Penny Appeal has been told it must carry out further improvements to its governance and management by the Charity Commission, which is one of three regulators to criticise the fundraising charity this year.

While the Charity Commission has closed its case launched four years ago into Penny Appeal and is “satisfied progress has been made to improve the charity’s governance and management” it added, “it has been made clear to the charity’s trustees that there is still further work to do”.

Concerns looked at had focused on a “failure to manage perceived conflicts of interest, poor record keeping and inadequate management of major supplier contracts”.

The Commission said: “The trustees have mainly complied with the actions required of them and the Commission notes and welcomes their commitment to complete the outstanding actions promptly.

“The trustees have been advised to make further improvements to the quality of meeting minutes.

“They must also promptly complete an outstanding review of governance and contractual relationships and arrangements with third party organisations established overseas, which forms part of an internal action plan set by the charity’s solicitors.”

These latest concerns follow the Commission’s issuing of an official warning to Penny Appeal last year after inspecting its records and accounts and finding failures around a deal to buy and redevelop a property.

“Improvements have been made at Penny Appeal after several years of engagement about a series of weaknesses and shortcomings in the charity’s governance,” added Charity Commission assistant director Tracy Howarth.

“This is a charity which receives significant support and donations from the public - it is extremely important that its governance is fit for purpose.

“The actions already taken have strengthened how the charity is run, and we are following up on the outstanding actions, which the trustees have assured us will be promptly addressed.”

Improvements include setting dates to review third party contracts and appointing an external consultant to review its existing contracts.

This month the Fundraising Regulator criticised the fundraising charity for misleading supporters donating to child sponsorship appeals and not being clear about terms and conditions around a water sanitation appeal.

Earlier this year Information Commissioner’s Office issued Penny Appeal with an enforcement notice for spam texting supporters.

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