Sussex Professional Advisers – We need you!

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.

20 Years, 20 Voices: Tracey Payne

20 Years, 20 Voices celebrates the people, charities, donors and partners who have helped shape Sussex Community Foundation over the past two decades.

Tracey Payne is Managing Director of Herbert Scott, an independent financial planning firm based in Lewes and one of Sussex Community Foundation's long-standing professional adviser partners. She shares why conversations about charitable giving are becoming an increasingly important part of financial planning, and how working with the Foundation helps clients give locally with confidence.

Looking beyond wealth

For Tracey, financial planning is about much more than investments and pensions. It’s about helping people use their wealth to live the life they want and leave the legacy they choose.

"We genuinely want our clients to enjoy their money," she says. "We ask them why they've saved it, or why they've inherited it. What would make them happy? Some people want to do fantastic holidays, some want to pass it down to family, and for others, charitable giving becomes a really rewarding conversation."

Rather than treating philanthropy as a separate discussion, Herbert Scott sees it as part of holistic financial planning.

"We wouldn't dream of talking to clients without discussing pensions, investments or tax planning," Tracey explains. "So why wouldn't we also mention charitable giving?"

Helping clients give with confidence

Those conversations don't happen immediately. Instead, they develop once advisers understand a client's goals, values and long-term plans.

"It's usually when we've completed their onboarding process and come up with a strategy," says Tracey. "By then, we've learned what their goals and objectives are and whether charitable giving is something they want to explore."

For many clients, particularly those considering inheritance planning, giving offers the opportunity to decide where their wealth can make a difference.

"People often tell us they don't want to save every penny of tax, because the country needs it," she says. "But once they realise they can choose where some of that money goes instead, it opens up a really positive conversation about the causes they care about."

Why local giving matters

While clients support a wide range of causes, Tracey believes many are keen to make a difference close to home.

"I think people do want to see the benefit of giving in their own communities," she says.

For Herbert Scott, partnering with Sussex Community Foundation makes those conversations easier.

"It takes away at lot of the legwork," she explains. " The Foundation knows the local charity landscape, carries out all the due diligence and introduces clients to organisations they would probably never have discovered on their own. They’re also part of the UKCF network of 47 Community Foundation, which gives me even more confidence.”

That means advisers can confidently connect clients with trusted opportunities to support local communities.

Responding to changing financial planning

Tracey has also seen charitable giving become increasingly relevant as changes to inheritance tax rules bring more families into estate planning conversations.

“Some of our clients like feeling in control of where their money is going and this leads easily into conversations about charitable giving. For some clients, it's about leaving a legacy. For others, it's about making a difference during their lifetime and seeing the impact while they're still here."

A trusted partner for advisers

For Tracey, the Foundation has become a natural extension of the service Herbert Scott offers its clients.

"It's an additional service that helps us achieve what clients want," she says. "This is what Sussex Community Foundation does every day. Why should our clients know about every local charity when they don't need to? That's your expertise."

She also believes the partnership reflects positively on advisers.

"It shows we're putting our clients first, not simply focusing on the wealth we're managing," she says. "If I was talking to another adviser, I'd ask why they wouldn't work with Sussex Community Foundation. I can only see a positive response to it."

Find out more

Are you a professional advisor with a client who wants to give back to their community? Find the most efficient and effective route to achieving your client’s philanthropic goals with help from Sussex Community Foundation.

20 Years, 20 Voices: Carina Bauer

20 Years, 20 Voices celebrates the people, charities, donors and partners who have helped shape Sussex Community Foundation over the past two decades.

Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group, established the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Fund at the Foundation in 2020, bringing together businesses, charities and local partners to tackle homelessness in a more strategic and collaborative way.

From funding research and strengthening partnerships to investing in projects that prevent homelessness and help people rebuild their lives, the fund has demonstrated the power of local philanthropy.

Focussing on homelessness

Carina Bauer and her colleagues at IMEX knew from the beginning they wanted to focus on supporting people experiencing homelessness in Brighton & Hove.

