David and Heather Stevens used half their shareholding in the Cardiff-based
Admiral insurance business to create the Waterloo Foundation, one of the
biggest charitable donations of the past year.
Heather Stevens says: “David and I thought we should not let our pile of good
intentions get any higher and decided to move a chunk of our Admiral shares
into an entity that would enable us to be more efficient and more
effective.”
Operating locally, nationally and globally, the foundation will have four main
theatres of operation:
- The developing world. Money has already been committed to Oxfam and WaterAid
- Climate change. It will tackle environmental issues and seek sustainable
solutions
- Children’s development/adult mental health.
- The local community in Wales. Support has already been given to the
international visual arts festival, Artes Mundi.
Giving made easy
For more than 30 years, CAF (the Charities Aid Foundation) has been seeking to
make donating to charity simple, effective and, above all, fulfilling.
The charity aims to empower people to become more engaged with their giving –
to feel they can make a real difference to the world. Many of the new
movement of wealthy philanthropists are investing in a CAF trust, which
enables them to support causes both at home and on an international scale.
CAF helps to distribute about £300m annually across six continents. Several
members of one very wealthy family use their trust accounts to support a
range of international causes, from substance abuse projects in the West
Indies to worldwide education and human rights campaigns.
Donors who have smaller amounts to give can do so through credit card
donations and, for those who wish to commit to more regular giving, payroll
giving or the CAF Charity Account. Call 01732 520 163 or go to www.cafonline.org
Rowling riches go to the aid of children
A photograph and article in The Sunday Times in 2004 persuaded Harry Potter
author Joanne Rowling that she had to do something about the thousands of
children living in caged beds in institutions across eastern Europe.
She says: “At first glance all I saw was the distorted face of a little boy
staring through wire mesh. He looked deeply distressed, as though he was
screaming. I had half-turned the page before shame stopped me.” It led
directly to the launch last year of the Children’s High Level Group, of
which she is one of four trustees.
Rowling has pledged to give a “substantial” portion of her £545m fortune to
its work to bring children in state care in these countries back into the
community. Her inclusion in this year’s Giving List, ranked 16th, is based
on the reported £22m she raised for Comic Relief through donations and the
gift of royalties from two short Harry Potter books.
It’s payback for Petchey
Jack Petchey, who built his fortune through investments in businesses,
property and timeshare, has said he wants to give away the bulk of it before
he dies.
He has poured £20.8m into the Jack Petchey Foundation in the past 12 months,
in addition to the £8.3m given out in fresh grants to schools, youth clubs
and other projects for young people aged 11 to 25 in London and Essex.
“He feels life has been good to him,” says Andrew Billington, foundation
director, “and he wants to give back to the community in which he has worked
and lived.”
Petchey has commitments of £150m to school and youth programmes over the next
decade. Everything from scouts, guides and sea cadets to programmes for
public speaking, dancing, entrepreneurial skills and study support have
benefited from his largesse.
$50m gift to university
In making their gift of $50m (£25m) to the University of North Carolina’s
School of Public Health two months ago, Dr Dennis Gillings and his wife Joan
placed education at the centre of their philanthropic work.
They are not alone. Many of the biggest givers in the UK acknowledge the role
education plays in opening up opportunities to children of all backgrounds.
The gift from London-born Gillings, who made his £250m fortune from the
American pharmaceuticals firm Quintiles Transnational, will fund the
creation of innovation laboratories to solve public health problems. At
home, the government has mined a rich seam of educational philanthropy
through its city academies programme.
Sir Peter Vardy, Robert Edmiston, John Madejski, Roger De Haan, Adrian
Beecroft and Rod Aldridge are just a handful of those who have signed up.
Meanwhile, Sir James Dyson has given £12.5m to meet half the costs of building
the Dyson School of Design Innovation in Bath, a state school for pupils
aged 14-18.
