Something I keep thinking about: how quickly the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the move to separate their charitable work from the larger Cambridge foundation, which is now called The Royal Foundation. Remember that? The Royal Foundation used to be for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Then they changed it in 2018 so that it could be a foundation for the two couples, and they made Meghan filter her Together cookbook project through the foundation. It felt like as soon as Meghan got a good look at how that foundation was “administering” her work to finance the Hubb Community Kitchen, she was like “peace out, we’re starting our own foundation.” I’m sure there was a lot more to it, but I wish someone would begin to pull at that thread, because I feel like there were A LOT of shenanigans happening just within the Cambridges’ foundation. And remember, that’s where Jason Knauf works now. He moved from W&K’s office to their foundation.
I bring all of that up because there’s still money coming in from the cookbook and there’s still money left in the coffers. Which is why Meghan has been trying to donate that money to UK food banks and food/community-related charities.
Duchess Meghan continues to support U.K. organizations dear to her heart. The Duchess of Sussex donated a generous £10,000, or about $13,700, from The Royal Foundation to Himmah, a U.K.-based community project that tackles poverty, racism, and social exclusion. Her donation uses additional proceeds raised from her popular recipe book, Together: Our Community Cookbook, which she published in 2018 to benefit Hubb Community Kitchen.
Himmah, which announced the news in a press release today, also works to provide more than 650 emergency food packages every month to those in need across the city, and serve more than 60 hot meals to the public every week. Meghan’s donation will go toward stocking the group’s food bank, as well as purchasing equipment and providing funds for the Salaam Shalom Kitchen, the sole Muslim and Jewish community kitchen based in the United Kingdom. Meghan ultimately decided on donating to Himmah in order to “continue transforming lives through the power of cooking and food.”
The director of Himmah, Sajid Mohammed shared the news with BAZAAR.com today, and admitted that he didn’t initially believe that the duchess herself was attempting to make a donation.
“For ages I thought the whole thing was a hoax! They kept emailing me and ringing me about the donation saying it was from the Duchess of Sussex and I just couldn’t believe it—I was utterly gobsmacked and hugely humbled that Meghan knew about our charity and wanted to support us,” Mohammed tells BAZAAR. “It’s an absolutely incredible sum and we’re so very grateful.”
Karen Worth, co-chair and trustee of Salaam Shalom Kitchen, echoed Mohammed’s statement, saying, “We are so delighted and pleased that Salaam Shalom Kitchen has been noticed and chosen by the Duchess of Sussex. The money given to us by her foundation will help to continue our important work in Hyson Green area of Nottingham, which is one the most deprived areas of the city.”
I’m really happy for Himmah and they’ll get a raised profile and even more donations now, and that’s incredible too. But note the wording in the Bazaar story: “The Duchess of Sussex donated a generous £10,000, or about $13,700, from The Royal Foundation…” So are the cookbook profits still being administered through the Royal Foundation? Why hasn’t everything related to the cookbook been transferred to Archewell? And… I mean, can Meghan ask for an audit? Because if William, Kate and Jason still have access to the money coming in from the cookbook, that’s a huge problem.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
See how you dont need weird embiggening articles about you when you actually do the work
The whole knows she is an empty vessel. Despite the resources available to her, she’s made no impact and no young person of worth thinks she’s a role model. The articles are all she has going for her.
Who are you talking about? It can’t be Duchess Meghan because she has made a huge impact on all her charities and causes and on people inspired by her around the world.
@LRobb – lol, that’s exactly the point. ElizabethRegina and Oatmeal are referring to the recent spat of embiggening articles about Kate. Kate needs those articles because she has nothing else. Meghan has a track record when it comes to her charities and causes.
I think ER is writing about Kate, following up on Oatmeal’s comment which is referencing Kate.
How do we decide which young people are ‘of worth?’
There is zero doubt in my mind that the finances of the Royal Foundation are shady AF and it’s exactly the reason Meghan and Harry split from it.
