Triumph of common sense: unlocking dormant charity funds

A charity set up by the founder of Triumph Motorcycles could point the way for councils to unlock funds for community projects, says Chris West.

You may have missed it, but back in August the government published its Civil Society Strategy, which encompassed among other things a commitment to try to unlock funds trapped in dormant or inactive charities.

There is a particular local government angle to this.

Many councils have, over the years, become responsible for charities, either directly as the trustee, or for appointing trustees and administering the charity.

Typically, these are charities with endowment funds which exist to make charitable awards to local people or organisations in line with the charity’s objectives.

Many of these charities are now inactive or dormant – indeed current officers and members may not even be aware of their existence.

Low interest rates have meant that the annual income for many of these charities is low, and councils often no longer have the resources or time to administer them.

In anticipation of the government strategy back in July, CCLA sponsored some work to encourage councils to identify and unlock these funds, and bring the revenues back into action to make a difference in local communities – as was intended by their founders.

A guide has been produced to assist councils in the process.

The work was supported and endorsed by the Charity Commission, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Local Government Association, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, Lawyers in Local Government and umbrella body UK Community Foundations.

It is pretty rare to get this gaggle of bodies to agree about anything – so it must be a good idea.

The guide is self-explanatory – but in essence encourages councils to work with their local community foundations to get these funds back into use.

Community foundations are charities that exist to join funding streams up to needy causes at the grass roots level.

They have the scale, structures, skills and experience to take over the management of these funds and get them working again in partnership with councils.

This whole approach costs councils nothing and can extract them from the responsibilities they currently have for these charities.

They can also continue to exercise influence over the funds in future – for example by council nominees helping to make decisions on awards of funding. It’s a win-win outcome.

I have been involved in all this from several angles: as a council nominated trustee of a tiny and ineffective charity, in my previous role as finance director at Coventry, as a trustee of the Heart of England Community Foundation and working with CCLA to produce and promote the guide.

So I have seen this work, and helped make it happen – for example – the Annie Bettmann Foundation

Siegfried Bettmann was a German entrepreneur involved in the cycle, motorcycle and car industry in Coventry in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, where he established a company you may have heard of: Triumph Motorcycles.

He also played a prominent role in civic society, and was mayor in 1913.

In 1914, he and his wife Annie established the Annie Bettmann Foundation to provide loans or grant to adults in the city wanting to set up in business.

Trustees to the fund were appointed by the city council.

By 2017 the fund was becoming inactive, and difficult for the trustees and the council to continue to administer.

Although its endowment fund was significant at around £250,000, the annual income generated was not, and the costs and burden of administration were becoming prohibitive.

There had been no awards of funds to beneficiaries for some years

The trustees have worked with the city council and the Heart of England Community Foundation to transfer the charity to the foundation, who are bringing it back into operation.

My objective is to use the funds to support some new creative arts businesses that will spring up as Coventry heads towards being UK City of Culture in 2021 – I’m still working on this last bit.

It’s great to think that profits made by Triumph Motorcycles in Coventry in the early 20^th century can help meet the needs of the city today.

You may already know about some charities in your council that would benefit from this, and if not colleagues in the legal department or your local community foundation should know.

Transfers can be pretty quick and easy – the guide explains all.

The sums of money involved are likely to be small but can be targeted.

It won’t help balance the budget, but it will put something back into communities.

Well worth a few minutes to assess the potential in your council. And well worth getting to know more about your local community foundation and how you might be able to work together.

Give it a go!

And on a totally unrelated note, Dawn Reeves has a new book coming out about Town Halls – get a copy if you can.

Chris West is director at Chris West Consultancy Services