Anti-fraud policy
At the Henry Smith Foundation, we expect the highest standards of honesty, transparency and integrity from everyone we work with. This includes our staff, trustees, volunteers, grant holders and grant applicants.
Our anti-fraud policy is designed to ensure that the trust placed in us, and those we support is upheld.
We expect all information provided during the grant process, whether in an application, conversation, visit, report or any other form of communication to be accurate, complete and in good faith. This applies throughout the lifetime of a grant, from initial enquiry through to assessment, decision and reporting.
We reserve the right to speak to other grant-making trusts, other funders and other relevant parties in carrying out our due diligence on grant applications before awarding a grant. We also reserve the right to share relevant information in our possession with other funders subject to current data protection legislation.
If we discover that information has been provided fraudulently or not in good faith, we may cancel a grant or withhold a decision. Where payments have already been made it is likely we will require that funds are returned.
If we feel there is sufficient evidence to suggest we have been the subject of a fraud or attempted fraud then we will report the fraud to the appropriate authorities. This is likely to include the police and the Charity Commission.
Upon detection of fraud or any related criminal activity we will work with the relevant authorities to investigate the incident and to pursue prosecution. In addition we reserve the right to seek civil recovery of any funds that have not been used for the stated purposes as well as our reasonable costs incurred in our seeking recovery of such funds.
The Henry Smith Foundation does not tolerate fraud, corruption or bribery in any form. We will take appropriate action against any employee, volunteers, trustee, grant holder, grant applicant or other external party or person engaged in any such practices whether in a direct attempt to influence the outcome of a grant award or to obtain other favourable treatment.
We expect anyone connected with our work to report any concerns they may have about suspected fraud, misuse of funds, or undue influence relating to our funding. If you see something that doesn’t seem right, we want to hear from you.