Difference between revisions of "The Sobell Foundation"

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{{short description|'''Large family grant-maker supporting UK charities and Jewish causes in Israel, including coexistence and immigrant-absorption projects'''}}
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{{Infobox organization
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| name = The Sobell Foundation
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| type = Trust
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| registration_id = Registered charity 274369
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| founded = 1977-10-03 (registered)
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| headquarters = Sobell Foundation, PO Box 80420, London, N3 9HX
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| area_served = Throughout England And Wales, Israel
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| revenue = £1,184,037 (year to 2025-04-05)
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| website = www.sobellfoundation.org.uk
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}}
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'''[[The Sobell Foundation]]''' was established by Sir Michael Sobell on 5 September 1977 for general charitable purposes and registered on 3 October 1977; register areas are England and Wales and Israel.<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><ref name="ACC">The Sobell Foundation, ''Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 5 April 2025'', from [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/274369/accounts-and-annual-returns accounts and annual returns] ''Register of Charities''.</ref> Its policy is to support charities in England, Wales and Israel, and "in Israel only, the Trustees support coexistence projects and projects relating to immigrant absorption"; grants "are only made to, or through, UK registered charities". In the year ended 5 April 2026 grant payments totalled £1,922,500, of which £639,500 (about a third) went to charities operating in Israel; investment income was £1,136,997 and total funds at the year end were £57,751,461 (PDF pp.4, 12, 19).<ref name="ACC26">The Sobell Foundation, ''Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 5 April 2026'', from [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/274369/accounts-and-annual-returns accounts and annual returns] ''Register of Charities''.</ref>
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== Objects and activities ==
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The charity's registered objects read: "FOR SUCH CHARITABLE PURPOSES OR OBJECTS IN SUCH PROPORTIONS AND MANNER AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME THINK FIT."<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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The register describes its activities as: "The Sobell Foundation is a grant-making trust. Funding is generally restricted to charities working in the following fields: medical care and treatment; care and education for physically and mentally disabled people; homelessness; and care and support for the elderly and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Israel only the Trustees support coexistence and immigrant absorption projects."<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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Register classifications: The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives, Disability, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty.<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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Areas of operation recorded on the register: Throughout England And Wales, Israel.<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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==People==
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*[[Deborah Henny Ann Sobel]]
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=== Current trustees (Charity Commission register, October 2026) ===
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Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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{| class="wikitable sortable"
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|+ Trustees of The Sobell Foundation (register, October 2026)
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! Trustee !! Appointed !! Chair !! Other trusteeships
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|-
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| [[Susan Gina Lacroix (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Susan Gina Lacroix]] || not recorded ||  || [[The Weinstock Fund]] (1150031)
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|-
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| [[Andrea Gaie Scouller (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Andrea Gaie Scouller]] || not recorded ||  || —
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|-
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| [[Karis Ann Lacroix (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Karis Ann Lacroix]] || 2017-09-25 ||  || —
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|-
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| [[Jerome Humphrey Andre Lacroix (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Jerome Humphrey Andre Lacroix]] || 2017-09-25 ||  || —
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|-
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| [[Julian Michael Edward Lee (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Julian Michael Edward Lee]] || 2017-09-25 ||  || —
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|-
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| [[Sebastian Gaskell Lee (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Sebastian Gaskell Lee]] || 2017-09-25 ||  || —
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|-
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| [[Chloe Fletcher (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Chloe Fletcher]] || 2025-01-13 ||  || —
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|}
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=== Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive) ===
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ Trustees shown in archived register pages
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! Capture date !! Trustees listed !! Source
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|-
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| 2021-01-08 || [[Susan Gina Lacroix (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Susan Gina Lacroix]] – also trustee of [[The Weinstock Fund]]; [[Julian Michael Edward Lee (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Julian Michael Edward Lee]] (from 25 September 2017) – also trustee of [[Mrs a G Scouller's Charitable Settlement]]; [[Sebastian Gaskell Lee (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Sebastian Gaskell Lee]] (from 25 September 2017); [[Andrea Gaie Scouller (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Andrea Gaie Scouller]]; [[Karis Ann Lacroix (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Karis Ann Lacroix]] (from 25 September 2017); [[Jerome Humphrey Andre Lacroix (trustee, The Sobell Foundation)|Jerome Humphrey Andre Lacroix]] (from 25 September 2017); [[Deborah Henny Ann Sobel]] (from 25 September 2017) – also trustee of [[The Lewis Family Charitable Trust]] || <ref name="u956437fd">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20210108105837/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/274369/full-print Register entry 274369, full print (capture of 20210108)] ''UK Government Web Archive''.</ref>
