KCY Manchester
Salford trust whose only grantee is Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim, the Jerusalem charity fund of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess; it paid £80,000 in 2024/25 and keeps reserves "as low as possible"
| KCY Manchester
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Trust |
| Founded | 2016-05-20 (registered) |
| Registration ID | Registered charity 1167254 |
| Headquarters | Salford M7 |
| Area served | Bury, Salford City, Israel |
| Key people | Chaim Shimen Lebrecht (chair) |
KCY Manchester was constituted under a deed of 4 January 2016 and registered on 20 May 2016; its principal office is in Salford M7 (PDF p.3–4).[1][2] Its objects are education (especially in Greater Manchester), the relief of poverty anywhere, and the advancement of the Orthodox Jewish religion (PDF p.5).[2] The trustees are S Grinfeld, M Kaufman and Chaim Shimen Lebrecht (chair); day-to-day affairs are run by "Mr Leitner" (PDF p.3–4).[2][1] In the year to 31 March 2025 donations were £70,082 (2024: £84,451); grants went to one recipient – "Kollel Chibas Yerusholayim" – £80,000 (2024: £95,000), and the trustees "wish to keep reserves as low as possible in order to maximise paying out grants to Israel" (PDF p.6, 13).[2] The accountants are Haffner Hoff; the independent examiner is Howard Schwalbe ACA (PDF p.3).[2]
Objects and activities
The charity's registered objects read: "? FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT TO PROMOTE THE EDUCATION OF PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AROUND THE WORLD IN SUCH WAYS AS THE CHARITY TRUSTEES THINK FIT, INCLUDING AWARDING TO SUCH PERSONS SCHOLARSHIPS, MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCES OR GRANTS; OR BY GRANTS TO CHARITIES OR OTHER ORGANISATIONS, PARTICULARLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, IN THE GREATER MANCHESTER AREA THAT PROVIDE EDUCATION.? THE PREVENTION OR RELIEF OF POVERTY OR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD BY PROVIDING: GRANTS OR LOANS TO INDIVIDUALS IN NEED AND/OR CHARITIES, OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO PREVENT OR RELIEVE POVERTY OR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP.? TO ADVANCE THE ORTHODOX JEWISH RELIGION WORLDWIDE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF JEWISH LAW (SHULCHAN ARUCH)."[1]
The register describes its activities as: "payment to worthy recipients as deemed by the trustees."[1]
Register classifications: Education/training, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty, Religious Activities.[1]
Areas of operation recorded on the register: Bury, Salford City, Israel.[1]
Trustees
Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]
| Trustee | Appointed | Chair | Other trusteeships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaim Shimen Lebrecht | 2016-01-04 | Yes | Beis Ruchel School Ltd (1074439); Csbs Trust (1162417); Friends of Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok (1075074); Memhay Limited (1073593); Mikve Taharas Ruchel (1152879); Mikve Trust Limited (1116467); The Great Club Charitable Trust Ltd (1096288) |
| Moses Kaufman | 2016-01-04 | — | |
| Saadia Grinfeld | 2016-01-04 | — |
Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)
| Capture date | Trustees listed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-16 | Chaim Shimen Lebrecht (chair) (from 04 January 2016) – also trustee of Memhay Limited, Mikve Trust Limited, Csbs Trust, Friends of Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, Mikve Taharas Ruchel, The Great Club Charitable Trust Ltd, Beis Ruchel School Ltd; Moses Kaufman (from 04 January 2016); Saadia Grinfeld (from 04 January 2016) | [3] |
Chaim Shimen Lebrecht is also a register trustee of Beis Ruchel School Ltd (1074439), CSBS Trust (1162417), Friends of Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok (1075074), Memhay Limited (1073593), Mikve Taharas Ruchel (1152879), Mikve Trust Limited (1116467) and The Great Club Charitable Trust Ltd (1096288).[1]
Finances
| Financial year end | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-31 | £71,561 | £57,573 |
| 2022-03-31 | £71,071 | £68,934 |
| 2023-03-31 | £90,104 | £92,047 |
| 2024-03-31 | £84,451 | £97,287 |
| 2025-03-31 | £70,082 | £82,237 |
Source: register annual-return history.[1]
Archived accounts
Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:
- Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2017[4]
- Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2018[5]
- Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2019[6]
Funding in Israel
- Year to 31 March 2025: Kollel Chibas Yerusholayim £80,000 (2024: £95,000), the only grantee (PDF p.13).[2]
Israeli partners
Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim – "Kuppat Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess", which says it was founded in 1830, distributes grants to 5,500 needy families every three months and gives its address as "120 Meir Shearim Street, Yerushalayim".[7] The accounts say only that it is "in Israel" (PDF p.6).[2]
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 |
|---|---|
| The grantee's own website gives its address in Mea Shearim Street, Jerusalem; the accounts do not say where the funds were used.[7][2] | Medium (partner) |
Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[2]
Controversies and regulatory action
- No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice naming this charity was found, and its register entry shows no regulatory alert;[8] it is not among the charities named in the Commission's cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements (May, September and December 2025) or in the September 2026 statement of results.[9][10][11][12] The charities in the Commission's settlements class inquiry (opened August 2026) have not been named, so it is not known whether this charity is among them.[13]
- Inconsistent governing document. The report says the charity is a trust constituted by deed, but that trustees are recruited "in line with the Memorandum and Articles of Association", and that there are "no policies for the induction or training" of trustees (PDF p.4).[2]
- Connected donors. C S Lebrecht is also a trustee of CSBS Trust and Memhay Ltd, which donated £1,000 and £250 to the charity (PDF p.15).[2]
Other registers and records
Scotland and Northern Ireland
No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (register export dated 14 October 2026, searched by name).[14] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[15]
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.[16]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[17]
Sanctions screening
The charity's name, its current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees and officers named in the accounts read for this profile and (for charitable companies) its Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match was found. Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (UK sanctions ID RUS1127) does not appear among this charity's trustees or officers.[18]
Land and property
The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[19]
Parliament
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "KCY Manchester" returned 0 contributions in total.[20]
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".[3]
External links
- No current official website.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 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, charity_other_names), extract dated 14 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Charity Commission, KCY Manchester (1167254): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Register entry 1167254, full print (capture of 20210116) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ KCY Manchester accounts, year ended 2017-03-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
- ↑ KCY Manchester accounts, year ended 2018-03-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
- ↑ KCY Manchester accounts, year ended 2019-03-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200703).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim, Home page hjerusalem.com, viewed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities, charity overview page (register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/ followed by the organisation number) for each of the 25 batch-20 charities, all retrieved successfully on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section; none was shown for any of them. Seventeen registered charities showed "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)"; the other eight (Friends of Milbat, British Friends of Atid, River Progress Foundation, Morris Family Israel Trust, Afikim, the Cohen Charitable Trust, the Adrienne and Leslie Sussman Charitable Trust and Encompass) showed "Removed charity".
- ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues GOV.UK, 9 September 2026, with Statement of the results of a class inquiry (same date).
- ↑ Charity Commission, Charity regulator opens inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements GOV.UK, 5 August 2026 (a fact-finding statutory class inquiry initially involving 8 charities which "are not being publicly named at this time").
- ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-20 charity names found no matching Scottish registration (a name-only hit for "Sheila & Denis Cohen Charitable Trust" was not established to be connected with the Cohen Charitable Trust and is disregarded).
- ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-20 charity names returned zero results).
- ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'KCY Manchester' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1167254 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-20 screening covered 272 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, Companies House officers of the five charitable companies, and trustees, examiners and other people and bodies named in the accounts and sources read for this batch; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually. No forename-and-surname match for any person was found; token matches were surname-only coincidences (for example Weiss, Sara, Masri, Cohen) or generic words in organisation names (Limited, Company, Trust).
- ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access in 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 the exact phrase "KCY Manchester" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).