![\"Jo](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Jo-Harvey-Barringer_broken_rainbow.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA UK LGBT charity that received up to\u00a0\u00a3120,000 ($155,000) in government funding per year between 2008 and 2016 has collapsed because of \u201cchaotic\u201d management.<\/span><\/p>\n Founded in 2004, Broken Rainbow aimed to highlight and combat domestic violence<\/a> in the LGBT community.<\/span><\/p>\n Broken Rainbows\u2019 chief executive, Jo Harvey Barringer (above) was paid a salary of \u00a357,500 ($74,000) with a potential bonus of up to 15 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n After its collapse, MP Bernard Jenkin, asked the National Audit Office (NAO) to investigate.<\/span><\/p>\n The NAO report said<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Between April 2015 and July 2016, the charity paid Harvey Barringer \u00a3114,397 ($147,000) who told the NAO the money had covered her salary, expenses, and wages for other staff members, including her wife.<\/span><\/p>\n Although she claimed that the charity\u2019s treasurer had approved the expenses, the NAO report noted: \u201cNone of the trustees we have spoken to recall authorizing expense payments to the CEO\u2019s account.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, the report found that from November 2015 onwards there was no second signatory on Broken Rainbow\u2019s accounts. Rules require that charities must have two signatures before authorizing payments.<\/span><\/p>\n Harvey Barringer said the high turnover of trustees, and bank delays meant she could not wait for a second signatory.<\/span><\/p>\n She has also refuted allegations of excessive spending on gifts and first-class travel. <\/span><\/p>\n In its conclusion, the NAO said: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are rules about how to run small company charities, but in the case of Broken Rainbow they were not enforced\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLight-touch regulation reduces the administrative burden on charities, but increases the risk that public money may be misspent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Charity Commission is also investigating the closure of Broken Rainbow while the Home Office said it would carefully consider the NAO\u2019s report.<\/span><\/p>\n The government has updated its grant monitoring guidance since the collapse of Broken Rainbow.<\/span><\/p>\n In January 2015, Harvey Barringer launched a GoFundMe campaign<\/a>\u00a0citing an end to Home Office funding. On the campaign page she refers to herself as a volunteer.<\/p>\n Watch a 2015 interview with Harvey Barringer below.<\/p>\n (Image via YouTube<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The post LGBT Charity Investigated for Lavish Spending on Gifts and First Class Travel<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>According to the <\/span>BBC<\/b><\/a>, the charity received an annual grant of at least \u00a3120,000, with the exception of 2007\/08, when it received \u00a330,000 ($39,000).<\/span><\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0Prince William Teams Up with Charity Named After Princess Diana to Fight LGBT Bullying<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n
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