I agree. That was so early on-along with not wanting to move into KP-that were obvious signs that things were not going smoothly behind the scenes.
I believe so too. But in true fashion I expect KP to DARVO the hell out of things, but this time, the Sussexes will be ready with their receipts.
Yep I’ve always thought that the Cams were pulling a Trump with the money – using it to fund their expenses and ‘invest’ in Party Pieces/pay the Middleton mortgage.
I don’t know if they’re going that far. I definitely see them trying to steal the Together money to disguise how little they raise for their own charities. Ex. ‘The Royal Foundation’ donates to a Kate-related early childhood thing – but the money was raised by Harry/Meghan.
There are reasons why Harry founded Sentebale with Seeiso, didn’t include his brother, and it is a stand alone charity. Ditto Invictus Games and merging Harry’s project (Endeavour Fund) with IG and getting it away from the Royal Foundation.
I wouldn’t go that far either, but I wouldn’t be surprise if they take from one programme to pay for another.
I agree with that. The Royal Foundation has some shadiness going on with their finances and funding
The royal foundation does take from one charity to give to another they’re the umbrella to charities. That’s their foundation model.
It takes control of funds raised up any charity under the umbrella and redistributes as desired. Money raised for one charity could pay staff salaries, throw a gala, redecorate, or go to another charity. It’s shady for sure.
On the Twitter announcement for this donation it was noted that the funds for the cook book are “restricted funds” – which means that they have to go directly for the project and cannot be diverted. I work for non profits as well, and restricted funds are complicated because it means they can’t even be used for admin or overhead. She probably couldn’t get the book out of the Foundation, and this is how she protected it. Meghan knew what she was doing.
She continues to prove her intelligence over the Windsors, which is why they pushed her out.
Thanks for your insight. I sincerely hope KP doesn’t get to manage the fund brought in from the cookbook.
I think the foundation finances are shady and I think that’s one of the things that the press cant talk about for legal reasons.
Becks1 – I’d bet big money that you’re right on both counts.
That was the first talk, fall 2018, before the idea of separate offices or a separate foundation even hit the press. That Together money had to be ‘ringbarked’ to be protected from being misused.
She just lets the work speak for itself. AFTER the fact. No magnifying glass needed to see the results, that are TANGIBLE, not just a “Well done” or “Thanks”. REAL, TANGIBLE CASH/RESULTS to help a charity.
Wasn’t there some talk about mishandling the monies of the Royal Foundation (ie: William perhaps (allegedly!) using the funds in there for the Mids)? I remember the calls for an audit, and then Harry and Meg split the offices and it died down. Let’s not forget the charities that closed doors from lack of funds from the “Perfect Royal Patrons”.
Anyone know anything further?
I’m still in awe that one of Duchess Keen’s patronage’s/ charities had to shut down due to lack of funds.
Only that several British journalists brought it up but said they were legally embargoed from discussing it. One of those journalists was the guy who did the African tour doc with Harry and Meghan. But it was alluded to be serious shit!
I doubt any charity funds are going to Ma & Pa Middleton as that could land someone in jail.
However, I do believe that Baldingham his wife Wiglet with help from their merry henchmen tried (and maybe succeeded???) to take funds earmarked for one charity and give the funds to another charity to make themselves look good.
Meghan is a better person than I am. If it were me, I’d have nothing to do with any UK charity. Didn’t the CEO of a charity who she hugged on stage side with piss moron and other Meghan detractors? I think she should focus on US charities.
She is also a much better person than I am. If I were in her shoes, the UK would be scratched from my list
The SussexSquad is about to start another fundraiser for baby Sussex #2. I will not be donating to any UK based charity even if it is a charity whose Meghan is a patron
I am one of those more than ok if people don’t want to do some stuffs with the US because of Trump and his maga dumb nuts
Meghan is not vindictive I think that’s been proven… what is impressive is the amount of research she puts into finding these charities and the positive light she brings to them.
