Page 15 - July 2019

WCOFF CHARITABLE TRUST
Education. As this Committee no longer exists, the Charitable Trust has undertaken this role, and this is now well embedded in normal Charitable Trust business. The Board are grateful for the work completed by Dr David Crowder who leads on this item for the Trustees, and has achieved a lasting liaison with Higher Education Establishments around the United Kingdom. This has led to the award of £1k and a framed certificate to each of three gratuate candidate namely John Smith – Glasgow Caledonian University, David Reed- University of Wolverhampton and Katherine Haggerty University of Portsmouth, two of whom attended the Massey Shaw Dinner in March 2019. The dissertations will shortly be available on the Company website. We have already received a dissertation from a candidate from Portsmouth University for this year, which is being evaluated and more are expected to follow. Within the Trustee Board, there is a panel from a wide cross-section of experience who assess graduate submissions before the Board make a final award decision.
In the past two years the Trustees have made a Grant of £6k to Fire Aid, where UK Firefighters trained and delivered a package of Emergency Response and Planning to colleagues in Macedonia through the Joint
have placed them in good stead when interacting with the mutli- cultural communities in which they serve throughout the world.
Challenges for the Charitable Trust Board
There are a number of ongoing items that the Trustees are currently tackling these include:
Income
The Trust has been fortunate to enjoy regular income for many years from the Charitable Ball, now no longer, and from the City Dinner, which following a takeover of the sponsor is not an option going forward. Therefore, whilst the balance sheet shows £74k in non-Capital Funds and £381k in the Capital Investments (the latter excellently managed by JM Finn), the income in this Financial Year has been limited so far to £22k of which £19k was generated from the City Dinner 2018. Whilst the Trust is still in a healthy position to continue its work this will not last forever and other income opportunities have to be assessed and actioned soon. The Board also intend to re-evaluate Membership giving and allied Gift Aid arrangements which have not been reviewed for over twelve years as an element of the future medium-term income planning.
Charitable Incorporation
After two years of preparation I am pleased to report the Charitable Trust has received Charitable Incorporation from the Charities Commission, which in simplicity means the Trustees have the same protection as those of PLC and Limited Company Directors. However, there are considerable hurdles and legalities to be completed in transferring as examples, assets and governance
from the existing charity to the new arrangements. The Board following a Competitive Tendering Exercise appointed Stone-King Solicitors to act on the Trust’s behalf and for Jeremy Beech with his long-standing experience to lead on this issue. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jeremy for his continuing work on this important matter and to Steven Tamcken, Stephen Sanders and Ian Parlane who are involved in setting up new financial arrangements for managing future Charitable Trust’s accounts.
Liaison with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Fire Cadets - I am currently in consultation with the Coordinator of the NFCC’s Fire Cadets to explore future arrangements for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) over recommendations for Grants for individual Fire Cadet Schemes.
Communications
In reviewing the Charitable Trust operations it is clear we need improvement in our communications and engagement particularly with the membership of the Company. The Trustee Board is to evaluate ways to improve communicating the work and achievements of the Board and updating the website in the near future.
In closing it is a privilege and honour to be Chair of the Charitable Trust and I thank all of the Trustees for their support and efforts in what continues to be a challenging and changing environment.
Services Inter- Programme and
Emergency
operability
£10k for Women in the Fire Service who have been active in Women’s Tented Refugee Camps in Lebanon where a number of fires had resulted in loss of life. The Educational and Cultural experiences of the Firefighters delivering these programmes
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Graham Maltby QFSM
Chair of the Charitable Trust