Remember a Charity Week 9-15 September

“Remember A Charity Week” is an opportunity for charities to come together and encourage more people to consider leaving gifts in Wills, after taking care of family and loved ones.

It is estimated that around 70% of the £2billion left to charity each year goes to charities with a turnover of £10million or more. Smaller, grassroots projects, making a fantastic difference locally are missing out and this is where the Kent Community Foundation team steps in to ensure that grants are reaching the projects in Kent and Medway, which might otherwise struggle for support.

One example of how leaving a gift in your will can benefit so many is The Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund, which is managed by Kent Community Foundation and has since 2015 distributed over £100,000 across 28 local children’s groups and charities in Kent.

The Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund was created in memory of Thanet businessman Albert Burns who left instructions in his Will for his legal advisors Boys & Maughan Solicitors to create a legacy for children, to support smaller, local charities that don’t have the resources of the larger children’s charities.

Ian Priston, Boys & Maughan Solicitors, said,

“Kent Community Foundation has enabled us to establish a significant legacy fund that will continue to benefit local communities for years to come and a means to reach out to many more Kent children’s charities than would have been possible if we had attempted to manage the trust independently.”

Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said,

“The Kent Community Foundation team are experts in local community need in Kent, having given out more than £35 million in grants to thousands of organisations across Kent and Medway since 2001. Rather than being a drop in the ocean, your gift could be a lifesaver to our local Kent ad Medway community groups, many of which are volunteer led. After making provision for your loved ones, perhaps you would consider helping redress the balance and benefitting your community by remembering Kent Community Foundation in your will.”

Charities, community groups and voluntary organisations The Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund have supported include; Pegasus PlayScheme, Louie’s Helping Hands, Demelza Hospice Care for Children, It’s My Life Fund, The Folkestone Youth Project, Thanet Disabled Riding Centre, Church Street Community Project, Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, Stagecatz, Thanet Community Forest School and more.

How you can help a charity with Kent Community Foundation

By making a general gift to Kent Community Foundation in your Will, you in turn could be helping hundreds of local causes. Simply name Kent Community Foundation (registered charity no. 1084361) as a beneficiary in your will.

Donations are typically invested as an endowment fund and the income distributed each year as grants, meaning that the gift provides long-lasting benefit for generations to come. Kent Community Foundation can accept gifts of shares, property or investments, as well as cash donations.

Find out more here: www.kentcf.org.uk/give/legacy-giving