A Birmingham based charity which was set up to help vulnerable women has closed down after being declared insolvent.
A meeting of creditors has been called for March 1 for Amirah Foundation whose mission was to cater for the needs of homeless people and to provide practical advice, support and training to women experiencing domestic violence.
A notice on the Charity Commission website says that Amirah Foundation failed to provide information on its finances within 10 months of the financial year end. The charity’s website is no longer working and phone messages are going to voicemail.
Amirah Foundation’s trustees are listed as Mr Farzan Ahmed and Mrs Gurpal Kaur. Its CEO as of last year was Shaz Manir.
For year ending 2015 (the last time public information about its accounts was available), the charity’s income was around £253,000 mainly from public donations and grants. But only around £64,000 of that money was spent on charitable activities, representing a charitable spend of 25%. Meanwhile, over £91,000 was paid in wages and expenses.
Amirah Foundation is well-known locally and has been backed by several prominent individuals and organisations.
One of its last public messages on Facebook at the end of last year read: “Thank you for helping us make 2017 an incredible year. Together, we have changed lives for the better; assisting women out of restrictive and abusive situations, and giving them the means to independence and a positive outcome, providing tools for self-empowering along the way.
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“We continue to actively campaign for better rights and improved legal protections for survivors, directly helping hundreds of women and children to safety through our vital support services.
“These results can only be achieved with the support of amazing people like you. As part of the Amirah Foundation family, you are enabling women to liberate themselves from fear and abuse.
“Thank you for being part their journey. We value your continued support in 2018.”