The Sussexes do have many friends and supporters in the UK and they will continue to support those charities, and I think they will increase their charitable work in the UK over the years. They know who their friends are and they will not forget them.
Audits aren’t possible in an organization that can’t recognize or admit when they do anything wrong.
Love this donation and think it’s sorely needed. But cue the racist uk tabs next headline “Me-gain gets political and donates to two terrorist organizations!”. Ha!!!
This!
Oh that makes me a little sad. Harry has a lifetime commitment to the UK military and I love to support any programs he supports in that area. And the work Meghan does for Smart Works and Mayhew is also inspiring. Archewell is being positioned as a global foundation w US and UK centers of operations, so I’ll continue to direct funds where Harry and Meghan focus their efforts, even in Harry’s home.
I’m UK based, so will choose my charities accordingly. I’ve started supporting Mathew and hope to adopt a dog through them. Smart Works is another great organisation.
“Audits aren’t possible in an organization that can’t recognize or admit when they do anything wrong.”
What????? WTF????
In the USA charities, foundations, non-profits and not-for-profits are audited annually.
Baytampabay: the Royal foundation has been audited as a charity but there is no clear indication of how much money from the Hub cookbook is still being accessed by Will and Kate. There will never be a full breakdown of where any of this money goes…publicly anyways
Is it up to them? I don’t know what the UK equivalent of the IRS is, but in the USA there are special rules for non-profit organization. I worked for many years as an attorney for these groups, helping them to obtain tax-exempt status and making sure they were following the rules with regard to fund-raising and how their funds were allocated. They had to report to the IRS, which has agents who specialize in non-profits. Isn’t there something similar in the UK?
Thanks for posting this. There is an interview going around from the director of the charity that they actually got the money months ago but the Board of Trustees were afraid to announce it because they feared potential backlash. Because the British media was doing such a good job smearing her name. But after the Oprah interview they decided to share it.
Now this had made a lot of the Sussex Squad very angry and branding them cowards. That they shouldn’t have accepted the money if they were ashamed of where it came from. But I view it differently. This is a Muslim and Jewish organization who probably we’re dealing with enough racist shit before the pandemic, and the pandemic put them in even a more precarious position. Charities also have to deal with a lot of politics and they just wanted to feed people in need.
But this also highlights the nefarious of the smear campaign coming from Kensington Palace. The Cambridges want to be the only game in town. They want to scare the citizens so much from taking help from the Sussex’s and have them fear retribution. Whether it’s bad press (like when Camila Toe-rag tried connecting the Hubb Kitchen to terrorist organizations). Or maybe getting denied government support or the government making their work harder for them in some way by burying them in red tape.
This is some mafia shit. They’ve basically got their goons going around forcing people to accept their protection. They want UK citizens to be beholden to them only and don’t want any competition. It’s SICK.
It’s disgusting and shameful that charities the Sussexes support get attacked by cambridge fans. Attacking a charity while claiming ownership of the moral high ground is really delusional. I also don’t think it’s fair that squaddies would call the charity cowards for not announcing the donation right away; you’re completely correct that as a Muslim and Jewish organization they are already subjected to threats and violence, and by opening themselves up to the clearly racist royalists they would be putting their patrons in harm’s way. It’s actually a fitting analogy for the kate versus meghan criticism: yes, kate got media criticism and it sometimes hit below the belt, but it was never hateful and didn’t inspire actual violence because she’s a white woman. Meghan’s media criticism incited white supremacists to threaten and attempt violence against her and Harry. yes, other charities have been bombarded with insane online attacks from their association with the sussexes, but when it’s a Muslim and Jewish charity there’s unfortunately a whole other level of hatred and risk of violence. The royal family’s failure to acknowledge this reality and saying that they’ve all experienced what Meghan went through is gaslighting and just perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Kate stans have always been the biggest bullies in the royal fandom. Kate stans and earlier on, CP Mary stans.
Ngl, this broke my heart a little bit. Honestly, none of the charities supported by Meghan have faced backlash. If anything, they benefited from the recognition.
