The former prime minister is attracting wealthy donors to back his health and harmony projects Charities are going to the wall, leading philanthropists are cutting back and patrons of the arts are closing their wallets. But in these financially straitened times, Tony and Cherie Blair are emerging as the UK's answer to Bill and Melinda Gates. Documents filed at Companies House show the former prime minister and his wife have been busy establishing a series of charities that have global reach and expansive ambitions. Many politicians decide to set up charitable organisations after they leave office, but the Blairs' ambitions are different in that their scale dwarfs those of their British predecessors. Everything from striving for the promotion of women entrepreneurs to encouraging healthy Geordies, eradicating fatal illnesses and bringing lasting peace to the Middle East are to receive the Blairs' philanthropic touch. And while many charities are having trouble raising funds, not to mention attracting the suitably connected personnel necessary to achieve their goals, the Blairs are encountering no such problems. The names of those lending support to their charitable trusts read like a Who's Who of movers and shakers from sport, religion and philanthropy. "The Blairs are using all their resources to tackle things they care about," said Sue Wixley of New Philanthropy Capital, a think tank that connects charities to donors. "In this case, the Blairs' resources are their contacts." The potent mix is already paying handsome dividends. Recently filed accounts for theTony Blair Faith Foundation reveal that the charity, which aims to promote greater understanding between religions, received donations of £3.6m in its first year of existence. It is an impressive amount for an organisation that was established less than two years ago, although the accounts do not reveal who donated the money. However, there is speculation that some of the money flooding into the foundation is coming from wealthy benefactors in the Middle East. The accounts reveal that £550,000 has been ring-fenced for promoting the foundation's work with the Islamic, Christian and Jewish faiths. Run by Ruth Turner, Blair's former director of government relations, the foundation has a number of key aims, according to its accounts. One is to help faith groups play their part in eradicating malaria, chiefly by encouraging mosques and churches to run training courses to spread health messages. On a domestic front, the foundation is aiming to improve religious literacy among young people through the production of "high-quality educational resources" that will be distributed in UK schools. Intriguingly, the foundation's accounts reveal it has plans to broaden its franchise and establish the Tony Blair Faith Foundation - USA. Given Blair's popularity across the Atlantic, thanks to his support for "the war on terror", it may seem a logical progression. Indeed, the original UK foundation's accounts reveal it is already supporting a course at Yale University "to deepen understanding of the links between religion, politics and economics in the 21st century". Blair's global ambitions for his faith foundation are also helped by the choice of advisers who sit on its council. These include the Rev David Coffey, president of the powerful Baptist World Alliance, a global network of church groups; the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks; and Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who has won awards for promoting inter-faith harmony and is widely respected by Jews and Muslims alike. But perhaps the biggest name on Blair's advisory board is the Rev Rick Warren, founder of the Saddleback Church in the US and one of the country's highest-profile evangelists. Warren's reputation - and influence - was highlighted earlier this month when Barack Obama invited him to deliver the traditional religious invocation at his inauguration, a move that drew protests from liberals who disagree with his conservative views on same-sex marriage and abortion. In addition to the faith foundation, Blair has also launched the Tony Blair Sports Foundation. Its mission statement is to "invest in local people, inspiring them to make the most of themselves through sport". Accounts at Companies House also show Blair has established the Tony Blair Governance Initiative. The aims of the charity, set up last December, are "to relieve poverty and ... promote social and economic development" through the administration of good governance. Last month Blair implemented the first steps of this strategy when he became an unpaid adviser to Rwanda's President Kagame. This is in addition to his role as Middle East envoy on behalf of the UN, the US, the EU and Russia. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Mrs Blair has established her own eponymous trust. The first accounts of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, filed earlier this month, reveal it is attempting to break down the economic barriers facing women by using new technology. The fledgling foundation aims to build partnerships with mobile phone companies in Africa to help connect women entrepreneurs and to partner microfinance institutions in pilot countries in the Middle East. The accounts show one of its trustees is the well-connected London-based socialite Sara Carello. The Blairs may have been inspired by Microsoft founder Bill Gates who, along with his wife, Melinda, helps preside over a foundation with an endowment worth more than $35bn and whose aims are to alleviate poverty and disease through the use of new technologies.TAX BENEFITS??????
BY DONATIONS?????
Figures reveal Blair's charity empire
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
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If he really wanted to make a difference he should have done this quietly without publicity. Of course his arrogance would not allow that! This is nothing but a publicity stunt to boost sales for what I'm sure will be a mediocre piece of writing.
Posted by Tony Platt at 10:35am on August 17, 2010
It is a case of Dammed if you dont and dammed if you do. Does it matter how much? Every little bit helps. If the money is tainted then should the money be rejected and not used to help?
Posted by Chandra Emmanuel at 11:07am on August 17, 2010
Perhaps the title should be "A Downhill Journey". I hope the RBL actually get the sort of amounts they are expecting but, with the proven Blair record of deception, I have my doubts. It would be very nice to think we could expect an honest and sincere book but that too would be equally delusional.
Posted by michael sheldon at 11:16am on August 17, 2010