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|}
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== Finances ==
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
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! Financial year end !! Income !! Expenditure
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|-
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| 2021-04-05 || £1,888,872 || £1,938,549
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|-
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| 2022-04-05 || £698,792 || £4,026,645
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|-
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| 2023-04-05 || £941,203 || £3,890,139
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|-
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| 2024-04-05 || £1,214,034 || £2,342,207
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|-
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| 2025-04-05 || £1,184,037 || £2,286,011
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|}
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Source: register annual-return history.<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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In 2025–26 income, all from investments, was £1,136,997 and expenditure £2,701,756, including grant funding of £2,421,844; net gains on investments were £110,151 and funds fell to £57,751,461 (PDF pp.12, 19). Grant commitments outstanding were £991,500 for 2026–27 and £418,000 for 2027 to 2029 (PDF p.6).<ref name="ACC26" /> In 2024–25 it made 219 grants totalling just over £2.76m, investment income was £998,244 and total funds were £59,206,069.<ref name="ACC" />
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=== Accounts for 2010–11 ===
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The accounts for the year ended 2011-04-05 were read from copies of the Charity Commission files held by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.<ref name="UG_274369_20110405">[https://web.archive.org/web/20130612011330/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk:80/Accounts/Ends69/0000274369_ac_20110405_e_c.pdf The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2011-04-05] ''Internet Archive Wayback Machine'' (capture of 20130612; archived copy of the Charity Commission file).</ref> The trustees named are Roger Kingston Lewis, the Hon. Susan Gina Lacroix and Andrea Gaie Scouller. Total incoming resources were £1,678,914 (2009–10: £5,540,631).<ref name="UG_274369_20110405" />
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The foundation paid 437 grants "totalling just under £3.7 million"; about 31% of the total went "to Israeli charities and charities in the CIS". The analysis of grants paid shows 107 grants in Israel totalling £1,172,635 (community £191,000; education £447,500; hardship £153,000; medical care £381,135). The only Israel-related recipient named is British Friends of Haifa University, which received £125,000 as "the first instalment of a five year grant towards the development of their Learning Disabilities Mobile Resource Unit".<ref name="UG_274369_20110405" /> The accounts do not list other recipients, so no finding of activity beyond the Green Line can be made from them.
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=== Archived accounts ===
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Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the [[UK Government Web Archive]]:
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* Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2014<ref name="ud7efefb6">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200108133746/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends69/0000274369_AC_20140405_E_C.PDF The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2014-04-05] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200108).</ref>
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* Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2015<ref name="u070eee7c">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200108134607/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends69/0000274369_AC_20150405_E_C.PDF The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2015-04-05] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200108).</ref>
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* Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2016<ref name="uf1b7bde5">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200108135101/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends69/0000274369_AC_20160405_E_C.PDF The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2016-04-05] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200108).</ref>
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* Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2017<ref name="u1499a2d9">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200108142743/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends69/0000274369_AC_20170405_E_C.PDF The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2017-04-05] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200108).</ref>
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* Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2018<ref name="u6f28cded">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200108142738/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends69/0000274369_AC_20180405_E_C.PDF The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2018-04-05] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200108).</ref>
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== Funding in Israel ==
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* Grants awarded in FY2025 for Israel totalled £688,000 (community £164,000; education £185,000; hardship £72,000; medical £267,000), against £984,000 in 2024; UK grants were £2,075,500.<ref name="ACC" />
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* Grant payments in 2025–26 for Israel were £639,500 (community £197,000; education £225,000; health and disability £150,000; poverty and welfare £67,500), against £688,000 in 2024–25; trustees' travel to Israel cost £20,092 (2025: £262) (PDF pp.19–20).<ref name="ACC26" />
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* The trustees aim to visit Israel each year and use "a consultant based in Israel"; trustees' travel to Israel cost £262 (2024: £1,118).<ref name="ACC" />
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* The foundation also gives through [[UK Toremet Limited]], a UK charity that passes donations to Israeli organisations. Toremet's accounts record donations from the Sobell Foundation of £415,263 in the year to 31 March 2017 and £280,642 in 2017–18 (Toremet PDF p.35)<ref name="UKT_AC2018_jcb">[[UK Toremet Limited]], [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07278312/filing-history/MzIyNzE2ODkyOWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2018] ''Companies House'', filed 18 February 2019.</ref> and £800,164 in 2018–19 (Toremet PDF p.31). Toremet's grants for 2018–19 include £262,264 to "Moshav Kochav Michael Sobell" and £150,000 to "Beit Sobell/Keshet" (Toremet PDF p.34).<ref name="UKT_AC2019_jcb">[[UK Toremet Limited]], [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07278312/filing-history/MzI1NzA3NzQ2NGFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019] ''Companies House'', filed 17 February 2020.</ref>
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=== Israeli partners ===
