In this personal reflection, Martin Roberts, Trustee of Sussex Community Foundation, shares how his understanding of Sussex has grown over the past eight years, and why professional advisers have such an important role to play in connecting their clients with opportunities to support local communities.

10 years ago today, I was a partner with a large city law firm, commuting to London every day from Haywards Heath station (no working from home then!).

Although I had lived in the county for over 20 years, I knew very little about Sussex or the needs of its residents. I had no idea that Sussex includes 48 neighbourhoods which are in the 10% most deprived areas in England and which are home for 80,000 people.

For the last eight years I have been lucky enough to work alongside some fantastic people as a trustee of Sussex Community Foundation. I have been amazed by the work which the Foundation has done and continues to do to support the small Sussex charities and community groups which so vitally need our help.

The vital role of professional advisers

I have also seen just how much our Professional Adviser network has done and continues to do to connect us with possible future fundholders and donors.

Around 30% of our fundholders have been introduced to us by lawyers, accountants, wealth managers and financial planners.

As Professional Advisers, you have the unique privilege to talk to your clients about possible charitable giving and to offer your expert advice on the best route for them to achieve their personal objectives as part of their tax and estate planning strategy.

For those clients who have a Sussex connection and are in the fortunate position to give something back to the community in which they grew up or have lived for many years, Sussex Community Foundation could well be the answer.

Of course, many of you already know this and are good enough to mention the Foundation and point some of your clients in our direction.

Connecting local generosity with local need

For those who don’t know much about us, the Foundation is the largest grant making charity dedicated to Sussex.

We have £26 million under management (in our endowment fund) and over 100 family and corporate funds. We can connect local generosity with genuine need. We give an average of £2.5 million each year to over 300 Sussex based organisations, most of which are small, low profile and which your clients would quite probably have never heard of.

These organisations deal with a huge range of issues, from mental and physical health to social isolation and homelessness, from housing and the environment to youth clubs, older people’s lunch clubs, clothing recycling and food banks, from art and wellbeing clubs, sports and dance groups for those with disabilities to advice centres for those in need of help with energy bills or debt and much, much more.

We can suggest countless charities and community groups which do amazing work in the community, often with very limited resources. We can almost certainly identify groups operating in areas of need that match the specific interests or location of your clients.

Experience, knowledge and a practical way to give

We have 20 years’ experience of working in Sussex and have made grants totalling £40 million during that time. Our staff have a deep knowledge of the needs of Sussex people and the organisations which work tirelessly to meet them.

Setting up a Donor Advised Fund with the Foundation keeps your clients and their families at the heart of the decision making process, whilst also representing a low maintenance, low cost and tax efficient means of giving and putting something back into the community.

You can do more than you might think!

We are massively grateful the many of you who already include the Foundation in your thinking for clients who express an interest in supporting local causes. We really do need you!

As I come to the end of my time with the Foundation, may I urge all of you to continue to mention us to any of your clients who are looking to support Sussex based charities or community groups. We might not be the right vehicle for all of them, but we can offer objective guidance and would love to help you to help your clients where we can.

Whatever the outcome, we always welcome the opportunity to explain what we can offer.

Finally, to the many of you I have been fortunate to meet over the last few years, my very best wishes to you and your firms for the future.

To all of you, please carry on thinking of Sussex Community Foundation. It is a brilliant charity run by an amazing team of people.