Charity set up in Captain Sir Tom Moore’s name ‘tried to appoint his daughter as CEO on £150,000’ 

A charity set up in Captain Sir Tom Moore’s name tried to appoint his daughter as chief executive on a six-figure salary before a watchdog intervened, it has been claimed. 

The Captain Tom Foundation, set up by the family of the war veteran in the wake of his fundraising efforts, reportedly tried to appoint Hannah Ingram-Moore as its CEO on a salary in the region of £150,000.

But the Charity Commission, which has been in contact with the charity since March about its set-up and governance arrangements, blocked the salary last summer after permission was requested, according to The Independent.

It is understood that the proposal to hand Ms Ingram-Moore the role as CEO was made by trustees, while the reported salary represented around ten per cent of the charity’s total first-year income from May 2020 to April 2021.

The charity said that during trustees’ talks with the regulator, Ms Ingram-Moore ‘took the decision that the CEO role was not something she wished to pursue’ as she wanted to focus on other commitments.

It said she instead committed to support the trustees for an interim nine-month period from August 2021, and the charity denied that the salary Ms Ingram-Moore was granted in this role was ‘six figures’.  

Ms Ingram-Moore was appointed as a trustee of the charity on February 1, 2021, but resigned on March 15, with her husband Colin becoming a trustee on the same date, a position he still holds, according to reports.

A salary of £150,000 would be similar to the RSPCA, which was recorded by Third Sector last year as paying its top earner £150,007, earning it a position as 98th on a list of the 100th highest-paying charities.

The RSPCA’s annual income stands at £142million, according to the list, which is believed to be more than 100 times that of The Captain Tom Foundation. 

The Captain Tom Foundation told MailOnline discussions with the Charity Commission are ‘highly confidential’, but confirmed it approached the watchdog for consent regarding the appointment of Hannah Ingram-Moore as CEO.

It added that the trustees undertook a ‘formal benchmarking exercise’ to decide an appropriate salary for the position, which was then compiled in a report.

A statement from Stephen Jones, Chair of The Board of Trustees, said: ‘The Foundation has engaged actively and positively with the Charity Commission since registration and any discussions are highly confidential between them and the Trustees.

The foundation was set up by the family of the war veteran in the wake of his fundraising efforts. The Second World War veteran (pictured) set a challenge to walk 100 lengths of his garden at his home in Bedfordshire

‘In 2021, the Foundation approached the Commission for consent (as required in law and under the Foundation’s governing document) with regard to the appointment of Hannah Ingram-Moore as CEO. 

‘As part of that process for consent, the Trustees undertook a formal benchmarking exercise to assess an appropriate salary for the role.

‘That report made recommendations to the Trustees as to an appropriate salary (within a range) based on a spectrum of charities operating with equivalent financial positions and charitable activity. 

‘This was provided to the Commission as part of the application for consent, in the interests of full disclosure, together with a proposal by the Trustees as to what the salary for the CEO role should be.

‘It is the Commission’s responsibility to consider and challenge any application for consent, but in any event during the Trustees discussions with the Commission, Hannah Ingram-Moore took the decision that the CEO role was not something she wished to pursue as she wanted to focus on other commitments, both personally and professionally. 

‘However, she committed to support the Trustees during an interim period, subject to Commission consent being obtained.’

Mr Jones said the Commission gave the trustees consent for Ms Ingram-Moore to be appointed as interim CEO in August 2021 for a nine-month period, which will see her step down in April.

The statement denied that the ‘revisited’ salary for interim CEO was ‘six figures’ and said the salary would be disclosed when the accounts are released for that period.

It added: ‘On that basis, the Commission were supportive of and provided the Trustees with formal consent for Hannah Ingram-Moore to be appointed as Interim CEO from August 2021 for a defined nine month period. 

‘The Trustees revisited their salary considerations as part of the discussions with the Commission, before making a decision on what that salary should be. That salary will of course be disclosed as required in the accounts for the relevant period but is categorically not six figures.

‘The Trustees are, as agreed with the Commission, in the process of undertaking an open recruitment process to identify and recruit a CEO. The detail on that and on the role and salary expectations is a matter of public record. 

The charity said that during trustees’ talks with the watchdog, Ms Ingram-Moore ‘took the decision that the CEO role was not something she wished to pursue’. Pictured: Captain Tom

‘That process is ongoing, but regardless Hannah Ingram-Moore will step down as Interim CEO at the end of April and the Trustees are grateful for her support during this period.’  

A Charity Commission spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Our engagement with the trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation on its set-up and governance arrangements continues. We cannot comment further at this time.’   

According to The Independent, a document dated December 2021 outlines an ‘appointment’ brief for CEO at a salary of £55,000 to £60,000.

