View source for IGO Foundation Limited

{{short description|'''Golders Green charitable company whose grantees include a charity under the cheque-cashing class inquiry'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = IGO Foundation Limited
| type = Charitable company
| registration_id = Registered charity 1148316; company 08098333
| founded = 2012-07-26 (registered)
| headquarters = London NW11
| area_served = Barnet, Hackney, Salford City, Gateshead, Israel, United States
| key_people = [[Bernard Ost]] (chair)
| revenue = £221,733 (year to 2025-06-30)
}}

'''[[IGO Foundation Limited]]''' is a charitable company (08098333) registered on 26 July 2012; register areas are Barnet, Hackney, Salford, Gateshead, Israel and the United States.<ref name="EXTRACT">[[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.</ref> Its trustees and directors are [[Bernard Ost]] (chair), [[Gita Ost]] and [[Abraham Lipschitz]], with an address in London NW11.<ref name="EXTRACT" /> Its objects are poverty relief, the Jewish religion and Jewish education "in any part of the world", funded by "donations from corporate sponsors and investment income" (PDF p.3). In the year to 30 June 2025 income was £221,733 (investment income £173,663), donations to institutions £264,601 and food parcels £6,863; funds were £1,457,478, of which £1,250,000 restricted (PDF p.3, 7).<ref name="ACC">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5029289/accounts-and-annual-returns IGO Foundation Limited (1148316): accounts and annual returns] ''Register of Charities''; latest accounts downloaded 15 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).</ref>

== Objects and activities ==
The charity's registered objects read: "1. THE RELIEF OF POVERTY IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD.2. THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD.3. THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE JEWISH RELIGION AND JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE.4. SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME DECIDE."<ref name="EXTRACT" />

The register describes its activities as: "The objectives of the charity are:The relief of poverty in any part of the world;The advancement of the Jewish religion in any part of the world;The advancement of the education of the public in any part of the world in the knowledge of the Jewish history and culture;Such other charitable purposes in any part of the world as the trustees shall from time to time decide."<ref name="EXTRACT" />

Register classifications: General Charitable Purposes, Education/training, The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty, Religious Activities.<ref name="EXTRACT" />

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Barnet, Hackney, Salford City, Gateshead, Israel, United States.<ref name="EXTRACT" />

== Trustees ==
Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:<ref name="EXTRACT" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Trustees of IGO Foundation Limited (register, October 2026)
! Trustee !! Appointed !! Chair !! Other trusteeships
|-
| [[Abraham Lipschitz]] || 2012-06-18 ||  || [[Dayrose Limited]] (1006523); [[The Aa Trust]] (1139322)
|-
| [[Bernard Ost]] || 2012-06-18 || Yes || —
|-
| [[Gita Ost]] || 2012-06-18 ||  || —
|}

=== Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive) ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Trustees shown in archived register pages
! Capture date !! Trustees listed !! Source
|-
| 2021-01-16 || [[Abraham Lipschitz]] (from 18 June 2012) – also trustee of [[The Aa Trust]]; [[Gita Ost]] (from 18 June 2012); [[Bernard Ost]] (chair) (from 18 June 2012) || <ref name="u17971dfd">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20210116152505/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5029289/full-print Register entry 1148316, full print (capture of 20210116)] ''UK Government Web Archive''.</ref>
|}

Abraham Lipschitz is also a register trustee of [[Dayrose Limited]] (1006523) and [[The AA Trust]] (1139322) – the latter a recipient of a £10,000 grant in FY2025.<ref name="EXTRACT" /><ref name="ACC" />

=== Companies House officers ===
Companies House lists 3 current and former officers of the charitable company (08098333), 3 of them active.<ref name="u8c192259">[https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08098333/officers Company 08098333: officers] ''Companies House'', viewed 15 October 2026.</ref>
Officers recorded as resident outside the UK: [[Gita Ost]] (Swiss, active).<ref name="u8c192259" />

== Finances ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
! Financial year end !! Income !! Expenditure
|-
| 2021-06-30 || £229,875 || £218,320
|-
| 2022-06-30 || £239,215 || £235,864
|-
| 2023-06-30 || £274,412 || £283,367
|-
| 2024-06-30 || £405,581 || £272,641
|-
| 2025-06-30 || £221,733 || £274,148
|}
Source: register annual-return history.<ref name="EXTRACT" />