Other charities (led by white people) Meghan supports have their social media accounts trolled consistently. That is elevated times a million when the subjects are members of a marginalized community – Hubb Kitchen (another Muslim charity Meghan supported) was literally subjected to an ongoing media campaign linking them to ISIS. That’s not benign, it carries real world consequences. Sure, they may have gotten an increase in donations but that doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The threats to the Muslim and Jewish community are hateful, violent, and ongoing, and attaching themselves to Meghan just throws gasoline on the risk that already exists. It shouldn’t be considered a dig against Meghan, it should be considered a revealing insight into UK society and the hate these people face every day.
I forgot about the Hubb Kitchen and what The Telegraph did. Ultimately, the smear attempt didn’t work and the charity thrived but they shouldn’t have been subjected to that in the first place. I am not indicting this charity for hesitating on disclosing the donation. They are based in the UK and only they can assess the risks to themselves. It was a tough call for them, but looking at how other charities have benefited, they would have benefited too from that kind of exposure. They still can and I hope they do benefit.
@Myra — they won’t. I just checked Twitter and the SussexSquad has said no…… that squad is a powerful force; there is no way Meghan’s fans/supporters will donate to that charity now….myself included!
As @Sunday says, many other charities have been subject to SM attacks after a connection with Meghan was revealed.
This appears to be a very small, grassroots group; as per the article they’re doing only 60 meals a week, and 650 food packages a month. According to their website, the only staff is a director, a food project manager, and intern – and 20 named volunteers. As the only Jewish/Muslim community kitchen in the UK, who knows what else they’ve been faced with from the larger community.
The fact that Meghan made a substantial donation indicates she feels they’re providing valuable support to their local residents. If it’s true the Sussex Squad has nixed them because THEY think Himmah should have revealed the Meghan connection sooner, well, people can do what they like, but that bothers me. It smacks of the same behavior the anti-Meghan stans exhibit that makes donations by Meghan to any charity a double-edged sword.
Part of the tension between the two couples was that Meghan put the put the proceeds from the cookbook into lockbox. None of the Hubb money can be siphoned off and used by the Cambridge charities and furthermore only Meghan can decide where the money goes.
Definitely.
Sorry just noticed this here – said the same above! She knew there was shit going on and protected her project
Good for her. She was really smart and protected that project.
I would imagine the Cambridge foundation is like some of those “charities” that spend a lot on fancy parties and stuff, jobs and things for friends, and then pretty minimal money to the actual cause.
OH!!! This i did not know!
@Windy
How can it smack of the other side when the other side donates nothing? The squad is not obligated to donate to anyone, and since it’s a lot of women of color spending their money, I see why many of them have no time and will not provide their support to organizations or people who are also timid in standing in solidarity with Meghan. Hey have been burned numerous times before and there is an entire cottage industry making $$ off Meghan’s name, many who didn’t stand up for her, but expect and tries to profit off her name as if she’s a trend.
I didn’t know that. Good to know she had the foresight. I’ve just bought another copy for an Easter gift.
I’m sorry, but they don’t deserve this money. They said Meghan was like Marmite and they only announced the donation after the Oprah interview because they were scared of Meghan’s reputation!!💩I Hope Meghan would never again donates to that struggle Island. Let keenbridge donate and help these charities since their reputation is so “perfect “
No, they didn’t say THEY thought she was marmite, they worried that the bad press Meghan was getting would basically blow back onto them. And considering they are a Muslim and Jewish charity who are probably already dealing with their own racist and bigoted shit that had nothing to do with Meghan, they feared getting more on top of that. Please read my post above.
I don’t think it’s fair being so harsh on them. I mean, I get the knee jerk instinct to be like “fuck Shutter Island! They don’t deserve the Sussex’s.” But I don’t think Harry or Meghan would agree. They want to help everyone and I think they would be sympathetic to the awkward position that charity felt they were in.
