Ezer Viznitz Foundation
UK Orthodox Jewish grant-making charity under Charity Commission inquiry
| Ezer Viznitz Foundation
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity (trust) |
| Founded | 28 May 2015 |
| Registration ID | 1161881 |
| Location | 121 Clapton Common, London E5 9AB |
| Area served | Hackney; Haringey; City of Salford; Belgium; Israel; United States |
Ezer Viznitz Foundation is an England and Wales registered grant-making charity (number 1161881), entered on the register of the Charity Commission on 28 May 2015 and governed by a trust deed dated 29 December 2014.[1][2] It reports that it provides aid to families in personal or social distress and supports local community projects.[3] In the year ending 31 March 2025 it reported income of £4,665,384 and expenditure of £4,935,630.[4]
The charity was added in September 2025 to the Charity Commission statutory class inquiry into 105 charities that cashed cheques worth £22 million with a company in Hackney between December 2021 and March 2023.[5] The register still carries an inquiry alert. An inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.[3]
Activities
The objects in the governing document are the advancement of education according to the Orthodox Jewish faith; the relief of financial hardship, generally or individually, by grants of money for items, services or facilities; and any other exclusively charitable objects the trustees see fit under the law of England and Wales.[1]
The main recorded method of carrying out those purposes is grant-making. Listed activities include general charitable purposes, education and training, and the prevention or relief of poverty. Beneficiaries include children and young people, other charities or voluntary bodies, and the general public. It makes grants to individuals and to organisations and provides advocacy, advice or information.[6] Areas of operation recorded on the register are the London Borough of Hackney, the London Borough of Haringey, the City of Salford, Belgium, Israel and the United States.[6]
Trustees’ accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 state that during that year the charity made grants totalling £3,404,953 to individuals and £141,207 to organisations.[7]
The charity reports no trading subsidiaries and that trustees receive no remuneration, payments or benefits from the charity. It is not recognised by HM Revenue and Customs for Gift Aid.[3]
People
Trustees listed on the Charity Commission register:[8]
| Name | Role | Date appointed | Other trusteeships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chanoich Muller | Chair | 28 May 2015 | None on record |
| Rachel Stern | Trustee | 3 March 2021 | None on record |
| Yakov Babad | Trustee | 12 December 2014 | None on record |
The 2023 trustees’ report names C. M. Muller, C. Muller and Y. Babad as trustees and gives the principal address as 121 Clapton Common, London E5 9AB.
Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)
| Capture date | Trustees listed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-07 | Chaim Meir Muller (from 28 May 2015); Yakov Babad (from 12 December 2014); Chanoich Muller (chair) (from 28 May 2015) | [9] |
| 2021-07-05 | Yakov Babad (from 12 December 2014); Chanoich Muller (chair) (from 28 May 2015); Rachel Stern (from 03 March 2021) | [10] |
Finances
Income is recorded as donations and legacies only.
| Year ending | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2021 | £929,934 | £1,153,102 |
| 31 March 2022 | £3,166,246 | £2,915,369 |
| 31 March 2023 | £3,773,795 | £3,634,719 |
| 31 March 2024 | £4,068,770 | £4,210,626 |
| 31 March 2025 | £4,665,384 | £4,935,630 |
Grants to institutions recorded on the register included £479,390 in the year to 31 March 2024 and £58,980 in the year to 31 March 2025. Charity reporting is recorded as up to date.
Archived accounts
Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:
- Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2016[11]
- Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2017[12]
- Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2018[13]
Funding in Israel
- FY2025: £4,753,025 to individuals; £58,980 to organisations.[14]
Israeli partners
Mostly individuals; Israel on register.[14]
Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF
Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| No settlement names in the summary. | low |
Support for the IDF: No IDF funding is stated.[14]
Charity Commission inquiry
In May 2025 the Charity Commission opened a statutory class inquiry after an unannounced HM Revenue and Customs visit to a company in Hackney found that 105 charities had cashed cheques with that company to a value of £22 million between December 2021 and March 2023.Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025. In September 2025 the Commission named a second tranche of ten charities, including Ezer Viznitz Foundation, Satmar Nursery Trust, Lehachyos, Dover Sholem Community Trust, Friends of Yeshiva Daas Sholem Shotz, Vyoel Moshe Charitable Trust, The Z.S.V. Trust, United Talmudical Associates Ltd, Forty Limited and Bnois Jerusalem Schools. Charities under the inquiry were ordered not to issue cheques without the Commission’s prior consent.Lee Harpin, More Strictly Orthodox charities named in £22m cheque cashing inquiry Jewish News, 2 September 2025. The Commission said it would examine how the charities transferred funds, how trustees oversaw what happened to funds exchanged for the cheques, whether the cash was used to support the charities’ purposes, and how trustees determined that the transactions were in each charity’s best interests. On 9 September 2026 the Commission removed four charities from the class inquiry — The Z.S.V. Trust, Bnois Jerusalem Schools, Forty Limited and Friends Of Yeshiva Daas Sholem Shotz — after finding they had issued open cheques but were undertaking charitable activities in line with their purposes.Charity Commission, Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues GOV.UK, 9 September 2026. Ezer Viznitz Foundation was not named among those removed, and its register entry still records that an inquiry has been opened.
