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LOS ANGELES – The Beverly Hills-based charity founded by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, was deemed “in good standing” by the state of California on Tuesday and is no longer “delinquent” on a late payment, it said the attorney general’s office. .
The change of status means Archewell Foundationwhich was initially registered in the state In 2021, it will be able to resume fundraising and operate again in California.
“We have diligently investigated the situation and can confirm that the Archewell Foundation remains in full compliance and good standing,” a spokesperson for the charity said in a statement. “Payments due were made promptly and in accordance with IRS processes and procedures. Additionally, the Foundation submitted all necessary documentation without errors or irregularities.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office did not say when it became aware that the foundation was “in good standing” with the state’s Registry of Charities and Fundraising Organizations. The update comes a day after speculation over why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charity, which had previously reported more than $13 million in total revenue, had apparently failed to pay a $200 annual filing fee after a deadline in May 2023.
Bonta issued a delinquency notice to the foundation this month, noting that its renewal information was incomplete.
A source close to Archewell said Monday that the group’s initial check was lost in the mail but the payment had been resent, adding that the issue was expected to be resolved within days.
But without further clarification from Bonta’s office or Harry and Meghan themselves, getting to the bottom of the apparent outstanding payment may be difficult, royal family watchers say.
The couple, who left royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, have been in Nigeria drawing attention to causes they have long supported, including wounded veterans.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected coverage of the charity Tuesday during an unrelated event focused on behavioral health in the Bay Area, telling reporters that the foundation’s setback was “typical.”
“I just want people to know that not only are they complying,” Newsom said, “but it was a paperwork issue that was wildly overblown.”
CharityWatch, a watchdog group in Chicago that investigates nonprofit organizations, said it considers the Archewell Foundation “not evaluable,” given that it was founded recently and does not have enough years of financial activity.
According to its filings with the state, the Archewell Foundation, a name inspired by the couple’s son Archie, is “a nonprofit organization created by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” and its “primary purpose is to uplift and unite to the communities”. —local and global, online and offline—one act of compassion at a time.”
Laurie Styron, chief executive of CharityWatch, said the foundation appears to deviate from the norm in at least one respect: In its 2022 tax return, it reports that its governing body consists of just two people: Harry and Meghan. She said the widely accepted minimum “best practice” in the nonprofit sector is five voting members, “the majority of whom should be independent.”
In general, “a charity whose board is too small and lacks a largely independent board is not well positioned to make consistent decisions that are in the best interests of the charity or provide adequate oversight of its operations,” Styron said. “Charities are not small businesses or hobbies intended to be controlled by a married couple or family. Rather, they are owned by the public in the public interest and are intended to exist as legal entities independent of the interests of the people who run them. lead.”
Diana Dasrath reported from Los Angeles and Erik Ortiz from New York.