"We saw the problem of homelessness growing in the city," Carina says. “And we were already supporting charities like The Clock Tower Sanctuary, so we approached them to say, what could we do that's a bit more strategic?"

That conversation led to the creation of the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Fund.

"At the beginning, we offered to fund a project that brought together all the local research that had been done in different places," she explains.

The findings highlighted several priorities for the sector, including strengthening the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Network (HRSN), which helps charities collaborate more effectively across Brighton & Hove.

"For us, that made complete sense," Carina says. "Our business is about bringing people together. We know collaboration works.”

Funding change

The research shaped the fund's approach, focusing investment on projects that could create lasting change rather than immediate crisis support alone.

"We decided we wanted to fund projects at two ends of the funnel - either preventative, stopping people from becoming homeless, or to help people get out of homelessness," she says.

Carina reveals that the most impactful work isn't always the most visible.

"Sometimes it's about research and data. Sometimes it's about planning a funding application for possible new homes, or a network. We put our funding into the types of projects which have more long-term aims."

A partnership built on trust

Carina credits Sussex Community Foundation with making the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Fund both practical and flexible.

"We had a good referral because it was somebody we trusted at the Council," she says. "I like the fact that the Foundation can be very flexible with the fund. We can shape the priorities we care about and stay involved in decisions, but we don't have to manage the administration, due diligence and impact measurement."

"I never wanted it to be a fund about IMEX and our business," Carina explains. "The longer-term idea is a fund that is self-perpetuating through multiple donors of people and businesses who are interested in supporting homelessness charities in the city."

Small changes that create lasting impact

One recent highlight came at a partnership event where charities shared the impact of projects supported by the fund.

"When you look at the big picture, the statistics are so big and the issues are so complex," she says. "But then you fund a programme like SPARC delivered by Brighton Housing Trust, and you've helped eight people who’ve experienced homelessness get apprenticeships and develop their skills. It seems like a small number, but for those eight people, that's life changing."

The role businesses can play

Carina believes investing in local communities is a responsibility for businesses.

"I think it's a fundamental responsibility. If you are a business, you should invest back into the community where you're based."

She sees it as part of a long tradition of businesses contributing to the places where they operate.

"If you look at the businesses of old – Cadbury, Bournville, Rowntree, Wedgwood – all these old British businesses who built communities and built fantastic lives for the communities where their factories were."

Carina also wants businesses to know that giving locally is more accessible than many people realise.

"People sometimes assume you need to give hundreds of thousands of pounds to set up a fund, but that's not the case. Choose an issue you care about and start. Or join an existing fund if that makes more sense. You don't have to create something from scratch to make a real difference."

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, Carina hopes the fund will attract a more diverse group of supporters.

"I'd like us to attract a diversified group of funders, so that we can increase the amount in the fund," she says.

But it's about more than raising money. She hopes to build stronger links between businesses and charities, with companies sharing skills and expertise as well as funding.

"I think there are a lot of great people and businesses in Brighton that would like to do more for their community," she says. "It's just how do we match them and really get them working."

For Carina, the key is commitment.

"The effort for small and large charities to fundraise year to year, day to day, is enormous. If you can give some certainty to a charity, it means that they can do better work."

Her advice to anyone thinking about giving is simple:

"If you want to really make a difference in an area, you've got to do it over the long term. Pick your area and commit to it for a few years, rather than chopping and changing every year."

Reflections on twenty years of Sussex Community Foundation

As I prepare to hand over to the next Chief Executive, I reflect on a journey that has been humbling and inspiring. What began as a bold vision in 2004 has grown into a powerful force for good.

Where it all began

When he founded the charity, the 10th Duke of Richmond said “It is, in my view, a scandal that there are areas in Sussex which are in the bottom 20% of national measures of social deprivation. At the same time, when local people or companies think of giving to charity they tend to think of large national bodies, because little is known about the small community groups on their doorsteps,”

“Sussex Community Foundation has been set up to bridge this gap and to make it easy for local people and companies to give to local communities. The Foundation can make a significant difference to local quality of life. This is about local communities working together for the welfare of all for many years to come.”

