Figures reveal Blair's charity empire

[Joanne98]

The former prime minister is attracting wealthy donors to back his health and harmony projects

Charities are going to the wall, leading philanthropists are cutting back and patrons of the arts are closing their wallets. But in these financially straitened times, Tony and Cherie Blair are emerging as the UK's answer to Bill and Melinda Gates.

Documents filed at Companies House show the former prime minister and his wife have been busy establishing a series of charities that have global reach and expansive ambitions. Many politicians decide to set up charitable organisations after they leave office, but the Blairs' ambitions are different in that their scale dwarfs those of their British predecessors.

Everything from striving for the promotion of women entrepreneurs to encouraging healthy Geordies, eradicating fatal illnesses and bringing lasting peace to the Middle East are to receive the Blairs' philanthropic touch.

And while many charities are having trouble raising funds, not to mention attracting the suitably connected personnel necessary to achieve their goals, the Blairs are encountering no such problems. The names of those lending support to their charitable trusts read like a Who's Who of movers and shakers from sport, religion and philanthropy.

"The Blairs are using all their resources to tackle things they care about," said Sue Wixley of New Philanthropy Capital, a think tank that connects charities to donors. "In this case, the Blairs' resources are their contacts."

The potent mix is already paying handsome dividends. Recently filed accounts for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation reveal that the charity, which aims to promote greater understanding between religions, received donations of £3.6m in its first year of existence.

It is an impressive amount for an organisation that was established less than two years ago, although the accounts do not reveal who donated the money. However, there is speculation that some of the money flooding into the foundation is coming from wealthy benefactors in the Middle East. The accounts reveal that £550,000 has been ring-fenced for promoting the foundation's work with the Islamic, Christian and Jewish faiths.

Run by Ruth Turner, Blair's former director of government relations, the foundation has a number of key aims, according to its accounts. One is to help faith groups play their part in eradicating malaria, chiefly by encouraging mosques and churches to run training courses to spread health messages. On a domestic front, the foundation is aiming to improve religious literacy among young people through the production of "high-quality educational resources" that will be distributed in UK schools.

Intriguingly, the foundation's accounts reveal it has plans to broaden its franchise and establish the Tony Blair Faith Foundation - USA. Given Blair's popularity across the Atlantic, thanks to his support for "the war on terror", it may seem a logical progression. Indeed, the original UK foundation's accounts reveal it is already supporting a course at Yale University "to deepen understanding of the links between religion, politics and economics in the 21st century".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/15/tony-cherie-blair-charities

Faith-based scams. No great depression for them!