Warning not to give cash to ‘fundraisers’ from company Inside Success who appeared in Stratford-upon-Avon town centre this week
A GENEROUS Stratford woman said she had felt “scammed” this week for giving money to a young man she thought was collecting for an anti-knife crime charity.
In fact the ‘charity’ turned out to be company Inside Success – which has numerous complaints against it for misleading the public.
Louise Hall, 72, told the Herald that she had been approached on Monday (10th March) while walking down Henley Street by the young man who was among a group of three stopping passersby to ask for donations.
She got the impression they were street fundraisers, commonly called ‘chuggers’ – a fusion of the word charity and muggers.
“They were dressed in blue uniforms with official-looking lanyards and dressed smartly,” explained Mrs Hall. “One of them politely introduced himself as Jay, showed me a magazine article about youth employment, and said he’d joined this scheme against knife crime after his father had died. He was charming and quite persuasive and said he was looking for a donation of £150, and the smallest he mentioned was £50.”
Mrs Hall said she was taken aback at the size of request, and instead offered £20 in cash.
“I usually give a few quid, and I did have a niggling worry, but I thought ‘oh well, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt’. It’s hard knocking on doors and asking for charity money, and so I am inclined to admire them.”
However, after she got home Mrs Hall said she had a feeling it might have been a scam, and looked up the company online.
She was alarmed to find Inside Success, the company that Jay and the others were collecting for, was not a charity, and had previously been exposed in the media for breaching numerous codes by the Fundraising Regulatory and fined by a magistrate’s court.
Mrs Hall called the Herald to ask us to investigate. We went to Henley Street and were immediately stopped by one of the ‘chuggers’ by the name of Ronel. He told us that he was collecting to help combat suicide in young people after his sister took her own life.
Further investigation reveals that Inside Success is based in Stratford, London, and was formed in 2019 by university friends Darren Olawale and David Sonowo. The company has annual turnover of more than £3million, most of which is alleged to be spent on salaries.
Inside Success is a community interest company (CIC) and claims it is concerned with “social enterprise that supports young people with jobs, training and education”. Its main function is to recruit young people aged 16 and 25 to sell magazines – although none appeared to be on offer in Stratford. And rules around social enterprises mean groups are not allowed to solicit donations, and would anyway need appropriate licences from Stratford District Council, which they did not have.
Meanwhile the Fundraising Regulator told the Herald: “Inside Success have been investigated by us twice after numerous complaints, with our latest investigation finding nine breaches of the Code of Fundraising Practice. They have also been fined by Manchester Magistrates’ Court, and several police forces have also been made aware of them.
“We have continually tried to engage with Inside Success, and remain keen to do so. Our main priority is helping them fundraise in a way that is in accordance with the code, protects the public, and protects the wider sector. We are also continuing to work strategically with other bodies who have an interest in good CIC regulation.”
“It’s naughty that they are deceiving people and making off with their money,” said Mrs Hall after learning of the company’s track record.
She is a keen supporter of various charities and gives to RNLI, the Lifeboat charity, UNICEF, AIDS in Africa and supports the charity work of her church, St Gregory’s in Stratford.
“It’s hard enough for charities without this going on - maybe this company does do some good, but you can’t mislead people.”