That’s really not fair. As a Muslim and Jewish charity they are already a huge target for hate crimes, and publicly siding with Meghan makes them even more of a target. They shouldn’t have to stand in front of the firing squad to prove their loyalty to Meghan, and I’m sure she wouldn’t want them to do that. It’s great that they acknowledged it now when they feel the environment is a little less dangerous for them to do so. Your anger should be directed at the media and members of the British public who created an environment so toxic and violent that a charity feared the very real possibility of retribution from announcing a simple donation. People in need will get nourishment from this donation and this charity, and that should be celebrated not ridiculed and demeaned by people who should know better.
She’s a half-Black woman, standing in the firing line of racism and xenophobia, and still chose to donate to a Muslim/Jewish charity that would also bring criticism onto her (like it did when she worked with the Muslim women of Hubb) in 2018. She was attacked relentlessly for “not helping” the “real British”.
It didn’t stop her from helping out where it was needed. So, while I understand that these people were afraid of being linked to her, the fact they still accepted the money shows they weren’t THAT put out by her.
It just goes to show that WoC, especially those with Black ancestry are expected to be mules, without the benefit of the support.
@Bex, that’s not the takeaway at all. Them accepting the money shows that they were grateful and honored for her support, like they themselves stated. Pitting marginalized community against marginalized community just helps white supremacists – everyone else loses. It wasn’t that they were PUT OUT by her, it’s that as a Muslim and Jewish charity they face an elevated threat level and they were worried that publicly announcing Meghan’s support would bring even more hate and, with it, the risk of violence to them and the community they’re trying to help. Yes, she was attacked for supporting Hubb, but Hubb was subjected to an ongoing hate campaign in the media, literally linking them to ISIS. That isn’t just idle gossip, it’s devastating to their reputations, safety, and can carry legal ramifications and further harassment. That’s where your anger should be directed – at a society and media that is so entrenched in white supremacy that charities just trying to feed people are scared that they’ll be dragged through the mud at best and targeted for white supremacist violence at worst, just from being associated with a Black woman trying to do some good.
If the charity has these very real concerns, then they shouldn’t have taken such a large sum in the first place. I sympathize with the concern but it looks petty and like they were using Meghan. If they had simply said she donated quietly abd thry just revealed it, would. Hsve been no big deal. What upset people was that they made it seem like her donating was causing them problems and that it was a bad thing, like they were trashing her while taking her money.
Snuffles, I’m of two minds. I’m happy she’s helping this charity, which probably struggles for contributions outside their communities. But I’m also angry at the BoD for admitting they were swayed by the BM’s blatant racism and misogyny. They support two marginalized and denigrated communities. Of all the people who should recognize what the BM was doing and why it should have been ignored, they chose to take the money, use the money and remained silent about an issue they themselves face.
Again, I don’t think THEY were swayed. I think they knew OTHERS have been and were afraid announcing the donation might incite blowback from racist, Brexit-y white people.
Agreed. Like another poster said, the director likened Meghan to Marmite (as a concern about the negative opinions towards her) as well. Those clumsy words + the admission that they chose to publicize after the ratings gold interview have left awful impressions among the Sussex squad, and quite frankly I can’t blame them. Other UK charities have publicized Meghan’s donations during the height of the smear campaign without issue. This is basically the director admitting that at least some people on their board of trustees have bought into the nastiness hook, line, and sinker. This is going to reinforce many supporters’ determination to avoid helping UK charities.
Other UK charities have been trolled by hateful royalists across the internet; their support hasn’t been without issue at all. Hubb Kitchen was literally publicly smeared through a media campaign connecting it to ISIS. Just like attacks on Kate versus Meghan are different because Meghan is Black and Kate is white, attacks on Muslim and Jewish charities are very different from others – they get white supremacist violence and hate crimes, not just trolls on the internet. It’s a very real threat that these communities face daily. It’s not fair to attack this charity for determining for themselves that announcing the donation publicly was dangerous for them at the time. The reverse is true, actually: we should be taking note that the BoD said that they, a charitable organization just trying to feed the needy, felt they could not publicly support Meghan for fear of becoming a target of hate. THAT is the takeaway, that is where the outrage should be directed. It’s a damning indictment of British society and should be taken as such, not as a dig to Meghan.
