Give

We can help you with your charitable giving by:

• Long term investments (Endowment Funds) or short-term programmes (Flow through Funds) available
• Researching needs
• Supporting themes or a geographical location of your choice (or both)
• Offering a bespoke grant programme design and management
• Allowing your organisation to be as involved as you wish in the decision making process
• Applying due diligence and monitoring
• Measuring impact
• Operating across all of Lancashire
• Assuring quality through a programme endorsed by the Charity Commission

Allan Webster, Crystal Foundation

When my wife died in August 2016 I wanted to set up a Charitable Foundation in memory of her and ideally wanted it to continue for many years.

I discussed this matter with my Financial Advisors, FPC who explained that to set up an independent Charitable Foundation and then to administer it was very time consuming and potentially very labour intensive.

However they then explained there was another option and that was to set up the Foundation under the umbrella of one of the 46 Community Foundations operating across the country.

Being based in Southport, FPC agreed to set up a meeting with the Community Foundation for Lancashire.

The initial meeting was between myself, FPC, the Chief Executive of CFL and the Community Philanthropy Director of CFL.

During this meeting it became apparent that working closely with CFL was definitely the most acceptable way to proceed for the following reasons:

A very positive feeling about being able to work closely with the CFL personnel.

Using their Endowment Funding model would achieve my objective of the benefits being available for good causes for many years to come.

Excellent investment policy to protect the Capital for these long term benefits.

Since my wife and I were both born in Burnley, it achieved my objectives of initially wishing to benefit good causes in the Burnley area.

It was very comforting to know that all potential projects would be vetted by CFL, and they would provide a due diligence report.

Being able to have as much or as little input as I wanted was also a big positive for me, especially looking further ahead to when the children would get involved in the Foundation’s decision making.

The total flexibility of the projects that the Foundation could research was also a big positive for me.

Finally and most importantly, and also having now met more of the CFL team, and knowing this is a long term project, it was very important to me to get on really well with the staff at CFL, and after knowing them now for six months, I am very happy that I have made the right decision, and I certainly know my wife would have approved.

CFL is an independent charity responsible for raising 100% of our core costs, receiving no central or local government support for this. We ask for charitable contributions, which go directly back to communities in Lancashire through grant making and capacity building. Taking into account the size and scope of the fund, we would take a contribution of 10—15% of its value for Flow Through Funds and 1—1.5% per annum for Endowment Funds.

This is then re-invested in staff time to run our efficient and effective grant programmes, conduct full due diligence, and provide practical support and advice to local community projects. We are serious about making a positive change in the communities of Lancashire that need it most.

The benefits of transferring a charitable trust to Lancashire Community Foundations are:

• Lancashire Community Foundations can often provide better returns on investments as we are able to pool larger sums of money, which are effectively and prudently managed through appointed investment managers.
• Our local expertise means that we can identify current social need and often find beneficiaries and causes that provide the 21st Century equivalent of the issues the original trust was set up to tackle.
• Trustees can release the responsibility of managing and administering a trust fund directly, but retain an interest in the fund by acting as an adviser or continuing to award grants.

The Charity Commission welcomes and supports this initiative and encourages all charities to ask themselves whether they should work with Community Foundations as an alternative to continuing, particularly if they can answer yes to one or more of the following questions:

• We find it difficult to identify beneficiaries
• We cannot spend the income of the charity
• We find ourselves providing money to the same people or groups every year
• We find it difficult to attract trustees
• We would like to be involved in how the money is spent but we do not want the legal responsibility of being a trustee
• The work of administering the charity and its investment is becoming onerous or disproportionate to the level of funding
• We wish that we knew more about local issues and opportunities and who else was funding what

On 19th April 2011, Lancaster City Council Cabinet decided to transfer nine dormant charity funds to the Community Foundation for Lancashire (CFL). These funds had been left to the council in bequests and endowments, but over the years had fallen dormant. Many had archaic objectives which could no longer be realised.

Once the relevant funds had been transferred to the CFL, the original charities were wound up in accordance with guidelines from the Charity Commission.

The decision to transfer the funds was taken in order that the CFL could bring the money back into circulation, by finding contemporary uses which reflected the funds’ original aims and the council’s current priorities.

For further advice or to discuss how we can help you with your charitable giving contact:

Community Foundations are an ideal vehicle for your clients to provide structure to their giving in a tax-efficient way and offer a flexible alternative to creating conventional charitable trusts or a foundation, which can prove complicated and costly to set up and administer. The administrative and governance burden on trustees of running and sustaining a conventional charitable trust is ever increasing which, understandably, can be off-putting to many clients.

We offer a practical alternative, making charitable giving to local causes stress-free, easy and enjoyable for clients, whether the amounts they set aside are large or relatively modest.

We must stress that we believe that there is still a place for the conventional personal charitable trust and, indeed, that may be the client’s preference. In line with the Charity Commission’s advice, our purpose is to ensure that potential fund holders are aware of the full range of options available.

Whether your client is looking to establish a named family fund through a lifetime donation or a legacy in their will, or wishes to reduce the administrative burden of an existing trust, we can work with you and your client to find the best solution.

For further advice or to discuss how we can help you with your charitable giving contact: