Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation has been listed as delinquent by the California Registry of Charities and Fundraising Organizations for failing to file required annual tax records, DailyMail.com can reveal.
According to records seen by DailyMail.com, the charitable foundation the couple launched to much fanfare in 2020 was declared delinquent in January for failing to file its annual registration renewal fee reports or renewal fees since February 2023.
The foundation received a notice of delinquency and a warning about assessment penalties and late payment fees along with the threat of a suspension or revocation of its registered status by California Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier this month .
The news casts doubt on an announcement made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last week when, on their tour of Nigeria, they announced the expansion of a partnership between the GEANCO Foundation in Abuja and the Archewell Foundation.
Harry and Meghan launched their Archewell charitable foundation in 2020, which has now been declared non-performing
Records show the foundation was declared delinquent in January for failing to file its annual registration renewal fee or renewal fee reports since February 2023.
But, according to the delinquency notice sent to Archewell and dated May 3, “an organization listed as delinquent is not current on its obligations and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including the request or disbursement of funds charitable.”
The couple launched the charity four years ago and named it after their son Archie.
The warning continues: “The organization may also be subject to sanctions and its registration may be suspended or revoked by the Registry.”
DailyMail.com understands that the foundation claims its check was inadvertently left out when submissions were made and has sent a new one in the mail in the hope of quickly resolving the issue.
According to CharityWatch, tax returns disclosed by Archewell in December 2023 revealed that the nonprofit had suffered an $11 million decline in donations in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Records showed the charity received just over $2 million in charitable donations in 2022, compared to $13 million in 2021.
And although in 2021 Archewell had reported revenue of more than $9 million, filings from December 2023 showed that by 2022 it had posted a loss of more than $674,000 due to costs of $2.67 million.
That same month it emerged that Archewell’s CEO, Sussex’s UK PR head James Holt, earned a salary of $277,405, including a $20,000 bonus in 2022. That’s a 280% increase. regarding his salary of less than $60,000 in 2021, the organization’s first year. of operation.
It is understood that Holt’s salary in 2021 did not reflect a full 12 months of work because he joined mid-year.
When the couple launched their charity four years ago, naming it after their son Archie, now 5, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, declared that its “main purpose” was “simply to do good.” “.
Their mission statement reads: “We meet the moment by showing up, taking action, and using our unparalleled care to uplift and unite communities, both local and global, online and offline.”
They stated that their “three main pillars” are “building a better world online, restoring trust in information and, above all, improving communities.”
But according to CharityWatch, founded as the American Institute of Philanthropy in 1992 and the only independent charity watchdog in the United States, Archewell has “inadequate governance and transparency.”
In 2021, the charity had reported revenue of more than $9 million, but documents filed in December 2023 showed that by 2022 it was more than $674,000 in the red.
Harry and Meghan’s foundation is now prohibited from soliciting or disbursing charitable funds.
The watchdog notes that although the charity reports a total of five ‘officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest paid employees’, it reports only two board members, ‘Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and ‘Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex’. .’
The organization states, “This is not consistent with widely accepted best practices in the United States for nonprofit boards of directors, which generally recommend a minimum board size of five to seven members.”
And although charities operating in California are only required to have one member on their board of directors, the IRS “strongly recommends that there be at least three directors on their boards of directors.”
They state that “small boards run the risk of not representing a sufficiently broad public interest and of lacking the skills and other resources necessary to effectively govern the organization.”
CharityWatch requested Archewell’s most recent IRS Form 990 and audited financial statements in January, but that request went unanswered and the watchdog was unable to rate it.
