GIVING – WHY CHOOSE US?
LOCALITY
We understand the immediate issues of the county. We help make sure donations go where they’re needed most.
ACCOUNTABLE
Governed by an active board of trustees who really know Herefordshire. Grant-making by an experienced and impartial staff. Only legitimate fund requests, properly assessed. Accredited by the UK Community Foundations Network.
FLEXIBLE
Major donors can have as much or as little involvement in the grant-making process as they choose. They can specify the causes they want to support and vary the degree of help.
KNOWLEDGE
We work with donors and their professional advisers (like solicitors, accountants) to make sure their gifts are both tax and cost-effective. We accept and invest a wide range of assets, properly safe-guarded for the future.
QUICK
We respond to new challenges and social concerns as they arise. Response time is hours, not days! We allocate funds in response to specific requests, and can set up, say a substantial named fund in just one meeting.
CONVENIENT
Donors can, if they wish, channel all of their charitable giving through us. We can deal quickly and effectively with requests for funding on behalf of donors.
GIVING – WHY WORK WITH US?
Since 2002, we’ve helped community-minded people reach their philanthropic goals.
Searching for the causes you wish to champion? Or you know precisely where and how you wish to give? We can help.
Love Herefordshire and want to make the biggest charitable impact, in the most efficient way?
Then here’s five reasons why we’re your ideal partner…
ONE. You join a community of givers. When you open your fund at the HCF, you join a committed community of individuals, families and companies. All making a local impact through collaboration, leadership and proper use of resources.
TWO. You can count on us to be creative, flexible, efficient. Maximize your giving with our charitable solutions to support your unique vision and goals. We can help you make the most of appreciated assets and earnings.
THREE. You gain access to local philanthropic specialists. We can give you unique experiences and the chance to learn about current needs across Herefordshire.
FOUR. You gain access to investment experts. We support your charitable investment strategy. Whether your focus is for now or the long-term, we ensure your giving goes further in our community.
FIVE. Your charitable pounds directly invest in Herefordshire. With our help, you can make possible wonderful one-off problem-solving collaborations. Real local impact investment.
WHAT ARE COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS?
Community Foundations are a vehicle for charitable giving. They work with individuals, families and companies to design bespoke grant making strategies that target particular issues or focus on particular geographical areas.
UK Community Foundations (UKCF) is the umbrella organisation supporting 48 Foundations working in the UK. In the House of Lords in 2015, UKCF President Baroness Prashar highlighted Community Foundations as the voluntary sector’s “best kept secret”, not generally recognised by the public.
However the network’s collective endowment is worth £500 million and it has awarded over £65 million in grants. That makes it the fourth largest grant maker in the UK. A secret that’s making a big difference!
You can download the UKCF Charter.
GIVING – WAYS TO GIVE
We welcome donations of any size to support our work in Herefordshire.
Whether you are an individual, family or charitable trust, or a business, there are many ways that you can give to make a difference to our community.
Donors may choose one of our five specific causes, or leave the choice to us. Plus we have a disaster relief fund ready to run, whenever it might be needed.
YOUR OWN CUSTOM FUND
We can help substantial donors establish their own named fund to support their favoured causes.
TENNIS
Ross Tennis Club
Donations primarily for re-surfacing four tennis courts.
COMMUNITY COHESION
High Sheriff’s Fund
For charitable organisations benefiting cohesion, law and order, chosen by the High Sheriff.
DISABILITY
Herefordshire Care Fund
Helping groups and individuals to overcome obstacles and challenges in their lives.
SURVIVING WINTER
Surviving Winter Fund
Help people with fuel bills. You could donate the Pensioner’s Winter Fuel Allowance to assist the less well-off.
ARTS, CRAFTS, CULTURAL
Herefordshire Art Fund
Monies raised could help young people stage a play, or a music group concert.
DISASTER RELIEF
If a major disaster hits Herefordshire, HCF is the designated fund manager for all public donations to help. You'll be able to donate as soon as the need arises. And we thank you in advance.
GIVING – MANAGING A GRANT SCHEME FOR YOU
Herefordshire Community Foundation has the expertise to help with all aspects of setting up a Named Fund for grant-making. Our staff will manage the administration of grant applications on your behalf, and keep a check on those funded to make sure your money is spent appropriately.
You may like to use one of our dedicated expert grants panels, or we can host panel meetings chosen by the fund-holder. Scroll down for more.
