Comic Relief

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2020 (Note 5, Concentration of Credit Risk):

"CR US's contribution revenue is primarily generated from donors. For the year ended December 31, 2020, approximately 45% of contribution revenue was received from two donors. For the year ended December 31, 2019, approximately 68% of contribution revenue was received from two donors."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2020 (Note 6, Related Party Transactions):

"CR US incurred legal expenses with a firm, wherein a Board member is a partner. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the total expenses incurred were $83,916 and $209,411, respectively."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2020 (Note 7, Contributed Services), CR US received in-kind contributed services in 2020 on which it placed a total value of $156,240. Of this amount, $128,275 consisted of donated office space.

In addition, per audit Note 7: "CR US received contributed services from NBC Universal to carry out a national fundraising and awareness raising campaign including a television special to be broadcast related to Red Nose Day 2020... The amount contributed could not be readily determined and valued."

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2020 (Note 9, Loans Payable):

"On May 8, 2020, CR US received loan proceeds in the amount of $554,612 under the Paycheck Protection Program ('PPP Loan'). The PPP Loan, established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ('CARES Act'), provides for loans to qualifying businesses for amounts up to 2.5 times of the average monthly payroll expenses of the qualifying business. The loan and accrued interest are forgivable after eight or twenty-four weeks as long as the borrower uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes... The amount of loan forgiveness will be reduced if the borrower terminates employees or reduces salaries during the covered period. CR US believes this loan will be fully forgiven during the year ending December 31, 2021. The unforgiven portion of the PPP Loan, if any, is payable over five years at an interest rate of 1% with payments not required while forgiveness is pending."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2020 (Note 11, Liquidity and Availability of Financial Assets):

"For the year ended December 31, 2020, CR US reduced its grant expense in response to the uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the generosity of its donor base, CR US experienced a surplus for the year ended December 31, 2020 and, accordingly, management intends to utilize these funds to identify and disburse grant awards to qualifying grantees in fiscal 2021."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2020 (Note 12, Subsequent Events):

"CR US in conjunction with its partners will carry out a national fundraising and awareness-raising campaign in 2021.

"Management has considered the consequences of COVID-19 and other events and conditions, and it has determined that they do not create a material uncertainty that casts significant doubt upon CR US's ability to continue as a going concern. The impact of COVID-19 on future performance and therefore on the measurement of net assets might be significant and might therefore require disclosure in the [audited] financial statements, but management has determined that they do not create a material uncertainty that casts significant doubt upon CR US's ability to continue as a going concern."

According to the Comic Relief 2020 tax filing, Comic Relief reports re: Compensation, Supplemental Information (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part III):

Regarding severance payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, Line 4a):

"SVP of Operations and Finance, Kristin Ellington, received a severance payment of $21,462 in calendar year 2020." 

[Kristin Ellington is reported as "SVP Operations & Fin. (thru 03/20)," with total compensation of $77,247 in 2020 (IRS Form 990, Part VII, Section A).]