Sunday, February 7, 2010

Transparency and AutismNI/AutismUlster

AutismNI/AutismUlster's annual report for 2009/2010 is available for viewing. (see this link: www.autismni.org/news/08368%20Autism%20NI%20Annual%20Report%2009.pdf

Entitled 'Moving Forward Together', this 17 page document provides all you ever wanted to know about what the charity alleges it has been doing lately. ( page 6 entitled 'moving forward with information and resources is particularly disappointing, considering the charity's continued reliance on packages like the wholly overpriced 'Rainbow Kit'). I have found nothing of use, information wise, on the charity's website. Much of its content is about the charity itself, and its need for your money.

Page 14 of the document entitled 'Moving Forward Responsibly' attempts to furnish the reader with a balance sheet of the charity's finances. This page, a most important page is blurred! All of the other pages of the document are pixel perfect, and very easy to read but if you read this page, you might think you are wearing your grannys' reading glasses.

At first sight, I was not able to make out even one number or figure. I did attempt to place the page in my photo editor, and it looks like AutismNI/AutismUlster's bank account retains between £400,000 and £550,000. It's definitely a 6 figure sum. If anyone has a hard copy of the report, perhaps they could let me know to confirm what it says.

Pity AutismNI/AutismUlster did not advise their website manager to re-format this particular and very important page.

I dare say the Charities Commission know the exact figures but it still begs the question why the charity retains such a large sum in their bank account?

What is interesting is how the autism charity spends an inordinate amount of time fundraising (or rather, getting parents to do it for them) and claiming poor mouth when they have this kind of money in it's coffers.


"What better way to prove that you understand a subject than to make money out of it?" Harold Rosenberg


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