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Israeli beneficiaries are not named in the 2024–25 accounts; grants go to, or through, UK-registered charities.<ref name="ACC" /> The 2025–26 report names Village Way Educational Initiatives, which received £15,000 towards "its work with Arab and Jewish at-risk youth in Israel" in one Arab and one Jewish school (PDF p.5).<ref name="ACC26" />
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== Support for the Israeli military ==
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No IDF or military funding is stated in the 2024–25 or 2025–26 accounts. Israel grants are classified as community, education, health and disability, and poverty and welfare.<ref name="ACC" /><ref name="ACC26" /> The gifts through UK Toremet are not counted here.
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'''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]].
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=== Activity beyond the Green Line ===
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Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
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! Finding !! Confidence
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|-
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| No grant beyond the Green Line is identified. The 2024–25 accounts name no Israeli recipient or place;<ref name="ACC" /> the only Israel project named in 2025–26 is Village Way Educational Initiatives.<ref name="ACC26" /> || Not established
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|}
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== Controversies and regulatory action ==
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* No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice 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 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).</ref> 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.<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><ref name="CC_CHEQUE2">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-opens-next-phase-of-investigation-into-105-charities-connected-to-company-cashing-cheques Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques] ''GOV.UK'', 1 September 2025 (re-fetched 14 October 2026).</ref><ref name="CC_CHEQUE3">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-announces-next-charities-to-be-investigated-as-part-of-inquiry-connected-to-company-cashing-cheques Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques] ''GOV.UK'', 4 December 2025 (re-fetched 14 October 2026).</ref><ref name="CC_CHEQUE4">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-concludes-investigation-into-4-charities-as-class-inquiry-continues Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues] ''GOV.UK'', 9 September 2026, with [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-the-results-of-a-class-inquiry/statement-of-the-results-of-a-class-inquiry Statement of the results of a class inquiry] (same date), both retrieved 15 October 2026.</ref> 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.<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>
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== Other registers and records ==
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=== Scotland and Northern Ireland ===
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No entry was found on the [[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator|Scottish Charity Register]] for this charity (full register download of 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'', CharityExport-14-Oct-2026.csv, downloaded 14 October 2026; keyword search of charity names for the batch-4 charities found no matching Scottish registration.</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=Sobell&pageNumber=1 Register of charities search API] ''CCNI'', searched 14 October 2026 (keyword searches for each batch-4 charity name returned zero results).</ref>
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=== The Gazette ===
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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.<ref name="ub0630e68">[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/notice/data.feed?text=Sobell%20Foundation The Gazette: notices matching 'Sobell Foundation'] ''The Gazette'', searched 14 October 2026.</ref>
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=== Grants recorded by 360Giving ===
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No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.<ref name="u206dd0f4">[https://api.threesixtygiving.org/api/v1/org/GB-CHC-274369/grants_received/?limit=100 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-274369] ''360Giving'', queried 14 October 2026.</ref>
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=== Sanctions screening ===
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The charity's name, its current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages and (for charitable companies) its Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match was found.<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-4 screening covered 354 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) and Companies House officers of the 8 charitable companies; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually (all candidate hits were surname-only coincidences or generic company-word overlaps); lists downloaded October 2026.</ref>
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=== Land and property ===
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The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.<ref name="EXTRACT" /> No title registers were purchased.<ref name="HLRWEB">[[HM Land Registry]], [https://search-property-information.service.gov.uk/ 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 [[Corporate and Commercial Ownership Data|CCOD]] / [[Overseas Companies Ownership Data|OCOD]] datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.</ref>
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=== Parliament ===
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Hansard searches for 'Sobell Foundation' returned 0 contributions in total.<ref name="HANS">UK Parliament, [https://hansard-api.parliament.uk/search/contributions/Spoken.json?queryParameters.searchTerm=Sobell%20Foundation&queryParameters.take=100&queryParameters.orderBy=SittingDateAsc Hansard search API: contributions matching 'Sobell Foundation'] ''Hansard'', queried 14 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints).</ref>
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== Web archive ==
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* sobellfoundation.org.uk: 24 yearly captures, first 2003-12-16, last 2026-01-19.<ref name="ua88a46bf">[https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=sobellfoundation.org.uk&output=json&fl=timestamp,original,statuscode&filter=statuscode:200&collapse=timestamp:4 Internet Archive CDX index for sobellfoundation.org.uk] ''Wayback Machine'', queried 14 October 2026.</ref>
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The [[UK Government Web Archive]] holds 2 archived [[Charity Commission]] register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above).
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The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date" and "Other regulators: No information available".<ref name="u956437fd" />
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== Contact ==
 +
*Sobell Foundation, PO Box 80420, London N3 9HX<ref name="EXTRACT" />
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*Website: www.sobellfoundation.org.uk
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Charitable spending of the largest 100 UK family foundations]]
 