=== Archived accounts ===
Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the [[UK Government Web Archive]]:
* Accounts for the year ended 30/06/2014<ref name="uf2c8404c">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200103025533/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends16/0001148316_AC_20140630_E_C.PDF IGO Foundation Limited accounts, year ended 2014-06-30] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200103).</ref>
* Accounts for the year ended 30/06/2015<ref name="ue9510aa9">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200103025619/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends16/0001148316_AC_20150630_E_C.PDF IGO Foundation Limited accounts, year ended 2015-06-30] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200103).</ref>
* Accounts for the year ended 30/06/2016<ref name="u354a5fc8">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200103030111/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends16/0001148316_AC_20160630_E_C.PDF IGO Foundation Limited accounts, year ended 2016-06-30] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200103).</ref>
* Accounts for the year ended 30/06/2017<ref name="u4d77d81a">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200103025751/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends16/0001148316_AC_20170630_E_C.PDF IGO Foundation Limited accounts, year ended 2017-06-30] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200103).</ref>
* Accounts for the year ended 30/06/2018<ref name="uf02820a4">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200103025129/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends16/0001148316_AC_20180630_E_C.PDF IGO Foundation Limited accounts, year ended 2018-06-30] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200103).</ref>

== Funding in Israel ==
* FY2025 donations £264,601, including Yeshuos Shabbos £20,000, Yesmach Levav £18,536, Lehachzikom UK £11,000 and £10,000 each to Keren Olam Hatorah, Rise and Shine, CMZ Ltd, Chasdei Chaim Moishe, The AA Trust, Live and Learn, Mifal Tzedoko V'Chesed Limited, Mifal Hachesed Vehatzdokoh and Sows Charity; other £115,065. The accounts do not mention Israel (PDF p.10).<ref name="ACC" />

=== Israeli partners ===
No Israeli partner is named.<ref name="ACC" /> Several recipients share names with UK charities profiled on Powerbase – [[Yesamach Levav]], [[Lehachzikom]], [[Mifal Tzedoko V'Chesed Limited]] and [[Mifal Hachesed Vehatzedokoh]]; identities were not confirmed.

== 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.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
! Finding !! Confidence
|-
| No place in Israel is named.<ref name="ACC" /> || Not established
|}

'''Support for the IDF:''' No IDF or military funding is stated.<ref name="ACC" />

== Controversies and regulatory action ==
* No Charity Commission inquiry naming this charity was found and its register entry shows no regulatory alert.<ref name="ALERTS">[[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-12 charities, all retrieved successfully on 15 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section; none was shown for any of them. The pages showed reporting status – "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)" for 22 charities, "Removed charity" for Mifal Tzedukas and Keren Yaacov Limited, and "Charity reporting is up to date (256 days late)" for Friends of Eidah Chareidis Orthodox Council of Jerusalem.</ref> The charity is not itself named in the cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements; the charities in the August 2026 settlements class inquiry have not been named.<ref name="CC_SETTLE">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charity-regulator-opens-inquiry-into-charities-working-in-illegal-israeli-settlements 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").</ref>
* '''Grant to an inquiry-named charity.''' FY2025 grants included £10,000 to Mifal Hachesed Vehatzdokoh – the name (in a variant spelling) of [[Mifal Hachesed Vehatzedokoh]] (1139320), one of the first charities placed in the Commission's cheque-cashing class inquiry in May 2025 (PDF p.10).<ref name="ACC" /><ref name="CC_CHEQUE1">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/serious-concerns-over-use-of-22-million-triggers-investigation-by-charity-regulator Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator] ''GOV.UK'', 14 May 2025.</ref> The identity of the recipient was not confirmed, and no finding has been made against this charity.
* '''Grants list does not add up.''' The listed grants (including "Other" £115,065) sum to £254,601, £10,000 less than the stated total of £264,601 (PDF p.10).<ref name="ACC" />
* '''Trustee-linked companies.''' £40,000 (2024: £55,000) was donated by companies under common control, and £395,000 (2024: £240,800) was owed to companies controlled by one or more trustees; restricted funds were received to buy the investment property of £1,851,618 (PDF p.8, 12–13).<ref name="ACC" />

