Here Katie Gillam, a Partner in our Private Client team at CooperBurnett LLP and Rachel Vinton, Senior Philanthropy Adviser at Kent Community Foundation, talk about how to support charities and the local community in our county.
Katie: Many of our clients in Kent talk to us about wanting to give back – not only in their Wills but through vehicles such as grants and trusts. How can Kent Community Foundation help?
Kent Community Foundation: We specialise in helping people to give strategically in Kent, especially with relatively small grants which have a big impact on local communities. We have a deep understanding of the landscape in Kent and Medway from over two decades of grant-making, with an unrivalled knowledge of charities and community groups within the county, meaning we can connect your clients with causes that perfectly align with their values and passions.
Katie: That’s interesting. Is there more than one way to give?
Kent Community Foundation: Absolutely. We offer a variety of options, which we talk through with our donors – or fund-holders as we prefer to call them. For us, it’s important that we deliver a flexible approach and service to giving through us in a way that suits the individual or family and maximises impact on those they’re looking to support. Setting up a charitable fund with Kent Community Foundation is an easy solution for your clients who want to give locally but don’t necessarily know where to do that.
Katie: Do funds go towards one particular cause or many different causes? We know some of our clients might be particularly keen to support certain charities, such as those involved in helping children or a charity based near them in the county.
Kent Community Foundation: We have a team whose responsibility it is to find, liaise and vet charities and community groups. They have exceptional knowledge of the voluntary sector and its services, so are well-placed to support our fund-holders in supporting one or many causes depending on their wishes and funding available.
Perhaps they care deeply about supporting those who are elderly and isolated, employability or maybe they want to specifically support people living with dementia or young carers.
Whatever an individual or family’s philanthropic wishes, we are here to make giving an enjoyable and fulfilling experience by finding, vetting and funding trust-worthy and impactful charitable organisations.
Katie: We’ve heard of donor-advised funds – is this the same?
Kent Community Foundation: No. What we offer is a different, more bespoke service based on our fund-holder's charitable objectives.
The difference in what we offer is the relationship between us and the fund-holder. We take time to present a selection of local organisations that meet their charitable objectives based on applications we receive from hundreds of local charitable groups each year. We talk them through the organisation’s impact in their local community and then they are given the ultimate decision about whether to fund them or not.
We take care of all the administrative and legal hassle of managing charitable giving and use our vast expertise to guide individuals and families who may be unsure of how to make the most of their giving or how to give, confident in the knowledge that donations will be used well with greatest effect. We so often find that after initial grant-making our fund-holders want to explore expanding their giving, such is the joy and reassurance they experience in giving through us.
Katie: Thanks so much, our conversation has been really interesting. Let's meet and discuss how you can help our clients support the local community.
Kent Community Foundation: We'd love to! We can certainly help your clients make a lasting impact on the causes they care most about, right here in Kent.
If you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact Katie Gillam by email: kjg@cooperburnett.com or tel: 01892 515022
This blog is not intended as legal advice that can be relied upon and CooperBurnett LLP does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of its contents.
