THE GRASSROOTS ENDOWMENT MATCH CHALLENGE

Help us release

Over £860,759 in government money for the London boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Haringey, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

Set up your own Grassroots Endowment Fund with East London Community Foundation before March 2011 and the Government will add

an extra 100% in match funding

With tax relief the value of your gift could increase

by up to 336%

boosting your capacity to help the local grassroots good causes you want to support.

HOW?

The Government has allocated £860,759 to Barking & Dagenham, Haringey, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest for charitable endowment funds – but we can only access it as matched funding for private or charitable money placed in charitable endowment funds with us by no later than March 2011.

Whether you are a local individual, company or charity, you can help us to help the local communities in each of these boroughs to access all of the money in the ‘pot’ by setting up your own charitable endowment fund with East London Community Foundation.

Right now, any donation or pledge made into an endowment fund for our area up to a maximum of £215,189 over two years, will receive 100 % government match. So, for every £1 you donate, an extra £1 is added, helping even more projects touch local lives.


On successful completion, the challenge will mean that local communities are supported by a £1.72 million investment, providing grants to meet local needs today and always. You can help us make sure that this funding is secured for our East and North East London.


So, if you are able, please do take advantage of this opportunity to make your philanthropy go even further and help local people today and tomorrow.

 

What is a Grassroots endowment fund?

Just like East London Community Foundation’s existing ‘named’ endowment fund model, the Grassroots version allows you freedom to achieve your charitable objectives through grants made from your fund, with East London Community Foundation taking care of all the administration.

In order to encourage new endowed funds – to provide long-term support to strengthen communities at the local level and address deprivation and social need – the Government is providing £860,759 of extra financial support for endowment building in our 5 borough area exclusively to East London Community Foundation to be drawn down by 2011.

There is a maximum amount that one fund holder can claim and an overall limit to the area’s allocation of matched funding, so to take advantage of this offer you will need to act quickly, as money will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

 

What are the conditions for receiving Government challenge money?

The Grassroots Endowment Challenge scheme has four conditions that must be met for your donation to be eligible for the Grassroots Match Challenge:

  • The fund must be endowed – ideal for supporting change over the long-term your donation is invested to produce an income that can be used year after year to make grants
  • Grants must be made to small, local (grassroots) voluntary and community groups and organisations. East London Community Foundation specialises in this area, helping you support local people whose commitment to changing lives is inhibited only by lack of finance.
  • Your charitable objectives must be broadly based so that a wide range of groups or projects can benefit (eg: youth, elders, environment, the arts)
  • You may choose the name and identity of your fund, but it must include the word ‘Grassroots’ and in East London Community Foundation’s report and accounts the Government’s contribution must be acknowledged.

 

How does it work?

We will set up and invest your Grassroots Endowment Fund for you using experienced fund managers. There is no red-tape or complicated legal requirements for you to deal with, just a letter of agreement with us.

It is then up to you how much involvement you want in the grant-making decisions – but hands-on or hands-off, you can rely on our in-depth local knowledge to ensure that your money will have maximum impact for the good causes you want to support. Gifts of cash, shares and legacies received during the period are all eligible for match funding.

 

Examples:

Example 1

An individual donor wants to make a one off donation of £40,000:

  • Initial donation £40,000
  • Less - Higher rate tax relief (reclaimed) £12,000
  • Net cost to donor £30,769
  • Add - Gift Aid and transitional relief of £ 11,282
  • With Gift Aid the value of the gift to us is £51,282
  • Add Grassroots Match Challenge: 100% of initial donation + Gift Aid, giving a Grassroots fund balance £103, 564

Example 2

A couple wish to set up a named fund together. Each are prepared to pledge an annual donation of £1,700 each:

  • Each pledges an annual donation £1,700 x 3 years
  • Less - Higher rate tax relief (reclaimed) £392 p.a. x 3 years
  • Net cost to each donor £1308 p.a. x 3 years
  • Add - Gift Aid and transitional relief of £479 x 3 years
  • With Gift Aid the value of each annual gift to us is £2,833 p.a. and over three years, £8,499 before the Match Challenge
  • Add Grassroots Match Challenge : 100% of annual donation, giving an annual Grassroots fund balance of £4,250 which over over three years amounts to £12,750
  • The couple will have each pledged a total of £3,924 and together created a named fund worth £25,500.

That is over 336% of the net cost to the donor.

 

How can I find out more?

If you’d like to discuss setting up a Grassroots Endowment Fund, please contact Jessica Wanamaker, by e-mail or call 0300 303 1203.

For examples of the varied projects that we have funded so far see Grassroots 2008.

East London Community Foundation was selected as the only charity eligible to receive Grassroots Endowment Challenge Fund locally thanks to our skills in grant making and fund holding and our unrivalled knowledge and expertise in identifying local good causes that really need your support.

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