Closing down the Otto Schiff Housing Association

The Otto Schiff Housing Association is a charity that was set up in 1933 to rescue Jews from Nazi persecution in Germany. After the war, it used its funds to build retirement homes, but is now in the process of finishing its work. Ashley Mitchell, chair of the organisation, explains in today's SocietyGuardian how he joined the charity at the end of the 1990s, took the tough decision to discontinue its care home operations and has, in the process, moved the charity from being a care provider to being one of the largest grant-making trusts in the UK. Selling off the charity's care homes has been a long and arduous task, says Mitchell, but has resulted in millions of pounds being available for distribution to appropriate bodies. He estimates that distributing the final funds will take a further five to seven years. Mitchell says the decision to wind up the charity was "as clear as day". But the process was very complicated. "Most of our buildings were in sensitive areas where there were various planning restrictions on what could be done with the land or buildings." But the outcome has been a multimillion-pound fund for members of the Jewish community. In all, the charity will have raised nearly £60m when its final sales go through next month. Most of that money has already been distributed by other Jewish charities. Closing care homes is never easy and Mitchell acknowledges the difficulties. "In closing our homes, we had to persuade other charities to accept our residents and to persuade people that this was the right thing. Along the way, I received quite a few critical letters," he says. "But I was doing the right thing. There are a lot of people living in very needy circumstances and we will be able to provide them with small amounts of money that will be very meaningful for them. We can do a huge amount of good." Mitchell, a private businessman, describes himself as an entrepreneur with a very strong social conscience. As he now sets about the disbursement of the final tranche of funds, he is also setting about a change in career. In the autumn, he begins a full-time masters degree in economic history at the LSE. "I've succeeded in my business career and been busy in the charitable world," he explains. "I have no desire to appear every other week in the newspapers talking about how successful I've been. I have no desire to play golf. I want another challenge in my life."