I understand the skepticism of not wanting to publicize it because they work with 2 minority communities that are targets for hate attacks and not wanting to add to that. I also think that his comments could have been worded a lot better or even, left out completely.
However it does seem that some of the trustees personally didn’t like Meghan and didn’t want the donation publicized due to their dislike for her rather than fear of hate attacks. Which is a shame because the publicity from the donation really could have helped the Jewish and Muslim people on the “ground” so to speak.
So I can see both points
Oh he definitely could have worded it a lot better. But I got the sense that there was still fear there and he was trying to cover his ass too by bringing up royal charities. I don’t envy the man at all. He’s clearly damn if he do, damned if he don’t.
Her first project and it’s still earning enough to fuel donations years later, that’s great. Not sure why they were scared of publicizing the donation out of fear. At the height of the smear campaign, when a charity or org announced that Meghan had donated or somehow was involved, donations POUR in. Camfed has gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars from supporters for an example.
Donations go in but anonymity also goes out. Being fearful when you’re a minority never really goes away, and to be supported financially by one of the most hated women in Britain adds another target to your back. I don’t blame these people at all.
According to you she is one of the most hated women in the UK, yet every thing she does is watched by them………so I wonder what hate are we talking about?
Is it the BM hate? racists? she was never going to be liked by the racists….that’s a fact; no matter what she does
Meghan supported the Hubb community kitchen, instead of society blaming one person for their issue, why not address the real problem? anyway, I am sure Uk people can support their charities. I will not send even a penny to a UK based charity from now on and I have supported a lot of charities highlighted by Meghan.
As MLK, Jr said “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
This is a statement my dad has always lived by and he is right…..
Let’s take a closer look
SmartWorks-run by white women
Mayhew-also run by white people and about as neutral as you can get charity wise.
Camfed – operating out of Africa and free from local UK blowback
This organization is run by and for Muslim and Jewish people in the heart of the UK where they are currently dealing with a crazy amount of xenophobia and racism because of Brexit. They are clearly in a MUCH more precarious position than the others and saw what crap the Hubb Kitchen had to deal with being falsely connected to terrorists.
I forgot how great the that cookbook project really was. It was PR perfection: No leaks, a highly camera friendly event, off the cuff speech, Harry and her mom there in support, an overall great cause, a product to immediately sell, and tons of follow up visits and press.
I bought the cookbook as a gift for my sister and one for myself, and I’ve never purchased anything faster.
Same here. I bought the Hubb cookbook for myself on day one, and then asked my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law if they wanted copies, and they did, so I bought three more on day two. A fabulous fundraiser, one of the best I’ve ever participated in!!! And it was a great way to follow up the good feeling generated by H&M’s wedding into action that we the public could take to support a deserving and important cause.
I know you need different resources and staff who have the knowledge needed to benefit various charities and areas in need of aid (Environmental experts for environmental causes, early child development experts, teachers and the like for causes like family and education, etc). But why does the BRF need all these foundations? They are a foundation. That’s their purpose.
They are not a foundation, they’re government employees living on taxpayer funds. They’re not allowed to sit back, take Sovereign Grant (taxpayer) funds, and give those taxpayer funds to charity. They create foundations as a way to legally accept, raise, and use donated funds for charity work.
I remember articles about the negotiations of the royal foundation split. Harry was able to retain projects he alone started like invictus and Endeavor which after the start were managed by the Invictus foundation. He had to leave behind Heads Together I think because it was funded by the Royal Foundation and jointly created with W&K. I also think when the R foundation funded the Hubb Kitchen project originally, profits were structured to flow thru the Foundation for distribution. Harry and Meghan retain control of how excess profits are distributed. For some reason they cooudn’t pull that structure apart.
