Trustees and the duties within a Charity

Thinking back over previous posts, it suddenly became clear that there are some serious questions to be asked and answered in respect of Christian Vision and the actions of people representing the charity in respect of the Boost.tv project and the wider engagement with Calum Brannan et al.

According to this Charity Commission document :

Compliance – Trustees must:

(2) Ensure that the charity complies with charity law, and with the requirements of the Charity Commission as regulator; in particular ensure that the charity prepares reports on what it has achieved and Annual Returns and accounts as required by law.

(3) Ensure that the charity does not breach any of the requirements or rules set out in its governing document and that it remains true to the charitable purpose and objects set out there.

(4) Comply with the requirements of other legislation and other regulators (if any) which govern the activities of the charity.

(5) Act with integrity, and avoid any personal conflicts of interest or misuse of charity funds or assets.

Duty of prudence – Trustees must:

(6) Ensure that the charity is and will remain solvent.

(7) Use charitable funds and assets reasonably, and only in furtherance of the charity’s objects.

(8) Avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity’s endowment, funds, assets or reputation at undue risk.

(9) Take special care when investing the funds of the charity, or borrowing funds for the charity to use.

Duty of care – Trustees must:

(10) Use reasonable care and skill in their work as trustees, using their personal skills and experience as needed to ensure that the charity is well-run and efficient.

(11) Consider getting external professional advice on all matters where there may be material risk to the charity, or where the trustees may be in breach of their duties.

In this context you'll remember from previous posts that one of the Objects of Christian Vision is:

4. OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PROMOTION OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND MORAL VALUES WITH THE EMPHASIS ON HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN EVERY DAY LIFE AND IN BUSINESS.

According to the Charity Commission Website, the Trustees of Christian Vision are:

Contact  !

MR TIM BOXALL
COLESHILL MANOR OFFICE CAMPUS
THE PAVILION
COLESHILL MANOR OFFICE CAMPUS
SOUTH DRIVE
COLESHILL BIRMINGHAM
B46 1DL

Tel: 01675 435500
Email: admin@christianvision.com
Website: www.christianvision.com

Trustees 

!

• MR IAN PAUL BAKER
• NICK CUTHBERT 
• MR ROBERT NORMAN EDMISTON
• MRS TRACIE JACQUELINE EDMISTON

So, in summary, it is the duty of the people named above to act in accordance with their obligations and duties as Trustees of Christian Vision.  

With me so far?

This leaves us wondering how the emails we have seen which appear to show Robert Norman Edmiston "conspiring" with Calum Brannan and James Leavesley to take not just the Boost.tv project but also a healthy pipeline of business (or words to that effect) away from Inormas and bring them into a new company set up by Brannan and Leavesley can sit comfortably with an Object which states:

4. OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PROMOTION OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND MORAL VALUES WITH THE EMPHASIS ON HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN EVERY DAY LIFE AND IN BUSINESS.

One of the emails we have seen is a discussion between Mr Edmiston and Brannan/Leavesley where they are discussing the possibility of Mr Edmiston actually funding, or part-funding this Newco (now known as "Social Helium").

Surely it cannot be right, moral, honest, ethical or anything else that Christian Vision stands for, according to its own Objects, for one of its Trustees (and major benefactors) to act in this way in connection with the purchase of products and services for the charity.......

Obviously, we may have missed something - we can't claim to know the whole story and don't pretend to, but from the evidence we have available to us, it certainly looks extremely dubious and casts some level of doubt on both the charity and individuals acting on behalf of the charity.  

It also leaves us wondering whether the other Trustees are aware that this issue exists.  However, even if Mr Edmiston hasn't actually put a penny of his own money into this new company, there's no escaping the fact that he knew precisely what was going on and specifically asked for Brannan and Leavesley to indemnify him against any possible come back from their previous associates, which speaks volumes doesn't it?


Should new evidence come to light, or we receive the "other side of the story", we'll gladly update this article to reflect the fuller picture, as we have no desire to be accused of bias or, God forbid, libel.

We do feel slightly sorry for Mr Edmiston in one respect:- If he wasn't working with such incompetent fools, then these emails would never have come to light and his judgement and actions would not be in question or, at least no more questionable (that we're aware of), than since the whole "Cash for Peerages" fiasco was forgotten about.

However, we're told that there's "absolutely stacks" more to come when the time is right and we have to say that we're quite excited about the prospect! 

John talks a lot of sense!

Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

What d'ya reckon Christian Vision?

Calum Brannan and others - serious deception?

