BY DEBBIE JUKES
Donating matters
With an insatiable appetite to make people’s lives better, Equilibrium is about to launch its second charitable trust. Debbie Jukes asks Colin Lawson the reasons behind the new venture and his hopes for its future. You have The Equilibium Foundation, why do you need a second one? Our new framework is designed exclusively for donor advised funds (DAF) and will be open to clients, allowing them to make a tax efficient gift and then make recommendations as to how the money is used (see pages 10-11). It is a framework that requires limited liability protection and for the majority of the trustees to be independent. It will, of course, also have different aims and objectives to our foundation. By contrast, our current foundation was established to accept contributions from the partners of Equilibrium, our team members and our clients. The majority of the trustees are currently internal to Equilibrium and the foundation structure is such that it does not have limited liability protection.
What is the structure of the new entity? The charity will be established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This is a relatively new (introduced in 2013) type of legal format for a registered charity. The main benefits are that the charity has a ‘legal personality’ which allows it to enter contracts, sue and be sued, and hold property in its own name rather than in the name of the trustees. Its members have limited liability in the event the charity becomes insolvent. These benefits were previously only available to limited companies which require registration and filings with both Companies House and the Charities Commission. However, a CIO only needs to register and file returns with the Charities Commission, thereby reducing administration and bureaucracy.
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Who will the trustees be? Two of our existing clients have offered to take on the role of trustees, as well as external philanthropy consultant, Andrew Evans, founder of ‘Think Philanthropy’. I will be the trustee representing Equilibrium and we will also be appointing an additional independent trustee (who has experience either with
