Policies of the Howard Watson Symington Memorial Charity (512708)
Introduction
The Charity is governed by a conveyance dated 2nd July 1946 as amended by a scheme of the Charity Commission dated 29th September 1981 as amended by a scheme of the Charity Commission dated 22nd December 2009.
“The objects of the Charity are to further such charitable purposes for the general benefit of the inhabitants in the area of benefit in one or more of the following ways, or in such ways as the trustee sees fit:
- in relieving persons who are in need, hardship or distress;
- in relieving persons who are sick
- in providing and supporting with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants in the interests of social welfare, facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation; and
- in providing and supporting educational facilities.”
The ‘area of benefit’ is the former Urban District of Market Harborough which in practice means Market Harborough, Great Bowden and Little Bowden.
Administration
- Number of trustees – minimum of 5
- Appointment of trustees – by existing trustees
- Tenure of appointment – 3 years + 3 years with a further 1 year maximum
- Initial tenures: Roger Dunton & Andrew Granger: 1+3+1, John Feavyour and Sarah Hill: 2+3+1, Pamela Roberts: 3+3+1 to run from the first annual meeting.
- Annual meeting – First after the start of June
- Trustee Meetings – Notionally monthly, minimum 4 per year
- Agenda – Conflicts of interest, Minutes, Matters arising, Finance, Grant applications, Other, Date of next meeting
- Quorum for Trustee Meetings– 3
- Finance committee – 3 trustees; Meetings as required; quorum – 2
- Decisions at all meetings – majority of attendees, Chairman with additional vote if required
- Decisions outside meetings – email minimum – 3
- Applications will be considered by application form or otherwise. The amount of detail required in an application will be commensurate with the amount of grant being sought
- The policies and documents of the Charity will by default be published on the website.
Safeguarding
The Charity trustees understand their responsibilities consistent with the advice from the Charity Commission to:
- provide a safe and trusted environment recognising that safeguarding involves a duty of care to everyone who comes into contact with the Charity, not just vulnerable beneficiaries like children and young people
- set an organisational culture that prioritises safeguarding, so it is safe for people to report incidents and concerns knowing they will be dealt with appropriately
- have adequate safeguarding policies, procedures and measures to protect people and make sure these are made public, reviewed regularly and kept up to date
- handle incidents as they arise; report them to the relevant authorities including the police and the Charity Commission; learn from mistakes and put in place the relevant mechanisms to stop them happening again.
The Charity operates primarily at arm’s length from beneficiaries, considering applications for support based on written material, printed or electronic. Nevertheless, trustees occasionally meet applicants as part of an application process or as part of a follow-up to a successful grant, and they are committed to meeting the expectations set out by the Charity Commission outlined above.
Privacy notice
The Charity collects data about identifiable individuals – personal data – within application forms that are submitted for the consideration of grants. This data, along with other information contained in the application, is stored in paper form and in a secure area on-line as part of the Charity’s website.
The information, including personal data where relevant, is shared with the trustees of the Charity to enable consideration of the application. Personal data is not shared with anyone else without the explicit permission of the individual concerned.
The Charity collects and processes personal data because it has a legitimate interest to do so. It’s constitution ‘to further such charitable purposes’ as set out in its constitution means that trustees have to engage with those who might benefit from support. The use of personal data for these purposes, and no other purpose, is what applicants would expect their information to be used for.
The details of organisational applicants who are awarded grants will have their project or initiative publicised on the Charity website and made available to the media. The trustees believe that such publicity is appropriate and entirely consistent with the pubic benefit requirement that they are required to consider.
The details of individual applicants who are awarded grants will not have their personal details publicised without their explicit consent. Details of the type of support provided may be used in an anonymous way to illustrate where funding has gone and to encourage others who might benefit from similar awards.
Version 2
11/06/2018