Rumours have been rife for some time about a serious deception perpetrated between Messrs Brannan and Leavesley and Christian Vision, or people acting on behalf of Christian Vision - we're uncertain (if it's true) whether this was an individual act by the parties representing CV, or done on behalf of CV, but either way, if the evidence is as solid as it appears to be, then it's pretty serious stuff!! 

NOTE - As stated at the top of this blog, the statements herein are believed to be true, but haven't been independently corroborated, as such, we must state that these are unproven allegations.

The crux of the matter is that whilst Calum Brannan and James Leavesley were still being paid by Inormas, they were negotiating with CV (or its representatives) to remove the Boost.tv business and other pipeline to a new company called Social Helium.  This (it appears) wasn't just done with the full knowledge of Christian Vision representatives, namely Gavin Mills (Project Manager) and Bob Edmiston (Founder?), it seem it was actually done with their active participation, according to the emails we have seen!!

In these emails it seems Bob Edmiston and Brannan/Leavesley discussed terms for Edmiston to fund their newco (Social Helium).  It must be remembered that this may not have actually happened at the end of the day, but the email is pretty clear - it was discussed, in detail.  Furthermore, these emails also discuss the "healthy pipeline" that Calum Brannan and James Leavesley intended to bring with them from Inormas.

The emails, at best, appear to show Christian Vision's willingness to turn a blind eye as Calum and James basically stole Inormas's pipeline of business and move it over to Social Helium without the slightest signs of remorse or guilt at this blatant act of theft/fraud/misconduct...... call it what you like!!

We understand that Inormas's lawyers have written to all the parties concerned in the various roles but have yet to hear back from Brannan and Leavesley's representatives, probably because James and his wife, Michelle Stott-Leavesley, have been away skiing for some time.

The allegations also seem to include acts of theft/fraud/deception, breach of copyright, breach of fiduciary duty and various other offences, both criminal and civil - clearly these don't all apply to all parties.

One thing that is clear, if the emails are indeed correct, is that Christian Vision (or its representative in the shape of Mr Edmiston) have/has been working a long way outside their stated Objects, as displayed on the Charity Commission website for all to see, especially

4. OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PROMOTION OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND MORAL VALUES WITH THE EMPHASIS ON HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN EVERY DAY LIFE AND IN BUSINESS.

Does this sound moral, honest and ethical to you.......?

Watch this space......

Calum Brannan's appalling investor track record

With three failures in about 6 months, Calum Brannan seems to have an amazing record of using other people's money but delivering very little in return......

Looking at the funding for Youmeo.com, he seems to have persuaded a large number of bright people to part with many £tens of thousands and yet achieved little, which begs the question as to how his new concept, "Social Helium" will fare.

Listed as shareholders for Youmeo, we have the following (amongst others!):

Norman Younger - 1 share - Investment £1.00

Calum Brannan - 89 shares - Investment £8900

Votivation Ltd - 5 shares - Investment £17150

Calum Brannan - 90000 shares - Investment £zero

Votivation Ltd - 5000 shares - Investment £zero

James Leavesley - 13970 shares - Investment £10,001

Paul Tuson - 4576 shares - Investment £9356.91

Lisa Meadows - 4576 shares - Investment £9356.91

Orchard Growth - 629 shares - Investment 1286.17

Richard Boot - 9779 shares - Investment £19999.91

Michelle Stott - 6985 shares - Investment £20000.01

James Leavesley - 5588 shares - Investment £9999.84

Richard Boot - 5588 shares - Investment £9999.84

Ronald Blease - 2235 shares - Investment £3999.58

3 others 1397 shares each  - Investment £1000 each

(Note to self - Must investigate Votivation Ltd)

So, in summary, Calum Brannan managed to get more shares than anyone else (in fact, everyone else put together!!) without ever significantly putting his hand in his pocket, whilst everyone else funded his gravy-train to the tune of about £111,150 - I bet they were annoyed when it went down!!

Imagine how James Leavesley and Michelle Stott-Leavesley, a young married couple, must have felt pissing such a huge amount of money down the drain and yet James seems to stick with him - hard to understand unless he expects to see his money back sometime!!  What other reason could there be for them starting CBJL Ltd and promoting their new concept of "Social Helium".

As anyone who's ever been to a fair knows, you should never trust a kid with helium - they either have a concentration lapse and let go of the balloon, so it floats away, or they breathe it thinking that it sounds cool to have a voice like Mickey Mouse!

