Devex Pro Weekender: Crackdown on charity ‘squeamishness,’ and Soros in Ukraine

Big charities around the world have in recent years grappled with questions about whether or not to accept large donations from controversial sources. While some have continued to accept these funds, concerns about reputational damage or the impact on their causes have led others to turn them down. Last year, for example, Save the Children rejected a significant donation from an oil and gas company. In some cases, charities have returned donations following scandals. But in the U.K. at least, that right is now under question. Orlando Fraser, the head of the U.K. charity regulator says forthcoming guidance “will compel trustees to think more carefully about returning or refusing donations.” Fraser says he wants to intervene to stop “squeamishness” from charity boards preventing them from accepting large donations from sources that don’t fit with their “personal worldviews,” according to a speech last week. Fraser did not give examples of the cases he had in mind but said charities must have “significant” justification for refusing money that could otherwise go to a good cause. Unsurprisingly, Fraser’s intervention did not go down well with charity representatives. Naomi McAuliffe, former head of Amnesty Scotland, said: “The job [of] charities is not to launder the reputation of corporates,” while Nancy Kelley, former head of Stonewall, said: “This is utterly bizarre. Charities everywhere are folding for lack of sustainable funding, and the [Charity Commission] is attempting to create a culture war issue out of a fake problem.” Coming up: If you’re heading to COP 28, make sure to register for our summit. We’ll also have a series of invite-only dinners and side events, which Pro members are welcome to join. Also in today’s edition: Confusion reigns at Schmidt Futures, and Alex Soros visits Ukraine. Jessica Abrahams Editor, Devex Pro Bits and pieces Futures’ future. What’s going on at Schmidt Futures? The private foundation of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has apparently been canceling partnerships and sunsetting programs amid a “five-year review of its operations and impact,” according to Forbes. Meanwhile, its founding CEO, Eric Braverman, left earlier this year in unclear circumstances and there have been layoffs and mass resignations, the publication alleges. Out of control. Two important conferences on tobacco control that were supposed to take place this month are no longer happening. The Tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the Third Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP3) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, have both been postponed to 2024. That’s due to the current security situation in host country Panama, where there's ongoing civil unrest over a government-approved mining contract that protesters fear would have adverse impacts on the environment. Not going anywhere. Alex Soros spent two days in Ukraine last week, visiting the International Renaissance Foundation, which is part of the Open Society Foundations network, and political leaders. As OSF shutters offices around the world, “The critical message that Alexander brought to Kyiv is that the vector of support for Ukraine remains one of the key ones for the Open Society Foundations,” according to an IRF press release. Soros also met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who said OSF was planning new projects in Ukraine, in the priority areas of economic recovery, rebuilding, the social sphere, and supporting small- and medium-sized businesses. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. Quote of the week “We had procurement analysts who were just making it up. We had trash data, and then we had people who didn’t understand how humanitarian aid cargo actually worked. … It was a disaster waiting to happen.” --— That’s what a former Chemonics employee said about the $9.5 billion global health supply chain it managed for USAID. Read my colleague Michael Igoe’s yearlong investigation — conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism — into what went wrong, including allegations that Chemonics and USAID made the project’s performance look better by adopting easy targets and writing off bad results, and news of dozens of arrests and indictments in relation to illegal activity around the project (though not by Chemonics or USAID employees). A spokesperson for Chemonics said they had “successfully managed” the project and have a “steadfast commitment to compliance and a firm belief in transparency.” Up next Asia-Pacific Climate Week. The last of the regional climate weeks in the lead-up to COP 28 is taking place in Malaysia, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. As with the other regional weeks, it’s an opportunity to take stock of progress in the region and set positions and priorities ahead of the U.N. climate summit, which starts in less than three weeks. Nov. 13-17. Supply chains. The Global Health Supply Chain Summit in Nairobi will focus on how countries can achieve self-reliance in health supply chains. Nov. 14-16. + Related read: The logistics nomad working to regionalize WHO's supply chains The Global Crop Diversity Summit will focus on the role of seed banks in transforming agri-food systems and the importance of crop diversity. Nov. 14. Post-Cotonou. The EU will finally sign its long-delayed partnership agreement with the 79-member Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States in Samoa this week. We have been reporting for years on the many cracks in the relationship (from missing cash to nonexistent building renovations to dismissal from the French president to internal European political games to the sometimes acrimonious negotiations themselves). Now it seems it is finally happening … unless something goes wrong in the next three days. Nov. 15. Lung health. The Union World Conference on Lung Health is about to kick off in Paris. But there are concerns that many people from tuberculosis-affected communities have been denied visas and won't be able to participate — again raising questions as to why such important events covering health issues that disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries continue to take place in high-income countries where it’s a challenge to secure visas. In response to an angry tweet, the union said it's doing all it can to provide support, including emailing embassies to push them to issue visas. It hopes the visa process will ease next year, when the conference will be held in Indonesia, it added. Nov. 15-18. + Read more: How passport inequity bars global south experts from crucial summits Moving on The African Union and Africa CDC launched their first multisectoral taskforce on noncommunicable diseases, injuries, and mental health. Lis Wallace was named acting U.K. director of the One Campaign, as Romilly Greenhill departs to lead Bond. Wallace was previously the U.K. Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond. Scott Morris has taken up his new position as vice president of the Asian Development Bank. Laura May-Lung Cha, chair of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, has joined the Rockefeller Foundation’s board of trustees. Neal Myrick has a new job as senior partnerships adviser, private partnerships and fundraising at the World Food Programme. Chris Loughran has started as global head of mine action governance at the Mine Action Finance Initiative. Grounds for Health, Inc. named Kyle Engelman as its new executive director, starting Dec. 1. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com.