The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation

From Powerbase
Jump to navigation Jump to search

US-dollar grant-making foundation with funds of $123 million, giving mainly in Israel and Europe

The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation

Logo The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation logo.png
Type Charitable company
Founded 2018-02-05 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 1177003; company 11006400
Headquarters International House, 101 King's Cross Road, London, WC1X 9LP
Area served Germany, Israel, United States
Website www.wohl.org.uk
Wohl Rose Park, Jerusalem (2025). The foundation's 2024 report refers to its support for the Wohl Rose Park

The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation (Company number 11006400, Charity number: 1177003) is a large Zionist family foundation based in the UK named for property developer Maurice Wohl who died in 2007 and his wife Vivienne Wohl. It is closely associated with the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation.

According to an account written in 2011:

Vivienne Wohl, is a trustee of both foundations, chairman of the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation and Master of Birkbeck College, University of London. The founder of the two family foundations was the property developer, Maurice Wohl CBE. The charitable foundation was originally established by Maurice Wohl in 1965, and the philanthropic foundation created by Maurice and Vivienne Wohl in 1998.
When Maurice Wohl died in 2007, aged 90, David Latchman, a close relative (his nephew) and a trustee for around 30 years, became Chair of the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, thus ensuring ongoing family involvement. The two foundations operate in parallel, but in practice the former tends to fund projects in Israel, working closely with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the latter focuses more on the UK. A large legacy gift was given to the philanthropic foundation when the valuable modern art collection which Maurice and Vivienne Wohl had assembled over 40 years was sold by Christie’s in 2008. The foundations also inherited substantial funds from the Wohl estate. In 2010 the combined charitable expenditure of the two foundations was £4.7 million (£12.9 million the previous year due to some major large gifts), and that of the charitable foundation was £3.3 million. The combined net assets of the two foundations were over £138 million.[1]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "THE OBJECTS OF THE FOUNDATION ARE THE FURTHERANCE OF SUCH CHARITABLE PURPOSE OR CHARITABLE PURPOSES AS THE TRUSTEES IN THEIR ABSOLUTE DISCRETION SEE FIT."[2]

The register describes its activities as: "The Foundation's objectives are such charitable purposes as the trustees in their absolute discretion see fit. The trustees have adopted a broad mission statement for grant making noting the preference for building projects and focusing mainly in Israel and Europe on Health and medical sciences, Needy populations, and improving the quality of Jewish Life."[2]

Register classifications: General Charitable Purposes.[2]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Germany, Israel, United States.[2]

People

Trustees

Trustees of the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation. Correct as of 6 December 2023.[3]

Name Role Date of Appointment Other Trusteeships
Ian Gainsford Trustee 28 October 2020 Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation | Wolfson Family Charitable Trust |
David Latchman Trustee 28 October 2020 Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation
Martin Paisner Trustee 28 October 2020 Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation | Rayman Hanbury Charitable Trust | Shaare Zedek UK | Phillips Family Charitable Trust | British Friends of Edith Wolfson Hosipital | Lily and Marcus Sieff Charitable Trust | Teale Charitable Trust | Ohel Sarah UK | New Israel Fund | Friends of the Israel Cancer Association
Daniel Dover Trustee 28 October 2020

Current trustees (Charity Commission register, October 2026)

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[2]

Trustees of The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Professor David Latchman CBE 2020-10-28 Foundation for Jewish Heritage (1162111); The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation (244519)
Sir Ian Gainsford 2020-10-28 The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation (244519); The Wolfson Family Charitable Trust (228382)
Daniel Dover 2020-10-28 —
Hannah Latchman 2026-07-01 The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation (244519)

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2021-01-07 Daniel Dover (from 28 October 2020); Sir Ian Gainsford (from 28 October 2020) – also trustee of The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, The Wolfson Family Charitable Trust; Martin Paisner CBE Ma Llm (from 28 October 2020) – also trustee of The Lily and Marcus Sieff Charitable Trust, Ben Gurion University Foundation, The Stuart Young Foundation, New Israel Fund, Holocaust Educational Trust, The Rayman Hanbury Charitable Trust, Ohel Sarah UK, The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, The Sieratzki Charitable Trust, British Friends of Edith Wolfson Hospital, Shaare Zedek UK, The Phillips Family Charitable Trust, Teale Charitable Trust; Professor David Latchman (from 28 October 2020) – also trustee of The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation [4]

