Golfer’s foundation closes
Howard Lake | 3 April 2019 | News
Golfer Rory McIlroy’s charitable foundation has ceased operations, according to a report in a Belfast newspaper.
A spokeswoman for the company which handles enquiries about the Foundation told the Irish News that the Rory Foundation is ‘no longer active.’
‘Rory is adopting a private philanthropic policy,’ the spokesperson said.
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The Rory Foundation is registered in England and reported income of £1.4 million and expenditure of £2 million up to December 2017. The accounts were submitted in October 2018 and did not suggest that the Foundation intended to cease operations.
The Irish News has speculated that McIlroy’s permanent move to the United States and his announcement that he will not play in this year’s Irish Open, which in previous years was a major part of his fundraising, may have something to do with the decision to close the Foundation. The company filing for the Foundation gives Monaco as McIlroy’s place of residence.
The Rory Foundation was established in 2013 to offer support to children’s charities. The Cancer Fund for Children, Mencap and Sports Changes Lives have been major recipients of grants from the Foundation. McIlroy also said in 2017 that he had pledged a further €1.2 million for a new children’s respite centre on Ireland’s west coast.
The Foundation’s most significant fundraising activities were events around major golf tournaments in Ireland and ticket sales for the competitions.
While there has been no indication what direction McIlroy’s philanthropy will take, in an interview with Coutt’s Bank in 2017 he said he could foresee inevitable changes in direction for the Foundation.
“I can foresee inevitable changes in direction for my Foundation in the years to come and indeed, one of our latest projects has seen the Foundation begin to expand its work beyond the UK and Ireland by becoming involved with Sport Changes Life, a charity which brings Americans to Ireland and the UK to help coach and train young people.”
- Major golfers to boost fundraising for Rory McIlroy Foundation (17 February 2015)
- Rory McIlroy pledges up to £500,000 for Mencap Northern Ireland (12 June 2015)
- Golfer makes £1 million donation (16 May 2014)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.