The Sussexes *only* raised $2 million for their Archewell Foundation this year

On Monday, Archewell released their 2022-23 Impact Report, showcasing the charities and NGOs with which Archewell has partnered. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a cool video with behind-the-scenes footage of some of their charitable work as well. It looks like their Impact Report was released at the same time as the BBC and other outlets got their hands on Archewellā€™s 990 IRS filing, basically a public document (although I bet the BBC had to FOIA request it). As it turns out, the Sussexes gave their Archewell Foundation employees raises. Not only that, but they didnā€™t take in as much money as they did last year. This is considered HUGE news in the UK.

Donations to Archewell, Prince Harry and Meghan Markleā€™s foundation, fell off a cliff last year, with the coupleā€™s charitable vehicle raising just $2 million, compared to $13 million the year before. The figures on the form 990 obtained by the BBC came as the couple released their annual report, along with a brief film highlighting their work over the past year.

The foundation recorded a loss of $674,485 on costs of $2.67 million. It made grants of $1.2 million, including $100,000 for the Halo Trust, a mine-clearing charity made famous by Princess Diana. The returns show that the foundation still had $8.5 million in remaining funding at the end of 2022.

Sources close to the couple told The Daily Beast that the ā€œnumbers reflect a healthy foundationā€ seeking ā€œintentional, paced growth.ā€ The source said that Archewell currently has over $11 million in the bank, and is ā€œon track to continue to have millions in the bank each year for philanthropic purposes.ā€

They added it was ā€œnot unusual for high-profile foundations to receive a significant influx of funding in their first year, which is then used over the course of several years as part of a financial plan to build their philanthropic work.ā€

It has been widely rumored that Harry and Meghan donated several million personally to Archewell to get it off the ground in its first year.

Executive director James Holt, who moved to California from London with the couple and is considered their most trusted aide, saw his income go from $59,846 to $227,405, according to the newly released tax filing.

[From The Daily Beast]

Am I on crack or didnā€™t the Sussexes receive several big corporate grants in Archewellā€™s first year? That seems to be what the ā€œsourceā€ is saying – in 2020/21, Archewell was flush with cash and they decided to make it last, rather than spend it all at once. Plus, you know Harry put a chunk of his Spare money into Archewell, plus Harry and Meghan are not actively fundraising. Theyā€™re not hosting Archewell fundraisers nor are they getting into bed with shady despots to grab cash in a bag (unlike Harryā€™s father). My point is that they already have a healthy amount of foundation funds and theyā€™re clearly making plans for whatā€™s next and where to direct their foundationā€™s money. Iā€™m not worried, although I see the Daily Mail thinks this story is a five-alarm fire. I really wish the Mail, Telegraph and Daily Beast would bring this kind of energy to figuring out how the Royal Foundation blew through Ā£12.1 million for Earthshot when only Ā£5 million went to prize money. That really should have been a bigger story – Ā£7.1 million just disappeared, all in the name of ā€œEarthshot.ā€

Also JH: Harry and Meghan are getting their own office? Iā€™m team Sussex.

Also JH: Wait Harry and Meghan are leaving? Iā€™m going with you. Off to LA! Team Archewell!

If sticking with the winning team was a person šŸ˜‚ pic.twitter.com/Hm9ZyJ3KBo

— Vanessa Nguyen HernĆ”ndez (@VanessaNguyen28) December 21, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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