Martin Paisner CBE, named as chairman in the 2024 accounts,[5] resigned as a director on 29 April 2026; Hannah Latchman was appointed on 1 July 2026, and Sir Ian Gainsford is recorded as resident in Israel.[6]

Companies House officers

Companies House lists 8 current and former officers of the charitable company (11006400), 5 of them active.[6] Officers recorded as resident outside the UK: Ian Derek Gainsford (Israel, active).[6]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2020-12-31 £373,926 £5,188,110
2021-12-31 £438,744 £4,439,441
2022-12-31 £600,000 £6,058,000
2023-12-31 £770,639 £5,609,224
2024-12-31 £716,652 £6,233,340

Source: register annual-return history.[2]

The accounts are kept in US dollars. For the year to 31 December 2025 they report gross income of $1.8m (2024: $0.9m), investment management fees of $1.7m (2024: $1.6m), expenditure on charitable activities of $4.0m (2024: $6.2m) and net investment gains of $13.2m (2024: $16.4m); total funds rose by $9.3m to $123.4m (2024: $114.0m). New grants committed in the year were $2,910,376 net of cancellations (2024: $5,432,648) against a target of $3.5m, grants paid totalled $6.2m (2024: $5.6m), and outstanding commitments at the year end were $6.3m (2024: $5.4m).[7]

Archived accounts

Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:

  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2018[8]

Grant Recipients

Reichman University's Yankin campus, Herzliya (2024). The foundation's 2024 new grants included $240,000 to Reichman University

From the latest accounts

  • 2024 new grants totalled $5,432,648 (2023: $5,241,055), including the Rashi Foundation $1,250,000, Summit Institute $1,000,000, Hadassah Research Fund $750,000, Hotam–Teach First Israel $400,000, Pillar Foundation $300,000, Eitan $280,000, Reichman University $240,000 and Be-Atzmi $100,000; a $360,000 British Council grant was cancelled (PDF p.25–26).[5]
  • The report describes support for the Muni-Impact coalition led by the Rashi Foundation in the Gaza-envelope municipalities of Sderot, Ofakim, Netivot and Ashkelon, focused on Ofakim, a "Return Home" project in the north of Israel and the Wohl Rose Park in Jerusalem (PDF p.6).[5]

2025 grants

New grants in 2025 included the Israel Center on Addiction and Mental Health $600,000, Aharai (Youth Lead Change) $400,000, Netzach Educational Network $400,000, The Public Forum $300,000, Joint Distribution Committee / Tevet $250,000, The Open University of Israel $200,000, Enosh $160,500, Latet Peh $150,000, T.O.M Bnei-Akiva Institute for Torah & Vocational Studies $150,000, Mosaica $132,350, Tikva UK $102,427, Haredim La Ketzev $100,000, ICAR Collective $100,000 and Lishma $100,000; grants of $450,000 to Appleseeds Academy and $200,000 to Educating for Impact were cancelled (note 4).[7] The trustees' report says the foundation supported groups helping populations "deeply affected by the war", including Latet Peh in northern Israel and Beit Halochem UK "for therapeutic retreats for war veterans".[7]

Israeli partners

Rashi Foundation; Hadassah; Sheba; Teach First Israel (Hotam); Reichman University; Jerusalem Foundation (2023: $1,055,000); Shalva (2023: $50,000).[5]

Support for the Israeli military

Beit Halochem runs centres in Israel for disabled veterans of the Israel Defense Forces. The foundation's grant notes record:

Grants to Beit Halochem and Beit Halochem UK (US dollars)
Year Recipient Amount Source
2018 Beit Halochem $10,501 PDF p.27[8]
2021 Beit Halochem UK $27,696 PDF p.23[9]
2022 Beit Halochem $60,000 (shown as 60 in a $'000 table) PDF p.23[10]
2025 Beit Halochem UK $33,099 ("for therapeutic retreats for war veterans") PDF p.24[7]

Gifts to UK Toremet. The accounts of UK Toremet Limited list donations of £17,250 in the year to 31 March 2018 and £24,800 in the year to 31 March 2019 from the "Maurice & Vivenne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation".[11][12]

The 2024 accounts state no IDF or military funding.[5]

Prior scrutiny. No Charity Commission inquiry or Official Warning, and no complaint or report by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, the Islamic Human Rights Commission or Declassified UK, concerning this charity's support for soldiers was found (checked October 2026). The foundation is not listed on the Powerbase page UK AWIS - supporters.

