Two years on from Kids Company, are charities worth saving?| Asheem Singh

Camila Batmanghelidjh’s work was monitored by volunteer trustees but this is no way to run vital services. No wonder charities struggle to survive

• Asheem Singh is former chief executive of charity leaders’ network Acevo

On 5 August 2015, some of Britain’s most vulnerable children were abandoned when Kids Company, the charity led by Camila Batmanghelidjh, went bust. Kids Company claimed that it provided services to 36,000 children, young adults and their families each year. Now they had nowhere to go.

The postmortem that followed blamed various parties, including chair Alan Yentob, the charity’s trustees, its charismatic founder and government ministers. Collective irresponsibility was apparently the norm.

Related: It isn't true or fair to claim charities spend less than half of income on good work

One thing is certain: history will judge how we respond to Kids Company

Related: A year after the Kids Company's demise, what have we learned?

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from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2vIbL5L