Charity Commission register
- Cheque-cashing class inquiry (September 2025). Named among the second tranche of ten charities entering the Commission's class inquiry into cheque-cashing with a Hackney company.[15]
Other registers and records
Scotland and Northern Ireland
No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (full register download of 14 October 2026 searched by name).[16] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[17]
The Gazette
Searches of The Gazette notice feeds (all notices, insolvency and company) for the charity's name found no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice; results were limited to Companies House filing lists.[18]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
| Date | Funder | Amount (£) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-19 | The National Lottery Community Fund | 10,000 | The funding will be used to provide deprived families living in Hackney with a daily warm meal for one week during the school summer holiday |
| 2022-06-24 | The National Lottery Community Fund | 9,840 | The funding will be used to provide breakfast clubs for fathers and sons from the Jewish community. The project aims to address extreme hung |
| 2024-05-09 | The National Lottery Community Fund | 19,725 | The funding will be used to organise a cycling club for disadvantaged children in the area. The project aims to improve the physical and me |
No grants made by the charity are published in 360Giving data, so flows between linked charities could not be traced there.[19]
Sanctions screening
The names of current and archived trustees and Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match on full name was found; only coincidental surname matches.[20]
Land and property
The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[21] No title registers were purchased.[22]
Parliament
A search of Hansard for 'Ezer Viznitz' returned 0 contributions in total.[23]
Web archive
The UK Government Web Archive holds 2 archived Charity Commission register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above). The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date" and "Other regulators: No information available".[9]
Contact
Principal address (2023 accounts): 121 Clapton Common, London E5 9AB Register correspondence address: Raffingers LLP, Unit 19-20 Bourne Court, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8HD Telephone: 07903 116215 Charity number: 1161881
See also
- Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques
- Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator
- British Jewish charities investigated by the Charity CommissionCharity Commission
- The Rehabilitation Trust
- Chasdei Dov Trust
- Friends of Wiznitz Limited
External links
Charity Commission register entry for Ezer Viznitz Foundation
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Charity Commission, EZER VIZNITZ FOUNDATION - 1161881 governing document Register of Charities, accessed 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Find that Charity, Ezer Viznitz Foundation Find that Charity, accessed 12 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Charity Commission, EZER VIZNITZ FOUNDATION - 1161881 Register of Charities, accessed 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, EZER VIZNITZ FOUNDATION - 1161881 financial history Register of Charities, accessed 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Civil Society, 10 more charities investigated as part of £22m cashed cheques probe Civil Society, 1 September 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Charity Commission, EZER VIZNITZ FOUNDATION - 1161881 what, who, how, where Register of Charities, accessed 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Ezer Viznitz Foundation, Report of the trustees and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Charity Commission accounts filing, 2023.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Trustees EZER VIZNITZ FOUNDATION Register of Charities, accessed 12 September 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Register entry 1161881, full print (capture of 20210107) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ Register entry 1161881, full print (capture of 20210705) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ Ezer Viznitz Foundation accounts, year ended 2016-03-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
- ↑ Ezer Viznitz Foundation accounts, year ended 2017-03-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
- ↑ Ezer Viznitz Foundation accounts, year ended 2018-03-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Charity Commission, Ezer Viznitz Foundation (1161881): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 14 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
- ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, CharityExport-14-Oct-2026.csv, downloaded 14 October 2026; keyword search of charity names for the batch found no matching Scottish registration (the only hit for "breakthrough" was Breakthrough Breast Cancer SC039058, unrelated).
- ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 14 October 2026 (keyword searches for each batch charity name returned zero results).
- ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Ezer Viznitz' The Gazette, searched 14 October 2026.
- ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1161881 360Giving, queried 14 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV, version of 12 October 2026); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv, last updated 3 June 2026). Screening of 405 names (current and archived trustees and Companies House officers of the 25 batch-1 charities) carried out 14 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification), extract dated 14 October 2026.
- ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK, accessed 14 October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching 'Ezer Viznitz' Hansard, queried 14 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints).