We held our latest meeting of the Trustees of the CH Foundation this morning (26/07/2023), and I am delighted to report that we have reached the stage at which we can start to really get into gear with our new Foundation’s activities.
Although we created the Foundation in 2022, it's taken up to now to get all of the appropriate policies and procedures in place, bank and payment systems organised, Gift Aid registered with HMRC, and so on. Thanks to our hardworking trustees we’re now on top of all of that.
So now we need two things – money, and people to give it to!
We’ve already had some donations, and we’ve also raised some money through generous gifts from our recent Summer Barbecue, so at present we're in funds. With Gift Aid the total will increase further (if you're making a donation don't forget to Gift Aid it).
So we can start making grants. We’ve updated the Chesterton House website to make the Foundation more prominent, and added a link for donations, and a form to request a grant with some details about what we’ll consider. Have a look and see what its all about: https://www.chestertonhouse.co.uk/foundation
If you know of a person or organisation who would like to apply for a grant (ideally based in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire and currently for an amount up to £1,000) they can make an application through the website and the trustees will consider it at their next meeting.
If you have an idea for a fundraising event or activity we’d be delighted to hear it! We’d like to use the Foundation to bring our staff, clients and the local community together so don’t hold back. You can speak to one of the Trustees, they are everywhere! Here’s a list of them: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5199566/trustees. You can also email us at CHFoundation@chestertonhouse.co.uk.
We’ve also got a vacancy for a Team member trustee, and two vacancies for community trustees. If you would like to be considered please let us know.
Finally, a reminder that the Foundation could be a valuable part of the tax and estate planning that we do for clients. Members of our team who are involved in giving advice to clients will be aware of the opportunities that charitable giving offers around income tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax. If it makes sense for a client to make a charitable donation, they might like to know more about the Foundation. They can donate knowing that their money will be used effectively by a charity run by people they trust, focused on the local community, with very low operating costs.
Thanks to all of our trustees for getting us to this stage, and I look forward to making our first grants.