The Archewell Foundation is seeing a decrease in donations, according to their annual report, and has leaned in to indicate that this year may have been a difficult one for Prince Harry and Meghan.
Harry and Meghan established the foundation two years ago with the goal of “uplifting and uniting communities, both local and global, online and offline,” according to its website.
On Tuesday, the non-profit organization revealed in a tax filing that it had charitable contributions totaling slightly over $2 million in 2022 as opposed to $13 million in 2021. The public filing states that Archewell’s expenses for the entire year were higher than its revenue, resulting in a loss of over $674,000. In 2021, it brought in more than $9 million.
The executive director of the company, James Holt, received a salary of $227,405, plus a $20,000 bonus, in 2022, even though Harry and his wife Meghan, did not receive salaries.
Just two significant donors contributed roughly £795,210 apiece to the charity in 2022. An anonymous donor gave them £7.8 million the year before, but in 2022, that incredible generosity did not occur.
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Prince Harry and Meghan published their Archewell annual report for 2022–2023, and the records showed a significant $11 million decline in donations to the organization.
Even with the sharp decline in gifts, Archewell was proud of their achievements over the year. “We are appreciative of the Archewell Foundation’s great year and anticipate more expansion in 2024,” they said in closing.
Among the foundation’s ongoing projects is The Welcome Project, which was started in 2023 and aims to support newly resettled Afghan women in creating a sense of community through sewing and hiking.
It also focused on mental health initiatives, such as helping earthquake-affected people in Turkey and Syria.
Additionally, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex own two for-profit media production firms, Archewell Audio and Archewell Productions.
In 2020, the audio division entered into a multi-year agreement with Spotify.
The collaboration broke down following the completion of one series. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, donations to nonprofit organizations in the USA decreased by more than 10% in 2022, making this appear to be a global issue.