That founding vision has guided everything we’ve done since. From day one, we aimed to inspire local giving to meet local needs, to give grants to address issues of today, while building an endowment to support communities of the future. At the heart of everything was a commitment to building lasting, open and trusting relationships with our donors and with communities.

Growing philanthropy for Sussex

The early years were shaped by remarkable generosity. Our founder donors believed in the idea before there was an office or any staff. Their support enabled me to begin in January 2006 as the Foundation’s first Chief Executive - an honour I have never taken for granted.

Over two decades, with the help of donors, partners, trustees, staff and hundreds of community organisations, we have built a home for philanthropy in Sussex.

We grew our endowment from the very first £1,000 gifts from the Lords Lieutenant of East & West Sussex to £28m today. The Government’s Grassroots Grants and Community First Endowment match challenges proved that endowment giving is attractive to the right donors.

We earned a reputation as a trusted, responsive and effective grant maker - and we demonstrated that philanthropy, when done thoughtfully, has the power to change lives at scale.

There have been major milestones along the way, substantial legacy gifts, transfers from dormant charities, and the creation of long-lasting funds like Rampion, Lawson Trust and Brighton & Hove Legacy Fund. These were the result of our relentless focus on patient relationship building and being ready to help at the right time for each donor. 

Responding when Sussex needed us most

Nothing demonstrated the power of that approach more than the Sussex Crisis Fund. When lockdown hit in 2020, our team moved with speed. Within days, we were giving out grants. Within weeks, we became a central channel for Covid‑19 emergency support in Sussex. What followed - an extraordinary doubling of our grants output - showcased the value of deep trust, strong local knowledge and being able to mobilise both immediate and long‑term funding.

That year reminded us that community foundations exist not just to respond to crises, but to help communities build the resilience to weather them.

Adapting, learning and looking ahead

Like many charities, we’ve faced challenges in recent years: a shifting economic landscape, reduced public funding, and more cautious corporate and individual giving.

Last year, we reorganised our team, aiming to continue growing sustainably, to deepen donor relationships and to champion the vital role of local communities in addressing inequality.

The launch of our Women & Girls Fund this month is a perfect symbol of that future: strategic, collaborative, rooted in local need, and focused on long‑term impact.

What matters most: community – and people!

Over twenty years, one belief has only grown stronger for me: small local charities and community groups are the bedrock of social change.

They have always been the heart of our mission. They empower people. They bring neighbours together. They make Sussex fairer, stronger and more equal. And they rely on the generosity and commitment of donors, businesses and charitable trusts who recognise that local giving transforms local lives.

We measure our outputs in big numbers - £28 million endowment, £38 million given in grants, 3,500 charities supported – but people are the real story. Every grant given goes to people who organise together to improve people’s lives, every pound given comes from an individual who cares about Sussex, and standing between is our amazing, committed and skilled team of staff and trustees.

A personal note of thanks

It has been the privilege of my professional life to help build Sussex Community Foundation. I’ve had the honour of working with extraordinary people who understand that philanthropy is about far more than money - it is about values, relationships and vision.

I hand over to the next Chief Executive confident that the spirit that created Sussex Community Foundation twenty years ago is alive and well: a belief that Sussex thrives when we all play a part.

To our donors: continue to give boldly, flexibly and with curiosity.

To our charity partners: continue to challenge us, guide us and trust us - we exist for you.

To the next Chief Executive and to everyone supporting the Foundation: nurture relationships, stay rooted in community, and keep the bridge strong between generosity and need.

The next twenty years hold extraordinary potential. I cannot wait to see what you will achieve together.

What modern philanthropy tells us – and why it matters here in Sussex

The latest research from The Beacon Collaborative and Barclays Private Bank makes for really interesting reading – shining some light (and some hard data!) on how people with significant resources are choosing to give, what motivates them, and what kind of support they need to maximise the impact of their giving.