If you have a specific cause you would like to discuss, one of our team would be happy to discuss your requirements. Please contact our Director, Jayne Porchester, for an initial discussion, 01432 272550, mail@herefordshirecf.org.
INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Setting up a Named Fund works like your own charitable trust but we handle the investment, and all the compliance and governance. This leaves you free to focus on building your fund and helping us decide which applications should receive a grant. For endowment funds, we normally suggest a minimum target of £25000.
- Your way of supporting for ever, the causes you care about.
- Built up over future generations of your family.
- In memory of someone important to you.
For more information please contact us.
TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS
Many charitable trusts can become dormant because they have difficulty in identifying beneficiaries, or because the trustees and founders find the administration and responsibility of running a charity becomes too onerous. A dormant trust’s assets can be released to Herefordshire Community Foundation, and the funds used to support the needs in our local communities. This service is endorsed in this Charity Commission article. We can also work with established or new trusts and foundations that would like to outsource part or all of their grant-making.
To find out more about how we can help you manage your charitable trust, please contact us.
EXAMPLE - COMING TOGETHER
The parish of Much Marcle in south Herefordshire had an ancient charity, believed to date back to the time of the English Civil War, which was originally established by wealthy parishioners to help local people in need or hardship.
In recent years, the Charity had become under-used, struggling to make enough grants, or find trustees to run it. Herefordshire Community Foundation was described as being “the answer to their prayers”, when trustees realised they could transfer the burdens of fund management and grant-making to us.
The Charity and Herefordshire Community Foundation Director Dave Barclay, worked together over an 18-month period to transfer assets to a new fund in the Community Foundation, the Much Marcle United Fund. This fund will continue to support organisations and community groups that benefit the wider community in the ancient parish of Much Marcle, and can also help individuals in the Parish who may require financial assistance for education or welfare need.
CORPORATE GIVING
Herefordshire Community Foundation offers an alternative approach to corporate giving, and practical advice about the options for companies to channel their charitable funds. You can retain control and staff involvement with fund-raising and grant-making, yet reduce the administrative aspect of giving.
Our Good Giving Guide is essential reading for any organisation that is reviewing its charitable giving or corporate social responsibility programme and for those who want to do more. To get a copy of the guide, or find out more about how we can help you manage your corporate charitable trust, please contact us.
PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL ADVISERS
Establishing charitable giving through Herefordshire Community Foundation is ideal for banks, financial advisors, solicitors and accountants whose clients wish to give to charity, especially if the advisors are reluctant, for reasons of impartiality, to recommend specific charities. We can support a wide variety of local community activities that you can recommend with a clear professional conscience.
Because we handle the administration associated with donations, the cost and the burden of administering a fund do not fall on your client in the same way as if they were to set up a charitable trust.
Community foundation staff deal with grant applications, carry out due diligence on the chosen charities, prepare a portfolio of funding options and measure the impact of funding.
Your clients can give to excellent causes, all of which have been assessed for their value to the community, through a variety of different funding structures.
In addition, as Herefordshire Community Foundation invests in many funds at one time, we often benefit from preferential rates and greater returns. This makes it easier for solicitors and other fund managers to recommend the Foundation, especially when the welfare of the fund is the primary concern.
For more information please contact us.
GIVING – STORIES
As trustees of the Joanies Trust we found ourselves inundated with applications. These were from organisations nationwide working with young people, and even though we are particularly interested in projects that lead to employment, accreditation, further education, training and integration, we still felt that more work was required to target specific groups.
By allowing the trust to become part of the Herefordshire Community Foundation’s portfolio (as the Joanies Fund) we not only improved its administrative effectiveness but also its reach, while remaining an integral part of the decision-making as members of the panel.
Grant making is a much calmer process now, and thus a more considered one.
The Joanies TrustThe Becket Bulmer Trust was established by my mother and Uncle Bertram. It is in memory of my late father, who was sadly killed during World War Two. My father had a deep love of Herefordshire and the people who lived in the county and the objects of the fund were to support arts activities of all kinds, the education of young people, the support of disabled people and the improvement of the environment.
For many years the trust was administered by the family although meetings were not easy to arrange owing to family life and work commitments.
We first became aware of Herefordshire Community Foundation (HCF) in 2002 when Richard Bulmer became one of the founding trustees and we watched the work they were doing with grant programmes with interest. We always looked to deliver the best possible outcomes with the Becket Bulmer Trust – my father would have expected no less! – and in 2007 we asked that HCF take over the management of the Becket Bulmer grants although the trust remained independent with the family trustees being responsible to the Charity Commission.