It comes after it financial reports revealed earlier this month that the Captain Tom Foundation paid out more on consultancy and management fees than it did on grants. 

The Captain Tom Foundation paid out more than £162,000 in management costs in its first year, according to an audited report. There is no suggestion of any financial impropriety.

But, by comparison, the charity spent just £160,000 on giving out charitable grants over the same period – in the form of four £40,000 donations.

A further £700,000 remained in the charity’s reserves as of May last year, according to the organisation’s latest finance reports, from May 2020 to April 2021.

Experts told MailOnline that while the spend on consultancy and management fees appears high, it could be put down to the initial expense of setting up the charity.  

And they say the ratio of spending on admin to project work would likely improve now the charity’s foundations have been laid.

Bosses for The Captain Tom Foundation meanwhile say more than £1.4million has since been raised in two separate fundraising drives – with the money on those occasions going directly to other charities.  

MailOnline also understands that Sir Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, who helped launch the charity and was briefly a director, did not receive any consultancy fees during the period of the report. 

Explaining the costs in the report, the charity says: ‘As a newly established charity, expenditure has been incurred in building the team, which for some months worked on a voluntary basis until funds were forthcoming. 

‘During this period, we also incurred costs in appointing The Philanthropy Company who provided expert support on governance and fundraising initiatives as well as working with our charity partners to identify initiatives that the Foundation could support and which would drive value and public benefit.

‘During this period our discretionary grants amounted to £160,000 and there was an excess of income over expenditure hence the additional grants made post the balance sheet date.’

Responding to the release of the audit, a spokesperson for The Captain Tom Foundation: ‘The Captain Tom Foundation was established by the late Captain Sir Tom Moore and his family, shortly after he completed his record fundraising objective for the Association of NHS Charities (registered charity number 1186569 – working name ‘NHS Charities Together’). 

It comes after a report showed that the charity spent more than £160,000 in management costs in its first year. By comparison, the charity spent just £160,000 on giving out charitable grants over the same period – in the form of four £40,000 donations

‘The simple act of walking 100 times up and down his garden united a nation and gave us all hope, at a time when it was needed most.

‘The £38.9million (including Gift Aid) that he raised was a philanthropic lightning strike, the likes of which have never been seen before and a feat which is unlikely to ever be repeated. 

‘The funds raised by Captain Sir Tom, via JustGiving for NHS Charities Together, have now been applied to those charities and the JustGiving account closed. NHS Charities Together was responsible for the distribution of those funds, in accordance with their own charitable purposes.

‘The Captain Tom Foundation was set up in May 2020 and launched in September 2020 to continue Captain Sir Tom’s legacy and to build on the beacon of hope that he had become.

‘In the period 5 May 2020-31 May 2021, The Foundation was dedicated to combating loneliness, championing education and equality and supporting those facing bereavement. During this time, we distributed donations to hospices and other charities close to Captain Tom’s heart.

‘We also raised awareness through events such as Walk with Tom (Dec 2020) and The Captain Tom 100 (April 2021) which received 12.8 billion impressions on social media worldwide, got many people active and helped fight loneliness. 

The amazing fundraising effort propelled Sir Captain Tom to superstardom. He was made an honorary colonel and was later knighted by the Queen (pictured) at Windsor Castle

‘As a charity in our infancy, we focused on fundraising for other charities close to Captain Tom’s heart and are very proud that through this campaign that we led, £1.4 million was raised in 3 days, this went directly to charities.

‘In December 2021, we announced our new mission to connect the generations and celebrate our wonderful ageing population. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of our brilliant team, charity partners and supporters since we launched.’

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission told MailOnline: ‘We have been in ongoing contact with the trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation on its set-up and governance arrangements and as part of this work will now assess the charity’s recently submitted accounts.’ 

Sir Captain Tom Moore, then aged 99, first came to the nation’s attention at the height of the Covid pandemic in April 2020 when he launched a fundraising drive for his 100th birthday. 

Supported by a zimmer-frame, the Second World War veteran set a challenge to walk 100 lengths of his garden at his home in Bedfordshire. 

At the time, he planned to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together and aimed to finish the challenge on his 100th birthday.

But his story captured the nation’s heart and his donations eventually topped more than £32million.

The amazing fundraising effort propelled Sir Captain Tom to superstardom. He received a special BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and achieved a UK number one with a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone – making him the oldest person to record a UK number one.

The accolades didn’t stop there. He was made an honorary colonel and was later knighted by the Queen at Windsor Castle.

But he would eventually fall victim to the Covid pandemic that had sparked his walking challenge. He was admitted to hospital with pneumonia in January last year and, after testing positive for Covid, died in Bedford Hospital on February 2, 2021.

Through the charity, his family say they hope to continue his legacy.