*[[Charitable spending of the largest 100 UK family foundations]]
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*[[Top 300 Foundations ranked by giving in the UK - 2021]]
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==Notes==
 
==Notes==
Line 9: Line 152:
  
 
[[Category:Foundations]][[Category:Zionist foundations]][[Category:Zionist family foundations]]
 
[[Category:Foundations]][[Category:Zionist foundations]][[Category:Zionist family foundations]]
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[[Category:Grant-making foundations in the United Kingdom]]
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[[Category:Jewish charities in the United Kingdom]]
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[[Category:Charities based in London]]
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[[Category:Israel]]
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[[Category:Charities]]
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[[Category:Charities in England and Wales]]

Latest revision as of 18:38, 30 October 2026

Large family grant-maker supporting UK charities and Jewish causes in Israel, including coexistence and immigrant-absorption projects

The Sobell Foundation

Type Trust
Founded 1977-10-03 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 274369
Headquarters Sobell Foundation, PO Box 80420, London, N3 9HX
Area served Throughout England And Wales, Israel
Website www.sobellfoundation.org.uk

The Sobell Foundation was established by Sir Michael Sobell on 5 September 1977 for general charitable purposes and registered on 3 October 1977; register areas are England and Wales and Israel.[1][2] Its policy is to support charities in England, Wales and Israel, and "in Israel only, the Trustees support coexistence projects and projects relating to immigrant absorption"; grants "are only made to, or through, UK registered charities". In the year ended 5 April 2026 grant payments totalled £1,922,500, of which £639,500 (about a third) went to charities operating in Israel; investment income was £1,136,997 and total funds at the year end were £57,751,461 (PDF pp.4, 12, 19).[3]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "FOR SUCH CHARITABLE PURPOSES OR OBJECTS IN SUCH PROPORTIONS AND MANNER AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME THINK FIT."[1]

The register describes its activities as: "The Sobell Foundation is a grant-making trust. Funding is generally restricted to charities working in the following fields: medical care and treatment; care and education for physically and mentally disabled people; homelessness; and care and support for the elderly and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Israel only the Trustees support coexistence and immigrant absorption projects."[1]

Register classifications: The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives, Disability, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty.[1]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Throughout England And Wales, Israel.[1]

People

Current trustees (Charity Commission register, October 2026)

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]

Trustees of The Sobell Foundation (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Susan Gina Lacroix not recorded The Weinstock Fund (1150031)
Andrea Gaie Scouller not recorded —
Karis Ann Lacroix 2017-09-25 —
Jerome Humphrey Andre Lacroix 2017-09-25 —
Julian Michael Edward Lee 2017-09-25 —
Sebastian Gaskell Lee 2017-09-25 —
Chloe Fletcher 2025-01-13 —

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2021-01-08 Susan Gina Lacroix – also trustee of The Weinstock Fund; Julian Michael Edward Lee (from 25 September 2017) – also trustee of Mrs a G Scouller's Charitable Settlement; Sebastian Gaskell Lee (from 25 September 2017); Andrea Gaie Scouller; Karis Ann Lacroix (from 25 September 2017); Jerome Humphrey Andre Lacroix (from 25 September 2017); Deborah Henny Ann Sobel (from 25 September 2017) – also trustee of The Lewis Family Charitable Trust [4]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2021-04-05 £1,888,872 £1,938,549
2022-04-05 £698,792 £4,026,645
2023-04-05 £941,203 £3,890,139
2024-04-05 £1,214,034 £2,342,207
2025-04-05 £1,184,037 £2,286,011

Source: register annual-return history.[1]

In 2025–26 income, all from investments, was £1,136,997 and expenditure £2,701,756, including grant funding of £2,421,844; net gains on investments were £110,151 and funds fell to £57,751,461 (PDF pp.12, 19). Grant commitments outstanding were £991,500 for 2026–27 and £418,000 for 2027 to 2029 (PDF p.6).[3] In 2024–25 it made 219 grants totalling just over £2.76m, investment income was £998,244 and total funds were £59,206,069.[2]