Giving is growing - but donors want clarity and confidence

The research backs up what those of us in the philanthropy sector already know – there is a huge amount of generosity in our country, with 93% of the UK’s wealthiest individuals already giving to charity and contributing an estimated £11.4 billion in 2024. Yet the research also shows that many of these donors lack access to trusted, knowledgeable advice on how to give effectively and efficiently. For us at Sussex Community Foundation, this reinforces something we hear often: people want to help, but they don’t always know where their support will make the biggest difference.

Supporting philanthropy in Sussex

Here in Sussex, we’re proud to play a role as a local philanthropic partner. We help donors give with confidence that their resources are reaching grassroots organisations that are doing vital work – whether they are local food banks, mentoring for disadvantaged young people, singing groups which combat loneliness for older people, or providing vital support for disabled adults. We are in constant dialogue with people running local community groups, gathering insights to share with donors, so their giving is purposeful, not just well-intentioned. And we use the latest data, like our Sussex Uncovered reports, to highlight where the need is greatest.  

The role of professional advisors

Recent research from CAF, The Philanthropy Advantage, also shows that up to two-thirds of high-net-worth (HNW) giving happens without financial advice, and only around a third of HNW donors have talked about the tax efficiency of their giving in the past two years. This suggests that a significant portion of charitable giving could be even more effective with the right guidance.

Advisors play a crucial role. 81% of wealthy donors believe professional advisors should proactively raise philanthropy as part of wider financial planning. It’s encouraging to see this recognised, because values-led giving isn’t separate from the decisions people make about their wealth – it’s often central to them.

That’s why the Foundation invests so much time in working with financial planners, solicitors and accountants across Sussex. We help advisors introduce their clients to meaningful, place-based giving opportunities, whether that’s through a legacy, a Donor Advised Fund, or long-term endowment giving. Over the last few years, we’ve seen this network grow significantly. Advisors tell us they value having a trusted, local partner they can turn to, and donors tell us they value the opportunity to invest in the place they call home.

A hopeful future for giving

The most hopeful message in the research is this: people want their giving to be more thoughtful, more strategic and more connected to their values. And they are looking for guidance. That presents a huge opportunity, not just for donors and advisors, but for communities across Sussex.

Connecting people and place

At the Foundation, we’ll continue to bring inspirational people together to create the change Sussex needs. If you’re an advisor who’d like to understand more about how we can support your conversations with clients, we’d love to speak with you. The more we connect people who want to help with the organisations delivering real change, the stronger our county becomes.

Legacy giving: leaving a lasting impact through your Will

Gina Berry, Head of Private Client Department at The Owen Kenny Partnership Ltd, discusses the lasting impact of legacy giving.

At The Owen Kenny Partnership, we work closely with clients to ensure their wishes are clearly and securely reflected in their Wills and wider estate planning. One topic we always encourage clients to consider is legacy giving. Leaving a charitable gift in a person’s Will offers a deeply personal and rewarding way to create a meaningful legacy, one that extends beyond their family and supports causes they care about.

When we raise the idea of charitable giving, many clients instinctively think of the large national charities, such as the RNLI and British Heart Foundation. While these organisations do remarkable work, some people feel their individual contribution may be lost in the scale of such operations. Others are put off by the idea of their gift being absorbed into a vast system, rather than making a clearly visible difference.

Encouraging clients to think local

This is why we encourage clients to think more locally. Smaller community-based charities, often right on their doorstep, can be profoundly affected by even modest legacy gifts. Supporting local causes not only strengthens the fabric of our communities but can also provide the donor's family with a tangible insight into the benefit their loved one’s legacy has made. It’s incredibly powerful for future generations to see the real-world impact of that generosity, whether it’s a community garden thriving, local young people being mentored, or a village hall being kept open.