I'm finding it hard to imagine why anyone would want to invest into, or even get involved with Social Helium or any business in which Calum is actively involved (!) when he's taken down, or attempted to take down, three companies in the same space within less than a year - does that seem like a safe bet to you? 

I wonder if the DTI know he's had such an appalling track record?

On another note, we hear that there's been some very interesting movement with respect to the whole Bob Edmiston / Christian Vision / Boost TV saga and there should be more here very soon - If you like some scandal, generously laced with hypocrisy and dirty dealing, then you're gonna LOVE this!


We just want to ensure we've checked our facts before we publish.

 

Calum Brannan re-writes his CV

According to Calum Brannan's LinkedIn Profile, which he's obviously updated in the last few days (!!), he's never worked for Inormas!  Instead, he now seems to have used the time between the Spring and Autumn of 2009 working for SalonToolkit and Youmeo.


I'm sure that this will come as a huge shock to the people who've been paying his salary for the last 6+ months, as they don't seem to get any credit at all for the time and money they spent on him!


Moreover, Youmeo has been in the hands of the Receivers for the last few months, since his Red Brick labs/Youmeo venture, which he operated with James Leavesley, ran out of money and went down the pan!!  Which is why the original www.youmeo.com URL doesn't work!!


According to Calum's version of events, on LinkedIn, his employment history looks like this:

Experience

Social Media & Digital Consultant

CalumBrannan.com

Information Technology and Services industry

September 2009 – Present ( 4 months)

Helping businesses understand the everchanging world of social media and digital marketing.

Non-Exec

SalonToolkit Ltd

Internet industry

May 2009 – Present ( 8 months)

A new startup using SAAS to provide low cost, quality diary management and SMS reminder solutions.

Ambassador

Enterprise UK

Government Relations industry

September 2007 – Present (2 years 4 months)

We were founded in 2004 by the British Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Directors and the Federation of Small Businesses, funded mostly by what is now called the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.

Founder/CTO

youmeo.com

Privately Held; Internet industry

April 2008 – August 2009 (1 year 5 months)

Youmeo.com was founded by young entrepreneur Calum Brannan in 2008, after being re-branded from PPLparty.com


It is a social networking aggregator. This technology allows its users to manage and update all their social networks from one location.


Youmeo is based from a converted Electric Factory in Coventry and it's team includes people from Bebo, Yahoo, BBC, KPMG, Media Corp and Trutap.

Calum has 6 recommendations (2 reports, 1 co-worker, 3 partners) including:

Founding Director

Redbrick Labs

Information Technology and Services industry

September 2008 – June 2009 ( 10 months)

Founding Director

PPLparty ltd

Internet industry

April 2005 – March 2008 (3 years)

PPLparty was created in 2005 for the clubbing community, it was sold into Youmeo.com in early 2008, where a new board and team transformed it into the cutting edge social media aggregator.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


So, there you have it - Calum Brannan has re-written his CV and ex-sponged Inormas from it.  This begs an interesting question - if Calum was working on the development of Salon Toolkit for this period of time, why was he asking for a salary from Inormas, when he wasn't actually doing the job they were paying him for........?


Perhaps more importantly, was he fulfilling his duties to clients like Christian Vision during this time?  And, even more importantly, what has happened to all the code written for Christian Vision, by his team, whilst he was off developing Salon Toolkit at Inormas's expense....?


We've also heard a rumour, unconfirmed as yet, that there may have been some extremely unsavoury and possibly illegal shenanigans going on between Bob Edmiston, the multi-millionaire chief of IM Group, Founder of Christian Vision and major benefactor to Grace Academies in Coventry and Solihull and the Calum Brannan / James Leavesley duo, now operating as CBJL Ltd.


You'll recall from the earlier blog, entitled

A bit more background about Calum Brannan

That the 4th Charitable objective of Christian Vision is, quote:

4. OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PROMOTION OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND MORAL VALUES WITH THE EMPHASIS ON HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN EVERY DAY LIFE AND IN BUSINESS.

Now, we're pretty certain from the information shown to us, that this simply isn't the case where Robert Norman Edmiston's conduct in this matter is concerned...... and, if it's true, there are going to be some pretty heated exchanges on the subject when the Trustees of CV find out about this!!

Not to mention the few words that "Benevolent Uncle Bob" is going to want to have with James and Calum about the mess they've made of things!!

On the other hand, where Calum's concerned, it's not even clear that he knows when he's lying and when he's telling the truth, as we have reports of him doing it without even taking a breath!

Watch this space - the juicy stuff is coming!!