The Norman Cohn Charitable Trust
Trustees’ report for period ending 31st March 2023
Objectives and Activities
The Norman Cohn Charitable Trust was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 2nd November 2017.
Its objective is to advance education into the causes of extremism, and what can be done to counter it.
It does this in particular, but not exclusively, by holding public lectures and by making their content widely available via the internet and other means.
In setting its objectives and planning its activities, trustees have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Achievements and Performance
The charity was given its public launch in March 2019 in an event at the British Academy in London. (Norman Cohn, after who the charity is named, was a Fellow of the British Academy.) At the event the eminent political philosopher John Gray gave a lecture entitled ‘Politics, Religion and Psychopathology: how the work of Norman Cohn helps us understand the present’.
A website has been established through which the charity can publicise its activities. In particular the website seeks to broaden public knowledge of the work of Professor Norman Cohn, whose worldrenowned publications looked at the historical origins of modern-day extremism or, in his words, those who sought "to purify the world, through the annihilation of some category of human beings imagined as agents of corruption and incarnations of evil”.
In May 2022 the charity organised a lecture at the British Academy in conjunction with and support from the Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM). The lecture, entitled ‘Dark Money and the Subversion of Global Politics’, was given by Peter Geoghegan, Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning news website openDemocracy.
Geoghegan led the site’s investigation into dark money in British politics that was nominated for a 2019 British Journalism Award and the Paul Foot Award. In his talk, Geoghegan discussed what is known of the world of the oligarchs in the current context, and considered the implications of an ecosphere in which an organisation like Twitter (X) can be individually owned and controlled.
In addition to those attending the lecture, it was streamed on the internet and a recording has been made available on the charity’s website.
Financial Review
| Statement of financial activities for period ending 31st March | Statement of financial activities for period ending 31st March | 20231 |
|---|---|---|
| Funds brought forward | £7,662.50 | |
| Income: | ||
| CenSAMM contribution | £1,591.50 | |
| Expenditure: | ||
| Charitable activities2 | £2,753.00 | |
| Net expenditure | £1,161.50 | |
| Totalfunds carriedforward | £6,501.00 |
Notes :
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All funds are unrestricted.
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Comprising:
Speaker’s fee: £500.00
Video production costs: £350.00
Venue hire and refreshments: £1783.00
Annual web site charge : £120.00
| Balance sheet at 31st March 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Current assets: | |
| Cash at bank | £6,501.00 |
| Liabilities: | |
| Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year | £0.00 |
| Net assets | £6,501.00 |
| The funds of the charity: | |
| Unrestricted funds | £6,501.00 |
| Total charity funds | £6,501.00 |
The charity has no ongoing commitments and the trustees do not therefore believe that it is necessary for the charity to hold reserves. No trustee expenses were claimed in the period covered by this report.
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by a constitution document dated 1st November 2017 which is based on the Charity Commission ‘foundation’ model.
New trustees may be appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment in this way, the trustees will have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity.
The charity does not employ any staff.
Reference and Administrative Details
The charity’s name is The Norman Cohn Charitable Trust, registered charity number 1175524.
The address of the charity is 41 Gilbert Road, Cambridge, CB4 3NX.
The trustees of the charity at the date of this report are:
Professor Sir Michael Pepper (chair) Dr Marina Voikhanskaya Cohn Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta Professor Patrick Wright Robert Baldock (secretary) Roger Mann (treasurer)
The charity’s website can be found at www.normancohntrust.org.uk.
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Signature: Full name: William Roger Mann Position: Treasurer
Date: 23rd November 2023