Rick Clement, founder and trustee of military charity A Soldier’s Journey, has admited that he was “naïve” in trusting a fundraising agency but denied that he took money from the organisation.
In a statement given to Civil Society News today, Clement – a former soldier who was wounded while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan – accepted he had been “naïve” in his financial dealings which saw his charity spend over 80 per cent of its total income on generating income, but denied taking any money himself.
"I have never taken a penny from the charity or the fundraising company. Every penny they raised and I have raised for my charity has been used to help veterans. I have put in money from my own pension to provide funds to help ex-soldiers and pay my own petrol to all charity events.
"When I came to file this year’s accounts I was disappointed to see such a high percentage had gone to the company. I accept that I have been naive in not fully understanding the financial implications.”
Clement issued the statement after a piece appeared earlier this week in The Mirror criticising the charity for spending the vast majority of its total income in 2015 on hiring a fundraising company to raise money for it.
In a post on the charity’s website earlier in the week, Clement announced that he and the other trustees, had agreed to close the charity on 1 September. He said that, amongst other reasons, he didn’t want to “hire staff” as this would mean “that some of the money raised would go on wages etc, and that is something I really don’t want to do”.
However the charity’s most recent set of annual accounts, published on 1 July 2016 and made up to 30 September 2015, show that of a total of £347,496 raised in the last financial year, £288,663 was spent on the cost of generating funds. The same accounts show that just £28,073 was raised by the charity last year from voluntary income.
Clement said that he was approached by the agency – named in The Mirror piece as ‘A Soldier’s Journey Events Limited’ – over two years ago and claimed he was told that unemployed veterans would be hired to help raise money.
"I was approached by the fundraising company two and a half years ago offering to help me raise more cash for my charity in addition to the funds I personally raise.
"They also told me they would employ jobless veterans in order to raise the money. I readily accepted believing it would help me help more veterans."
He also express his disappointment that the charity was being forced to close. A Soldier's Journey was founded by Clement in 2012, to provide support for injured veterans and their families.
A spokesman at the Charity Commission said: “The Charity Commission is aware of concerns regarding fundraising costs in relation to the charity a Soldiers Journey.
"The Commission is assessing these concerns to determine whether there is a regulatory role for the Commission.”
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