Accounts for 2010–11

The accounts for the year ended 2011-04-05 were read from copies of the Charity Commission files held by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.[5] The trustees named are Roger Kingston Lewis, the Hon. Susan Gina Lacroix and Andrea Gaie Scouller. Total incoming resources were £1,678,914 (2009–10: £5,540,631).[5]

The foundation paid 437 grants "totalling just under £3.7 million"; about 31% of the total went "to Israeli charities and charities in the CIS". The analysis of grants paid shows 107 grants in Israel totalling £1,172,635 (community £191,000; education £447,500; hardship £153,000; medical care £381,135). The only Israel-related recipient named is British Friends of Haifa University, which received £125,000 as "the first instalment of a five year grant towards the development of their Learning Disabilities Mobile Resource Unit".[5] The accounts do not list other recipients, so no finding of activity beyond the Green Line can be made from them.


Archived accounts

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

  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2014[6]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2015[7]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2016[8]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2017[9]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2018[10]

Funding in Israel

  • Grants awarded in FY2025 for Israel totalled £688,000 (community £164,000; education £185,000; hardship £72,000; medical £267,000), against £984,000 in 2024; UK grants were £2,075,500.[2]
  • Grant payments in 2025–26 for Israel were £639,500 (community £197,000; education £225,000; health and disability £150,000; poverty and welfare £67,500), against £688,000 in 2024–25; trustees' travel to Israel cost £20,092 (2025: £262) (PDF pp.19–20).[3]
  • The trustees aim to visit Israel each year and use "a consultant based in Israel"; trustees' travel to Israel cost £262 (2024: £1,118).[2]
  • The foundation also gives through UK Toremet Limited, a UK charity that passes donations to Israeli organisations. Toremet's accounts record donations from the Sobell Foundation of £415,263 in the year to 31 March 2017 and £280,642 in 2017–18 (Toremet PDF p.35)[11] and £800,164 in 2018–19 (Toremet PDF p.31). Toremet's grants for 2018–19 include £262,264 to "Moshav Kochav Michael Sobell" and £150,000 to "Beit Sobell/Keshet" (Toremet PDF p.34).[12]

Israeli partners

Israeli beneficiaries are not named in the 2024–25 accounts; grants go to, or through, UK-registered charities.[2] The 2025–26 report names Village Way Educational Initiatives, which received £15,000 towards "its work with Arab and Jewish at-risk youth in Israel" in one Arab and one Jewish school (PDF p.5).[3]

Support for the Israeli military

No IDF or military funding is stated in the 2024–25 or 2025–26 accounts. Israel grants are classified as community, education, health and disability, and poverty and welfare.[2][3] The gifts through UK Toremet are not counted here.

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
No grant beyond the Green Line is identified. The 2024–25 accounts name no Israeli recipient or place;[2] the only Israel project named in 2025–26 is Village Way Educational Initiatives.[3] Not established

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]

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 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 does not own or lease land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased.[24]

Parliament

Hansard searches for 'Sobell Foundation' returned 0 contributions in total.[25]

Web archive

  • sobellfoundation.org.uk: 24 yearly captures, first 2003-12-16, last 2026-01-19.[26]

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]

Contact

  • Sobell Foundation, PO Box 80420, London N3 9HX[1]
  • Website: www.sobellfoundation.org.uk

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The Sobell Foundation, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 5 April 2025, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Sobell Foundation, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 5 April 2026, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Register entry 274369, full print (capture of 20210108) UK Government Web Archive.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2011-04-05 Internet Archive Wayback Machine (capture of 20130612; archived copy of the Charity Commission file).
  6. ↑ The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2014-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  7. ↑ The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2015-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  8. ↑ The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2016-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  9. ↑ The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2017-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  10. ↑ The Sobell Foundation accounts, year ended 2018-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  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 (re-fetched 14 October 2026).
  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-4 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-4 charity name returned zero results).
  21. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Sobell Foundation' The Gazette, searched 14 October 2026.
  22. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-274369 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-4 screening covered 354 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) and Companies House officers of the 8 charitable companies; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually (all candidate hits were surname-only coincidences or generic company-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. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching 'Sobell Foundation' Hansard, queried 14 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints).
  26. ↑ Internet Archive CDX index for sobellfoundation.org.uk Wayback Machine, queried 14 October 2026.
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