There are also clear practical benefits to including charitable legacies in a Will. Gifts to UK registered charities are exempt from Inheritance Tax. This means that not only can a charitable gift reduce the overall taxable value of an estate, but in some cases, it may even bring the estate below the taxable threshold or reduce the rate of Inheritance Tax from 40% to 36% if 10% or more of the estate is left to charity. It’s a way to support causes close to your heart while also making your estate planning more efficient.

A question I always ask is whether the client would prefer their money to go towards paying an Inheritance Tax bill or whether it could be used to support a charity close to their heart.

Sussex Community Foundation plays an invaluable role in helping clients connect with the full range of charitable work happening locally. Whether someone already has a particular cause in mind, such as mental health, homelessness, youth work, or the environment, or simply wants to ensure their gift is used where it's needed most, the Foundation offers expert guidance and long-term stewardship. They also help clients set up Donor Advised Funds to support existing local projects, ensuring that their generosity lives on for years to come.

As solicitors, we are in a privileged position to help guide and shape these conversations. By partnering with Sussex Community Foundation, we can offer clients both clarity and confidence, helping them ensure their legacy reflects their values and makes a lasting difference in the communities that matter most to them.

Gina Berry, Head of Private Client Department

The Owen Kenny Partnership Ltd

The gender dynamics of wealth transfer and philanthropy

Michael Lawrence, Managing Director at Global Wealthmap Ltd, discusses women’s increasingly important role in charitable giving.

We often hear about the inter-generational wealth transfer, where the baby boomer generation are going to be shifting trillions of pounds of wealth to the next generation. However, before this we will witness a significant transfer of wealth from men to women.

It is well established that women tend to outlive men, and whilst on average this may only be by a couple of years, in certain couples this could be a five- or ten-year period, partly due to the husband being on average a few years older as well. Add to this the increasing divorce rate in couples in their sixties.

This will have a number of ramifications for society, and especially so for professional services. At a recent event where I met with the FCA it was mentioned that upwards of 70% of women change their financial adviser when they become widows.

Helping manage their wealth

In our experience, women who inherit wealth will typically leave a traditional wealth manager for a planning led proposition, valuing in-depth conversations about goals, family priorities, passing wealth on to the next generation and charitable goals. If a firm has traditionally put too much emphasis on investment performance, graphs and asset allocation, and less on the qualitative side of the relationship, this can be a real issue.

We know that financial security and long-term financial stability are two big drivers for women inheriting money, and this may in turn lead to a desire to have a more cautious overall outlook. This is a generalisation of course, but we do see higher savings rates for women rather than men in our wider practice.

There is an increasing need for professional service and private client practices to take onboard demographic changes, because it is not just at the inheritance stage women become the main decision-makers. It is now increasingly common to see that the main income earner in the household is female. This follows on from a very long-term trend of academic outperformance of girls at school, young women at university and as a result women in the workplace. Some studies suggest that 60% of all wealth in the UK will be in the hands of women by 2030.

There are still big areas of inequality that need to be addressed, but increasingly we see couples coming to us where it is the woman who earns more and generates more wealth, and as a result takes a bigger interest in how money is managed for the longer-term.

This is in turn creates a number of opportunities in private client work. Of course, all types of advisers can be equally effective in advising all types of clients. But it is essential to focus on goals and objectives, and work through genuine lifestyle financial planning processes. This involves talking far more about the person and far less about the money.

Whilst the gender dynamics of wealth transfer introduces a number of new considerations, the old truths still remain. Clients value trusted advisers and you do that through being genuinely client centric, through transparency and great communication skills.

A positive effect of women making the financial decisions of a household, or where a widow suddenly becomes responsible for their finances, is a desire to talk about the importance of the wider family and the wider society. This introduces a great opportunity for private client advisers to address charitable and philanthropic goals as an active conversation rather than an afterthought.

A valuable opportunity for our society

We are in an exciting phase of change for our society, with increasing financial participation and autonomy for women we have a genuine chance of achieving a more equal society for everyone.

Michael Lawrence APFS
Chartered Financial Planner
Managing Director

Interested in finding out more on this topic? You can read a related article here.

