British supermodel and actress Naomi Campbell has been banned from being a trustee of her nonprofit, Fashion for Relief after authorities found the organization had spent only a small fraction of its budget on actual charity work.
Campbell, 54, started Fashion for Relief in 2005 to support “many important humanitarian causes,” such as providing relief for natural disasters, and providing food, shelter, and medical care for children around the world, according to the nonprofit’s website. Campbell, who was declared as one of just six true supermodels from her generation, even wrote in a statement that her honorary grandfather Nelson Mandela was the “inspiration” to launch the organization.
“Fashion For Relief is dedicated to improving the lives of those living in adversity, by uniting the fashion industry as a force for good,” Campbell wrote in a statement on the charity’s website. Fashion for Relief did not respond to Fortune's request for comment on the matter.
But Campbell’s organization didn’t do much at all, except for spending exorbitant amounts of money on luxury experiences—particularly since 2016. An inquiry by the Charity Commission for England and Wales published Thursday shows that between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5% of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants.
Campbell, who ironically received an honor from the French government on Thursday, denied responsibility for donation mishandlings.
"I was not in control of my charity,” she said after she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. “I put the control in the hands of a lawyer.”
Representatives for Campbell did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Why Fashion for Relief was investigated
The Charity Commission launched the inquiry after a review of Fashion for Relief’s 2018 financials, in which, “the Commission identified a range of governance and financial regulatory concerns regarding the charity,” according to the inquiry.
There were several troublesome findings from the inquiry, including that the organization didn’t comply with its official action plan, which outlined actions trustees needed to take such as recording trustee decision making. Fashion for Relief also failed to comply with its own constitution by not keeping meeting minutes.
But what got Campbell in the most trouble was the fact that her charity, well, wasn’t really a charity. Between April 2016 and July 2020, Fashion for Relief spent a whopping £4.58 million ($6.13 million), but issued only about £390,000 ($522,000) in grants. That means the charity was only donating about 8.5% of its expenditures toward its mission.
Among some of the major expenses were related to a fundraising event in Cannes, France, in May 2018. The trustees paid £9,400 ($12,580) for just three nights in a hotel and about £4,000 ($5,350) to £5,000 ($6,700) on personal security.
Meanwhile, trustees racked up a nearly £8,000 ($10,700) bill paid for by the charity that included costs from spa treatments, room service, cigarettes, and other hotel products.
The trustees tried to convince the Commission that the hotel had discounted the stay, and was therefore a good deal. But the email provided to the Comission by the trustees was dated 2023—five years after the event happened—and provides no information about other available room options.
Still, Campbell insists she wasn’t involved with her own charity’s decisions and is now "investigating to find out what and how—as everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes towards charities,” she said at the Thursday event.