Meghan made it clear she did the entire Together cookbook with no help or assistance from staffers or the Foundation. She went outside the organization to make the book happen, because that’s the only way it was going to get done. Right from the beginning, they had to start fighting to keep that money from disappearing or being stolen, with the ‘ringbarked’ comment coming out quickly.
When Harry and Meghan left the Royal Foundation, it was agreed that the Royal Foundation would continue to administer their projects until they set up their own organisation. Everything was supposed to be transferred to Sussex Royal when it was established. Of course, Sussex Royal was dissolved, Travalyst became its own organisation and the Endeavour Fund was transferred to the Invictus Games Foundation. The Royal Foundation is still the depository for funds from the cookbook. It is not known if these funds will eventually be transferred to Archewell or because the project was a Royal Foundation project whether the revenue from the cookbook will remain with the Cambridges. The Royal Foundation has no access to that money, only Meghan can decide what happens to the money.
Those other funds and projects were able to be removed from the Foundation and funds transfered. It continues to raise questions that Together money isn’t being transferred out to Archewell.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the Royal Foundation makes an announcement about the transfer of those funds. I suspect they will be none given who’s CEO of the Royal Foundation but it may be reported in the Royal Foundation’s annual report which should come out in the summer.
The copyright must be held by the Royal Foundation. Some complainer on Twitter was fussing about Meghan holding the copyright instead of the Hubb Kitchen. When I pointed out that the funds went to the RF, she had no problem with that. Go figure.
I obviously knew that the cookbook was really successful but I didn’t know it generated enough funds for Meghan to give 10k to someone else.
Or maybe the Hubb ladies are self sufficient enough and don’t need the money
The original scope of the project was to fund a kitchen remodel (with industrial grade appliances, etc), allow the kitchen to remain open seven days a week (instead of the two days a week), and assist the women in food prep certifications (which would lead to owning their own business, better employment opportunities etc).
The initial sales results (£500K/$700K) covered all of that, AND had several hundreds of thousands left over (which was to be distributed as grants/gifts).
Basically, the project raised more money than was projected, and the excess has been filtered to other charitable organizations AFTER the original scope was satisfied.
I’ve been seeing on Twitter that this money was donated months ago but the trustees didn’t want to announce it because Meghan is like “Marimite” in the UK. WTF???
It’s good she’s keeping an eye on the profits and moving them out at some minimum threshold before they disappear. Also consistent that she did not announce this donation herself but let the organization take the lead. Too bad the climate was such they were hesitant to do so. It’s an interesting part of a larger conversation for the UK to have, if they’ll have it
So great that the together Cookbook achieved its goal & then some & Meghan can spread the love to other orgs with a similar need/ethos. Happy
Fact that the charity trustees were said to be scared to publicise the donation is something the royal family (the so called “life of public service” people) should be utterly ashamed of. They have been complicit in fermenting hate which has seen charities get trolled & now potentially hamper ability for this charity & other U.K. charities to attract more donations. I wonder if there are any other charities Meghan has donated to/worked with that have felt similar.
Its nice that the charity has spoken up& they didn’t have to at all. But I have mixed feelings. Even before the interview if trustees knew enough to know Meghan was someone people loved or hated then they should have been aware of the racist, biased press coverage. So even more reason for a charity whose focus is on racism to ‘say this is a positive side we’ve seen, she may be in US but still showing support to a small charity in Nottingham’ etc.
I am beginning to think that the BRF is squeezing UK charities to not accept Meghan’s donations to try to erase her. Thanks to Oprah the unintended consequences may be more focus on Cambridge financial shenanigans.
I love her. I love that she is raising the profiles of these smaller organizations that do good work.
And she definitely made sure the press would report on it.
Except she didn’t as we clearly saw 😒
Of course she did. Taylor Swift does the same. Basically all rich people donate a lot of money but you never hear about it because they don’t feel the need to make it public.