A charity which distributes money raised by Brighton Pride reportedly owes local organisations more than £130,000 in unpaid grants, some going back to 2022.
People with knowledge of the impact on some of the charities which haven’t been paid by the Brighton Rainbow Fund – which is independent of Pride – say the worst affected are already scaling back activities and could even be at risk of closure.
Trustee Christopher Gull said he was standing down last week because of “bad decisions” after its latest accounts showed about £280,000 had been given or loaned to non-profit companies he runs. The fund has also referred itself to the Charity Commission, which is deciding whether to investigate.
Unlike the charity’s annual grants, these awards – a £220k grant to the Ledward Centre, which was set up by BRF, and an unsecured £48k loan to the struggling company which runs GScene – were not publicly announced.
Mr Gull and his fellow trustee Jane Pritchard declined to answer questions as to whether the independent panel which awards BRF grants had signed off the transfers, or was aware of them.
Both said that as The Ledward Centre is a BRF project, they did not believe its award was a conflict of interest. All payments to both organisations have now been halted.
By far the largest donor to BRF is Brighton Pride, but it also receives donations from Bear Patrol, Brighton Bear Weekend and local LGBTQ+ venues, as well as taking donations directly and doing its own fundraising.
One person with connections to an affected charity said: “It’s been an open secret for months. In spring, the community groups started to talk to each other and set up a repayment schedule which kept getting missed by the Rainbow Fund.
“As a charity, if you are giving out a loan there needs to be all sort of checks and balances. I’m told the trustees doubt it will ever get paid back.
“The Rainbow Fund monopolises fundraising in Brighton. When we’ve asked LGBTQ bars around Brighton if they’d fundraise for us, they say no, they only raise money for the Rainbow Fund.
“There’s so many groups that rely on the Rainbow Fund – even just to have a basketball game once a week.
“There’s huge worries about speaking out because what if the trustees remember who said what when the next funding round happens.”
Another, who has been raising concerns with the fund since 2022, said: “It is my understanding that some great charities including Lunch Positive and Switchboard are awaiting payments and it has had a detrimental impact on them.
“Pride have a big decision to make in my opinion as real questions remain as to whether they need a third party to distribute the funding.
“Why should The Rainbow Fund decide what projects are worthwhile in the area, especially now?
“A better system would be to distribute the money raised by Pride directly amongst the great charities in Brighton without the need of a middle organisation. The Sussex Beacon, THT, Lunch Positive, Switchboard – and The Ledward Centre could be included as part of this.
“I urge people to not lose sight that the charities listed above, and there are more, need some real support currently. If you have any concerns donate directly to them.”
Since 2022, the biggest recipients of BRF grants have been Lunch Positive, The Clare Project, Trans Pride and the Brighton and Hove Switchboard, which were pledged a total of £140,000.
Brighton and Hove News understands the bulk of these grants have not been paid – and that the 2023 funding round was opened even though many other 2022 grants were outstanding.
All the organisations listed as grant recipients have been contacted for comment. Only one, Pathways to Health, said they had been paid the grant. None of the others replied, except Brighton and Hove Switchboard, which said it was their policy not to comment on this story to the media.
Last week, Brighton Pride said it was awaiting the outcome of the Charity Commission enquiry, and reviewing how it manages fundraising arrangements with community partners.
