£2m raised in memory of Jo Cox as foundation gets charity status

Mrs Cox’s family and friends established The Jo Cox Foundation, following her death last June, to support values close to her heart.

It was granted charitable status by the Charity Commission last week.

The Foundation’s director Iona Lawrence said: “The Foundation exists to guide people towards those who are working on the things Jo was passionate about, people who know that it is not enough just to talk about what can make communities stronger or to complain about injustice, indifference or cruelty.

“Thank you to the Charity Commission and the British public for their overwhelming support and we look forward to taking forward Jo’s legacy together.”

The Foundation grew out of a fundraising page set up after Mrs Cox’s death to support the creation of a “fairer, kinder and more tolerant world”.

More than 45,000 people have made donations to the page and a total of £1.5m has been divided between three organisations - The Royal Voluntary Service, Hope Not Hate and The White Helmets - which are each investing money to further Mrs Cox’s work in Batley and Spen, across the UK and in Syria.

The page has a current total of almost £2m and the remaining money has been used to establish the Foundation, to promote the values and causes that Mrs Cox fought for in her life.

The charity aims to support projects Mrs Cox was involved in at the time of her death and champion the issues she cared about most.

Mrs Cox spent more than a decade involved in work with charities including Oxfam, NSPCC, Save the Children, The Freedom Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, before she was elected to become an MP in 2015.