Activity beyond the Green Line

Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
The places named – Sderot, Ofakim, Netivot, Ashkelon and Jerusalem's Wohl Rose Park – all lie inside the 1949 armistice line; no activity beyond it is stated.[5] Low

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;[13] 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.[14][15][16][17] 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.[18]
  • Payments to a trustee's firm. Note 17 records $27,887 paid to Payne Hicks Beach, of which Martin Paisner is a partner, and travel expenses of $6,319 to three trustees. The same note states that shared-service costs of $383,451 "were allocated to The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation" and that $90,684 "was owed by" it, naming the charity itself as the counterparty, so the other party is unclear (PDF p.27).[5]
  • Links to other profiled charities. Martin Paisner is also a trustee of The Marcus Margulies Charitable Trust (1156856).[2] In 2024 the foundation committed $240,000 to Reichman University, and in 2023 $50,000 to Shalva (PDF p.25–26).[5]

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).[19] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[20]

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.[21]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[22]

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.[23]

Land and property

The register records that the charity owns and/or leases land or property.[2] No title registers were purchased.[24] Candidate titles and addresses (CCOD dataset and register/accounts data):[25]

  • Second Floor Premises, 153 Cleveland Street, London W1T 6QW (title NGL988332, leasehold, proprietor added 12 January 2021) – CCOD match on company number 11006400 (proprietor THE MAURICE AND VIVIENNE WOHL PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION) (source: [25])

Parliament

Hansard searches for 'Maurice and Vivienne Wohl', 'Wohl Philanthropic Foundation' returned 0 contributions in total.[26]

Web archive

  • wohl.org.uk: 12 yearly captures, first 2015-10-11, last 2026-01-06.[27]

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".[4]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Cathy Pharoah with Charles Keidan and Jillian Gordon FAMILY FOUNDATION GIVING TRENDS 2011
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 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.
  3. ↑ Trustees, Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation, Charity Commission. Retrieved via Internet Archive 6 December 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Register entry 1177003, full print (capture of 20210107) UK Government Web Archive.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Charity Commission, The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation (1177003): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 14 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Companies House, Company 11006400 (The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation): officers Find and update company information, viewed 14 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities (received by the Commission on 28 October 2026; the same document was filed at Companies House on 13 August 2026).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation accounts, year ended 2018-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200105).
  9. ↑ The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities.
  10. ↑ The Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities.
  11. ↑ UK Toremet Limited, Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2018 Companies House, filed 18 February 2019.
  12. ↑ UK Toremet Limited, Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019 Companies House, filed 17 February 2020.
  13. ↑ 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 every charity in batches 1–7 (175 pages, all retrieved successfully on 15 October 2026) and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section. Alerts appeared only for Mifal Hachesed Vehatzedokoh (1139320), Ezer Viznitz Foundation (1161881), BC Trust (1155555), Vyoel Moshe Charitable Trust (327054) – all named in the cheque-cashing class inquiry – and The Gevurath Ari Torah Academy Trust (1003102).
  14. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  15. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025 (re-fetched 14 October 2026).
  16. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  17. ↑ 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), both retrieved 15 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Charity Commission, Charity regulator opens inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements GOV.UK, 5 August 2026, retrieved 15 October 2026 (a fact-finding statutory class inquiry initially involving 8 charities which "are not being publicly named at this time").
  19. ↑ 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-6 charities found no matching Scottish registration.
  20. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 14 October 2026 (keyword searches for each batch-6 charity name returned zero results).
  21. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Wohl Philanthropic Foundation' The Gazette, searched 14 October 2026.
  22. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1177003 360Giving, queried 14 October 2026.
  23. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-6 screening covered 429 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages and archived full-print register pages (UK Government Web Archive), Companies House officers of the charitable companies, and trustees, officers and related persons named in the accounts read for this batch (including archived accounts); matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually (all candidate hits were surname-only coincidences or generic word overlaps); lists downloaded October 2026.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 HM Land Registry, UK companies that own property in England and Wales (CCOD) full extract, October 2026 release, matched on charitable company numbers and registered names; title numbers listed are candidates only – no title registers were purchased.
  26. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching 'Wohl Philanthropic Foundation' Hansard, queried 14 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints).
  27. ↑ Internet Archive CDX index for wohl.org.uk Wayback Machine, queried 14 October 2026.
Retrieved from "https://powerbase.info/index.php?title=The_Maurice_and_Vivienne_Wohl_Philanthropic_Foundation&oldid=299197"