statement last week, Cass said it had taken its article down while it obtained legal advice and how has now republished it with “one or two minor amendments.”
In a statement it said: “The Cass Centre believes it is essential for academics and others to be able to express their views on matters of public interest without fear of being sued for libel. It welcomes responses to its output and always considers them but believes that such responses should seek to further any debate rather than shut it down.
“It hopes that the True and Fair Foundation’s trustees will themselves engage in public debate with Cass, rather than spending money instructing lawyers to do so.”
What was in the Cass commentary?
After assessing the figures published in the Hornet’s Nest report, Cass CCE concluded that it contained “examples of misunderstanding and poor analysis”. And that: “In summary, it is very easy to present facts and figures in a way which gives a wholly misleading and unfair impression.”
It questioned the True and Fair Foundation’s charitable objectives and suggested that the Charity Commission should question the foundation “over whether it has misused charitable funds for political purposes or has strayed away from its charitable mission” because its “report would appear to be outside its charitable objectives.”
In December the Charity Commission confirmed that it was assessing complaints against the True and Fair Foundation.
Karl Wilding, director of public policy at NCVO, and Pesh Framjee, head of non-profits at Crowe Clarke Whitehall, have also published long critiques of the True and Fair research.
A Hornet’s Nest’s analysis was also described as “flawed” by the Charity Commission. Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, said the report “perpetuated silly myths about charities.”
The True and Fair Foundation has since published a second report into charity shops and gift aid, which has also been widely criticised by the sector.
