Some projects sound immediately appealing. Others are equally important but harder to describe in a way that captures attention. They're the 'ugly ducklings' of the funding world: worthy, needed, but not always the first to find support.
One legacy donor, through their professional advisor Steven Appleton at Brabners, decided to do something unusual: they created a fund specifically for these projects.
A Fund of Last Resort
Our process is that charities apply for grants, we assess them and carry out due diligence, then we offer the strongest projects to donors whose giving priorities match.
It's an effective system, but it means there will always be applications that don't quite find their match - not because they're weak, but because they don't sound as immediately compelling as others.
This Trust Fund wanted to step in for exactly those projects. If an organisation was doing good work but couldn't find a donor match, this fund would support them. It was, in essence, a safety net for the overlooked.
Twenty-Nine Projects, Five Years
Over five years, the fund supported 29 projects with grants totalling over £130,000. The breadth was remarkable.
Debt advice services. Community Gardening. Gang prevention work in Warrington.
Clearing up alleyways in Crewe. Projects that might not have an obvious emotional hook but were meeting real needs in the community.
Each one had been through our assessment process, each one was doing solid, important work. And each one found support from a donor who trusted our judgment about what mattered.
Trust in Action
Setting up a fund with this ethos requires a particular kind of trust. The donor was essentially saying: "You see the applications, you do the due diligence, you know what's needed; I trust you to make good decisions on my behalf."
It's also a generous way of thinking about community. Not every cause captures the imagination in the same way, but people struggling with debt need help just as much as anyone else. Young people at risk of gang involvement deserve support. Communities benefit when everyone is included, not just those whose stories are easiest to tell.
“My client wanted to benefit deserving charitable causes in the local area but really didn’t know where to start or what she should fund. She said she trusted us to do the work for her and finding CCF was in turn was a blessing for the trustees because we knew how diligently they approach their due diligence. Although my client wasn’t around to see where the funds ended up, I know she would have been delighted with the outcomes.”
Steven Appleton, Brabners
The Beauty of Flexibility
This fund shows another side of legacy giving through a Community Foundation. When writing your will you can be specific about your charitable interests, certainly. But you could also be broad, trusting local expertise to direct your gift where it will make a real difference.
This donor never knew which 29 projects their fund would support; they didn't need to.
They knew we would find the causes that needed help and deserved it, even if they were the ones others had passed over.
It's a lovely legacy: a fund that said yes when others said no.
This October is Wills Month. If you'd like to discuss how a gift in your will could support causes you care about in Cheshire, please get in touch with our team.
