Moonbeams

Moonbeams was a children's cancer charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland, which became the subject of a much-publicised local controversy in 2003. Following court action, it emerged that the charity had income of nearly £3 million over a period of four years, but had spent little over £70,000 on its charitable objectives. The Moonbeams collapse was one of a series of incidents which ultimately led to extensive reform of charity regulation in Scotland. Although there were some irregularities in the charity's affairs, there is no suggestion of substantial fraud. The charity's income was simply consumed by expenses, with little remaining to fund its objectives. Local newspaper Scotland on Sunday quoted Jean McFadden, a charity law expert from Strathclyde University, saying: "It seemed to me that it simply grew too big for a small group of volunteers to handle and not get out of their depth".