Every charity should have a clear vision

So you want to set up a charitable trust.

You’ve been fortunate and you now want to give something back to society; to improve the lot of those who do not share your advantages; to show your gratitude to people who have made a difference to your life; to instil in your children a sense of your own charitable values or for any one of a number of good reasons. The desire to give something back is hard wired in us and should be celebrated.

What should now be important to you is to make sure that your philanthropy has the maximum impact and to do that you need to be clear about what it is that you want to achieve.

Too many charitable trusts are set up focusing on how they will effect change. For example there are many whose purpose is to support other generic classes of charities such as Children’s Charities or Veterans’ Charities, but with little thought about the impact that they want to have. They focus on the “how” without first having asked “why”.

Many successful people are now following the Gates Pledge and giving away significant parts of their wealth to charity. These donors are increasingly applying the same rigor to their giving as they have applied to their businesses and this in turn is leading to new forms of entrepreneurial philanthropy and partnership working focused on how best to achieve the good that they want to do.

Every charity should have a clear vision about what it is trying to achieve. lt is only by having such a vision that the trustees can decide what strategies to adopt to further it; what partnerships might be beneficial (including which other organisations might be better able to implement some of the strategies) and what success may look like. This vision will also help establish what skill set is needed among the trustee group.

Without a vision a charitable trust could eventually become a rudderless ship drifting from cause to cause, no doubt doing good but not making the real difference that should become your generosity. You have worked hard to make your money. You are entitled to expect it to work hard for your cause.