Why is Children In Need sitting on a £90million fortune?

BBC Children in Need has kept £87.7million stashed away in its investment portfolio instead of giving it directly to charity, its latest accounts reveal.

The charity, which has raised more than £600million for youngsters in the UK since 1980, is preparing to launch a fresh appeal to viewers next month.

But some donors may be surprised to discover it does not give the money directly to good causes.

Children in Need has £87,705,000 invested in a range of portfolios, up from £81.2million last year. Another £2.2million is sitting in its bank accounts, up from £864,000 last year.

The accounts reveal it paid £9,000 in fees to fund managers and made £893,000 in investment income.

Its latest charity drive will include a series of celebrity-endorsed fundraising campaigns, and with the profits of a recently released BBC recording of the Beach Boys track God Only Knows, is expected to raise more than £20million.

Yesterday, the BBC insisted all of the money it raises is given to charity, but said it does not release all of it at once so it is able to measure the impact of its donations and ensure funds are being put to good use.

In 2006 TV viewers were warned against giving money to the BBC’s Children in Need appeal.

An independent watchdog said donating to the charity is ‘a bad idea’ because of its huge administration costs – £2.4million out of a total of £33million raised at the time.

Intelligent Giving said money is swallowed up by the need for two sets of bureaucrats: those who run the charity and those in charge of the organisations to which it gives money.

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