Charity Investigated After FTX Funding Links

Latest update from the Charity Commission, with some background info;

The Charity Commission has launched an inquiry into Effective Ventures Foundation following the bankruptcy of the US cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The charity reported this as a serious incident because FTX’s philanthropic foundation was a significant funder of the charity.

The trustees fulfilled their duties and responsibilities in submitting an RSI, and there is no indication of wrongdoing by the trustees at this time. However, there are indications of potential risks to the charity’s assets, and the inquiry has been opened to establish facts and help ensure the trustees protect the charity’s assets and are running the charity in line with their duties and responsibilities.

BACKGROUND INFO

Effective Ventures, which is an umbrella group, gathering together charity projects like 80,000 Hours, Giving What We Can and others, has issued a statement on the investigation here. 

According to its latest accounts Effective Ventures raised over £18m in 2021, with zero fundraising expenses. It spent around £14.1m that year.

The Guardian reported last year on FTX’s stated aims of recovering much of the charity cash it had donated during its golden era.

The CEO of FTX was linked to the US operations of the Centre For Effective Altruism from 2013-2018, serving on the Board and acting as Treasurer, according to CNBC. More on that involvement here. 

COMMISSION INQUIRY

The inquiry will examine:

• the extent of any risk to the charity’s assets and the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties with regard to the protection of the charity’s property.
• the governance and administration of the charity by the trustees, including relationships between the charity’s trustees and its funders and the identification and management of conflicts of interest and / or loyalty.

The trustees have been cooperating fully with the Commission.