The Charity Commission is investigating the charity at the center of a Buckingham Palace race controversy after a number of online claims regarding its operations and finances were made.
According to reports, Sistah Space, a nonprofit that supports victims of abuse and violence in the African and Caribbean communities, is being “assessed material” by the Charity Commission.
According to the Telegraph, the organization has been requested to determine whether funding supplied to the charity “have been utilised as intended.”
It happens after former lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey, 83, kept asking the charity’s founder where she was “truly from” during a visit to Buckingham Palace. Since then, Lady Hussey has retired from serving as a royal.
Following Ngozi Fulani’s outspoken comments against Lady Susan Hussey’s treatment of her, Sistah Space was “forced to temporarily stop” a number of its operations.
The late Queen’s lady-in-waiting frequently questioned Ms. Fulani when she claimed to be British, and Ms. Fulani claimed she was subjected to “horrendous abuse” on social media as a result.
‘Unfortunately recent events means that we were obliged to temporarily suspend several of our operations to guarantee the safety of our service users and our team,’ Sistah Space said in a statement posted on Instagram on Friday night.
“The level of support and encouragement has been overwhelming, and we look forward to completely restoring our services as soon as it is safe to do so,” the statement reads.
However, the charity has been in the news again this week as a result of a number of complaints made on social media by an unnamed user regarding its management and finances, which is considered to be the reason the Charity Commission became involved.
The watchdog has not declared that Sistah Space is the subject of an official probe or inquiry.
The London-based nonprofit reported overall revenue of £363,506 for the fiscal year that ended in March 2021, which included two government contracts totalling $52,346.
In comparison, this amounts to just over £50,000 in 2019. The charity has also received contributions from the Department for Culture, Media, Digital and Sport and £60,000 from Comic Relief. It is saving money to buy a home to serve as a sanctuary for victims of domestic violence and abuse.
On the website of the Charity Commission, it is stated that the annual financial report was delivered over 70 days late.
The sudden departure of the charity’s accounts officer produced “a huge disruption in the organization’s ability to record accounts in a timely manner,” according to the report, which details the charity’s struggles to do so.
It also brought attention to issues that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused for organizations all around the world.
Long delays were also attributed to “personal difficulties” among the personnel, although it was noted: “We have now employed an independent accounting company and are sure that any concerns are a thing of the past.”
‘We are evaluating material uploaded on social media concerning the organization Sistah Space to establish whether it raises issues that fall under the Charity Commission’s scope,’ a representative for the Charity Commission said.
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