For two years HCF did the administration involving getting in sufficient applications, assessing them, making recommendations and presenting them to the Becket Bulmer trustees to an agreed schedule, monitoring approved grants and ensuring there was feedback and End of Grant reports.
At the end of the two years we Becket Bulmer trustees were very happy with the service delivered by HCF and decided to close the Becket Bulmer Trust and hand over the whole management to Herefordshire Community Foundation with Bulmer family members remaining involved through the grants panel.
The Becket Bulmer FundCONTACT US
Herefordshire Community Foundation,
The Fred Bulmer Centre,
Wall Street, Hereford HR4 9HP
Registered Charity No. 1094935
Registered in England and Wales No. 4468139
t: 01432 272550
Tell us your queries about our work. Use the form, email or phone. If, and we hope this will not be the case, you wish to make a complaint, then the procedure is shown below.
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THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE AT HCF
- Our Approach to Complaints
Herefordshire Community Foundation is committed to providing a quality service to our stakeholders. Staff also strive to present themselves in a professional and courteous manner at all times. One of the ways in which The Foundation can continue to improve the service we offer is to listen and respond to the views of all our stakeholders, and we view complaints as an opportunity to learn, as well as being the chance to put things right for the person or organisation making the complaint.
Our policy and approach to complaints is:
- there is an open and transparent procedure for making a complaint.
- the complaints procedure is publicised so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint.
- the complaint is deal with promptly, politely and appropriately.
- there is an appropriate response – for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong, or information on any action taken etc..
- a confidential file of all complaints is kept centrally, and all information concerning a complaint will be handled with total discretion.
- How to Make a Complaint
2.1 If you have a complaint, please contact us as soon as possible.
2.2 All complaints should be made in writing, by e-mail or letter. When writing or e-mailing your complaint appropriate contact details should be provided such as an email address or a full postal address. Please address your complaint to the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer at:
The CEO,
Herefordshire Community Foundation,
The Fred Bulmer Centre, Wall Street,
Hereford HR4 9HP
E-mail: ceo@herefordshirecf.co.uk
2.3 If the complaint relates to the CEO, the complaint should be made in writing, by letter or in email, to the Chairman of the HCF, Mr Frank Myers, at:
FAO of The Chairman only,
Herefordshire Community Foundation,
The Fred Bulmer Centre, Wall Street,
Hereford HR4 9HP
E-mail: chairman@herefordshirecf.co.uk
- The Process - Grants
3.1 Complaints relating to grant-making will be assessed by the CEO, and a response will be sent within 5 working days of receipt. If it is not possible to issue a full reply within this time – for instance, because a detailed investigation is required – we will tell you what is being done to deal with your complaint, when you can expect the full reply, and from whom. The CEO is required to report all complaints to the Board of the Foundation, so they can monitor the handling of the complaint and ensure an appropriate response is given.
3.2 If you are not satisfied with the final response from the CEO, you may ask for your complaint to be referred to the Chair of the Trustees, for further investigation.
3.3 The referral will be acknowledged within 5 days of receipt, and the Chair of the Board will aim to produce a decision within 20 days. If this is not possible, you will be told what is being done to deal with your complaint and when you can expect the reply.
3.4 If following this second response you remain dissatisfied, and if the nature of your complaint relates to funding received or not received, you can re-direct your complaint to the funding body, where this is appropriate.
- The Process - Other complaints
4.1 Complaints relating to any non-grant making issue will be dealt with by the CEO, and a response will be sent within 5 working days of receipt. If it is not possible to issue a full reply within this time – for instance, because a detailed investigation is required – we will tell you what is being done to deal with your complaint, when you can expect the full reply, and from whom. Again, all complaints will be notified to the Board of Trustees, so that they can monitor the action taken.
4.2 If you are not satisfied with the response from the CEO, you may ask for your complaint to be referred to the Chair of the Trustees.
4.3 Complaints will be acknowledged within 5 days of receipt, and the Chair of the Trustees will aim to produce a decision within 20 days. If this is not possible, you will be told what is being done to deal with your complaint and when you can expect the reply. Any decision will be final.
External stage
A complainant can complain to the Charity Commission at any stage. Information about the kind of complaints the Commission can involve itself in may be found on their website at: charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/cc47.aspx
