BEKONSCOT AND THE ROLAND CALLINGHAM FOUNDATION

GRANT MAKING POLICY AND PROCEUDRE

CONTENTS

1.Aims and grant making criteria

2.Grant making process:

a.Advertising the availability of grants

b.Application for grants

c.Review of grant applications

d.Approval of grants

e.Monitoring

3.Timetable

4.Conclusion

APPENDICES

Appendix AGrant Application Form

Appendix BGrant Approval Letter

This policy was approved by the Trustees of The Roland Callingham Foundation on 21 October 2015 and is to be reviewed annually.

N J Heaton

Chairman of Trustees

21 October 2015

THE ROLAND CALLINGHAM FOUNDATION

GRANT MAKING POLICY AND PROCEDURE

1.Aims and Grant Criteria

Charitable objects

1.1The objects of The Roland Callingham Foundation are to advance such charitable purposes as the Trustees from time to time see fit for the public benefit, in particular (but not limited to):

  • promoting the preservation of heritage and the advancement of education by providing support to the Bekonscot Model village and Railway created by the late Roland Callingham at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire;
  • advancing religion by making grants to charities which advance religion; and
  • making grants to local charities operating in the County of Buckinghamshire and to other charities registered with the Commission.

1.2In making grants The Foundation will consider applications from organisations which undertake activities with a charitable purpose but which may not be registered with the Charity Commission.

1.3Grants made by The Foundation must be applied by the recipient for charitable purposes. Where a grant is made to a non-registered charitable organisation the grant must only be applied for such of its activities as are charitable, provided those charitable purposes are consistent with the purposes of The Foundation.

1.4In fulfilling its charitable objects the aims of The Foundation are to:

  • ensure that the model village created by the late Roland Callingham continues to prosper and to preserve and enhance the model village by investing in the village, by developing the site and by acquiring further land or interests in land;
  • make distributions from The Foundation’s share of surpluses generated by the village to charitable organisation in accordance with The Foundation’s charitable objects.

1.5The Foundation pursues these aims by ensuring the model village is maintained in sympathy with the aspirations of the late Roland Callingham to preserve the history of the period it represents, the 1930s, whilst creating an attraction which provided both fun and education to its visitors.

The Foundation’s Approach to Grant Making

1.6In making grants The Foundation aims to continue to fulfil the wishes of the late Roland Callingham who was keen to support charities particularly those which provide services to the community within which the model village is located.

1.7The Foundation support charitable work in the following categories:

  • education
  • heritage
  • health and welfare
  • religion
  • environment
  • arts.

1.8The Foundation likes to be flexible and responsive. From time to time, this means it ventures outside these funding categories, at the discretion of the trustees.

1.9The funds of The Foundation are limited. It expects to make around 60 grants each year. All grants are assessed on the basis of need with a normal upper limit of £1,000. If however there is a clear case for a larger grant the Trustees are prepared to consider an exception. No more than one grant is made to a charity in any one financial year.

1.10In deciding which charities should receive grants the Trustees look for evidence that:

  • the case of need is strong;
  • the purpose of the charity is consistent with the objectives of The Foundation;
  • the finances of the charity are sound and the charity well managed;
  • any grant made by The Foundation will be spent on charitable purposes.

2.Grant Making Process

a)Advertising the availability of grants

2.1The Trustees make it known that The Foundation will be making grants and that it welcomes applications by:

  • once each year, placing an advertisement in local newspapers inviting charities with objectives consistent with those of The Foundation to apply for a grant;
  • inviting visitors to the village and staff of the village to suggest charities which might be awarded a grant. This is done by way of notices in the will be and information posted on the Bekonscot website;
  • reminding any charity awarded a grant that, if it wants a grant in future years, then it will need to apply.

b)Application for a grant

2.2Any organisation seeking a grant from The Foundation is required, each year, to submit a grant application form. The Foundation’s standard application form is attached as Appendix A.

c)Review of grant applications

2.3In reviewing application forms, together with any supporting documents charities may wish to submit, the Trustees may look for information on:

  • the charity’s purpose, how well it is achieving that purpose and whether the purpose is consistent with the objectives of The Foundation;
  • the strength of the case of need made for grant;
  • whether the charity’s finances appear to be well managed and its financial position sound. To help assess this, the Trustees request information normally found in a charity’s annual Trustees’ report and accounts including information on income and expenditure, assets, liabilities and reserves. If, for example, it appears there are doubts as to whether a charity can continue as a going concern then no further grants are likely to be made. If, as a further example, it appears that the charity is using income to build excessive reserves then again no further grants are likely to be made;
  • the charity’s management arrangement.

2.4The Foundation reserves the right to award a grant of an amount less than that requested in the application form.

d)Approval of grants

2.5In the light of their review of grant applications, their current priorities and the funds available, the Trustees decide a programme of grants for the year.

2.6Organisations awarded a grant are notified by way of a letter along the lines of Appendix B. This will be modified to suit the circumstances of each case.

e)Monitoring

2.7The Trustees require an acknowledgement from all organisations to whom it makes a grant that its grant has been received.