== Other registers and records ==
=== Scotland and Northern Ireland ===
No entry was found on the [[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator|Scottish Charity Register]] for this charity (register export dated 14 October 2026, searched by name).<ref name="OSCR">[[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator]], [https://www.oscr.org.uk/download/charity-register Scottish Charity Register download] ''OSCR'', export dated 14 October 2026, downloaded October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-12 charity names found no matching Scottish registration (the only hits were unrelated names: Madrasatul Imam Mohammad Zakariya and Harris Kaufman Trust).</ref> No entry was found on the [[Charity Commission for Northern Ireland]] register (API name searches returned zero results).<ref name="CCNI">[[Charity Commission for Northern Ireland]], [https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/api/charity-search/results?searchText=Alyn&pageNumber=1 Register of charities search API] ''CCNI'', searched 15 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-12 charity names returned zero results).</ref>

=== The Gazette ===
Searches of ''The Gazette'' for the charity's name returned only Companies House filing lists; no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice naming the charity was found.<ref name="u28d4cca0">[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/notice/data.feed?text=IGO%20Foundation The Gazette: notices matching 'IGO Foundation'] ''The Gazette'', searched 15 October 2026.</ref>

=== Grants recorded by 360Giving ===
No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.<ref name="u0b469403">[https://api.threesixtygiving.org/api/v1/org/GB-CHC-1148316/grants_received/?limit=100 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1148316] ''360Giving'', queried 15 October 2026.</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="SANC">[[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office]], ''UK Sanctions List'' (CSV); [[Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation]], ''Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets'' (ConList.csv). Batch-12 screening covered 390 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages and archived accounts (UK Government Web Archive), Companies House officers of the six charitable companies and of related companies named in the accounts (Millage Limited, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (United Kingdom) Limited and Ezer Bekovoid Limited), and trustees, examiners, donors and grant recipients named in the accounts read for this batch; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually. No forename-and-surname match for any person was found; the only token matches were generic words in organisation names ("Trust", "Limited", "Foundation", "Society", "International") and surname-only coincidences (Green, Anderson, Weiss, Frank, Grace, Friedman, Fox, Ward); lists downloaded October 2026.</ref>

=== Land and property ===
The register records that the charity owns and/or leases land or property.<ref name="EXTRACT" /> No title registers were purchased; the [[HM Land Registry]] interactive search blocked automated access.<ref name="HLRWEB">[[HM Land Registry]], [https://search-property-information.service.gov.uk/ 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 [[Corporate and Commercial Ownership Data|CCOD]] / [[Overseas Companies Ownership Data|OCOD]] datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.</ref> Candidate titles and addresses (CCOD dataset and register/accounts data):<ref name="CCOD">[[HM Land Registry]], ''UK companies that own property in England and Wales (CCOD)'' and ''Overseas companies that own property in England and Wales (OCOD)'' full extracts, October 2026 release, matched on charitable company numbers, registered names and the names of subsidiaries named in the accounts; title numbers listed are candidates only – no title registers were purchased.</ref>
* Investment property £1,851,618 at 30 June 2025 (additions £101,618), bought with restricted funds; address not stated – Accounts (PDF p.8, 13) (source: <ref name="ACC" />)
* 182 Shelbourne Road, London (N17 9YA) (title AGL268708, freehold; proprietor added 26/10/2012) – CCOD match on the charity's own company number 08098333 (proprietor IGO FOUNDATION LIMITED) (source: <ref name="CCOD" />)

=== Parliament ===
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "IGO Foundation" returned 0 contributions in total.<ref name="HANS">UK Parliament, [https://hansard-api.parliament.uk/search/contributions/Spoken.json?queryParameters.searchTerm=%22IGO%20Foundation%22&queryParameters.take=100&queryParameters.orderBy=SittingDateAsc Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "IGO Foundation"] ''Hansard'', queried 15 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).</ref>

== 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".<ref name="u17971dfd" />

== See also ==
* [[Mifal Hachesed Vehatzedokoh]]
* [[Mifal Tzedoko V'Chesed Limited]]
* [[Yesamach Levav]]
* [[Lehachzikom]]

== External links ==
* No current official website.

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Orthodox Jewish charities]]
[[Category:Jewish charities in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Charities based in London]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Golders Green]]
[[Category:Charities]]