2.8Each year, using a risk based approach to selection, a number of organisations in receipt of a grant will be requested to provide information to the Trustees on how any grant received from The Foundation in the past three years has been or is planned to be used, on their finances and on their governance arrangements. If not already submitted with their application form, one of the documents which these organisations will be requested to submit to help with this monitoring will be their latest available Trustees’ report and accounts.

3.Timetable

3.1Each year the Trustees work to the following timetable:

  • the Trustees advertise the availability of grants; by placing an advertisement in the local press: November/December. In addition, notices inviting visitors and staff to suggest organisations to be considered for a grant are displayed in the Village;
  • organisations seeking a grant are requested to submit their applications, using The Foundation’s standard application form, by the following 30 April;
  • Trustees review applications, update their priorities and prepare a proposed draft list of grants to be made: May to July;
  • Trustees approve and confirm the grant awards: by 31 August;
  • Organisations awarded a grant are notified and sent cheques by 31 October.
  • Trustees select those organisations to be subject to more detailed monitoring: when list of grants is finalised, that is by 31 August. Those organisations are informed of this by 31 October in a letter setting out the monitoring information required. This information is to be submitted by the following 31 January. Trustees complete their monitoring by 31 March.

4.Conclusion

4.1The Trustees of The Roland Callingham Foundation look forward to making grants to worthy charitable causes and request interested organisations to take account of the policy and follow the procedures outlined in this paper.

4.2The Trustees will be reviewing this policy and procedures annually and welcome comments on the policy and procedure set out. They also welcome feedback on organisations’ experience of the grant making process.

4.3Questions, comments and feedback on this policy and procedure can be sent to the Chairman of Trustees c/o the contact details shown at 4.4 below.

4.4Completed application forms should be send to Sandra De Lord, a Trustee, either by emailing the form to or by sending it by post to The Roland Callingham Foundation, c/o Sandra De Lord, Kingston Smith LLP, Devonshire House, 60 Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AD.

APPENDIX A

THE ROLAND CALLINGHAM FOUNDATION

GRANT APPLICATION

The Foundation’s Grant Making Policy requires organisations seeking a grant to submit an application using this standard application form. To be considered for a grant in a particular year this form should be received by the Trustees by 30 April in that year, with grants being awarded in the following October. A separate application is required each year.

ORGANISATION APPLKYING FOR GRANT
Name of
Organisation
Address, including post code
Telephone Number
Charity number (if a registered charity)
CONTACT PERSON
Name
Address, including
post code
Telephone
Number(s)
Email address
CASE OF NEED
What are the main aims and activities of your organisation; and where are these activities undertaken?
What size of grant are you seeking?
For what purposes would a grant be used and what impact would it have?
FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
Please provide a brief summary of your organisation’s finances.
Attaching a copy of the latest Trustees’ Report and Accounts is normally sufficient. If these show a significant surplus or deficit or a level of reserves that is out of line with your reserves policy then an explanation is requested.
Please provide a brief description of your organisation’s governance/management arrangements
  • I confirm to the best of my knowledge all the information I have provided in this application for a grant is correct;
  • I confirm that if a grant is received it will be used exclusively for charitable purposes;
  • I understand that if a grant is received I may be asked to provide further information including an account of how the money has been used.

Signature
Name (Capitals)
Position held (eg Chairman, Treasurer)
Date

This application should be emailed to the Foundation using the email address: . Alternatively it may be sent by post to Roland Callingham Foundation, c/o Sandra De Lord, Kingston Smith LLP, Devonshire House, 60 Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AD

Please note that the Roland Callingham Foundation is a small charity which aims to maximize the amount of money it has available to spend on grants. It does not therefore employ staff and, as a result, it does not acknowledge application received and it does not inform organisations which are not awarded a grant that their applications have been unsuccessful.

APPENDIX B

THE ROLAND CALLINGHAM FOUNDATION

GRANT MAKING POLICY AND PROCEDURE

GRANT APPROVAL LETTER

The Roland Callingham Foundation

c/o Sandra De Lord

Kingston Smith LLP

Devonshire House

60 Goswell Road

London EC1M 7AS

DATE XXXX

XXXXXXXX

Chairman/Treasurer

XYZ Charity

XXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXX

XXXX XXX

Dear

201X Grant

I am pleased to let you know that, having considered your application, the Trustees of The Roland Callingham Foundation have awarded your organisation a grant of £xxx. This is for spending on charitable purposes and a cheque is enclosed. I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt.

As stated in The Foundation’s Grant Making Policy and Procedure Document you will note that the grant we have awarded can only be used by (names charitable organisation XX) for exclusively charitable purposes and in accordance with the intended use outlined in your application form.

The Charity Commission expects grant making charities such as The Foundation to have in place arrangements to monitor how an organisation receiving a grant is using the money granted, to review that organisation’s finances and to assess whether its governance arrangements are sufficiently robust to ensure The Foundation’s grant is spent as intended.

To meet this requirement The Foundation will, each year, by contacting a number of the organisations to whom it awards a grant requesting information about the organisation and how it is using its grant. If, this year, your organisation is selected for this monitoring I shall write to you again shortly. Please, in any event, ensure that you retain adequate evidence of how your grant has been spent, so that you can respond appropriately in the event that we contact you under our checking procedures.

Yours sincerely

N J Heaton

Chairman of Trustees