Meet our fundholders: Jeremy Field OBE, C.P.J. Field

In this blog, we meet one of our fundholders who has supported us through the years. Jeremy Field OBE, Co-Chief Executive at C.P.J. Field, writes about his experience as a fundholder at the Foundation.

My family has owned and managed C.P.J. Field funeral directors for 10 generations since 1690. We have always believed in playing an active role in our local community, and both my parents were very active supporters of charities. My mother, Christine, was a district and county councillor and deputy leader of West Sussex County Council. My father, Colin, was High Sheriff of in March 2008 and was subsequently made a Deputy Lieutenant.

In these roles my parents were involved in the formation of Sussex Community Foundation, attracted by the Foundation’s mission to be a lasting resource for local charities.

They were also keen to involve us, their children (Charlie, Emily and myself), in the Fund as the next generation of Fields who now run the business.

By becoming a fundholder and setting up a family endowment fund back in 2008, my family wanted to demonstrate our company’s lasting commitment to Sussex, as well as supporting inspiring local charities. Match funding from the Government’s Grassroots Endowment Challenge was an added incentive.

Over the years, the Field Family Fund has given out 44 grants across Sussex of over £138,000, and the capital is still worth £210,000.

Aims and objectives of the fund

Through our fund we aim to provide support for:

Image from Sussex Support Service to show projects supported by our donors
Art workshop at Sussex Support Service

We’ve been so fortunate to support local groups and charities that we might not have been aware of had it not been for Sussex Community Foundation’s grant process. The structure offered by the Foundation means that our funds are working harder. In the long term they can be used to support more great causes than would have been possible if we’d simply given the money directly to local groups. 

As fundholders, our continuing aspiration is to add to the fund when we can, securing this as a channel for our family’s philanthropic efforts in the communities where we live and work for many years to come.

Jeremy Field OBE, Co-Chief Executive at C.P.J. Field

Visit their website here

Read the story from one of the groups we support through the Field Family Fund:

Befriended

Image courtesy of befriended

Find out more about charitable giving with Sussex Community Foundation or contact our Philanthropy team for an informal chat.

How financial planning and charitable gifting can go hand in hand

For more than 25 years, Herbert Scott has helped people achieve their life’s goals through meaningful financial planning and that often includes charitable gifting.

Our focus is often on clients coming up to, or in the early phases of, retirement. Understandably, as clients age, the early question of “have I got enough to live the life I want in retirement?” evolves into “what can I do to mitigate my Inheritance Tax bill?”.

Charitable gifting

Not all clients have wider family to pass their funds on to, and even those that do still often wish to undertake an element of charitable gifting. This can either be during their lifetime, when the value of the gifted funds could potentially be outside of their estate immediately, or in their Wills when the rate of IHT applied can be reduced from 40% to 36% where 10% or more of their taxable estate is left to charity.

Working with Sussex Community Foundation

It is at times like this that we often turn to the expertise of Sussex Community Foundation to better the philanthropic conversations we have with our clients. From our viewpoint, involving the Foundation in these discussions provides us with confidence about the charitable gifting our clients undertake, safe in the knowledge that the charities have undergone the scrutiny of the Foundation’s due diligence. It also broadens our clients’ awareness of charities which are of particular interest to them and gives them the opportunity to have as much (or as little) involvement with the charities as they feel comfortable with.

Case study

We recently introduced an elderly client to the Foundation, after using our cashflow planning software to establish she had more than sufficient wealth to meet any eventualities she was likely to encounter during her remaining lifetime, including the potential funding of care fees. She wanted to see what other options there were to reduce the Inheritance Tax bill on her estate and, while she was not averse to paying some Inheritance Tax, the idea of having some control over where her surplus money was spent appealed, rather than leaving this decision to the Government on her death.

We explored options such as increasing gifting to her family, investing in tax-lead Inheritance Tax planning schemes, and charitable gifting. At this point, we introduced our client to the Foundation so that they could help her gain a better understanding of the range of local charities and community groups that aligned with her philanthropic interests. Under their guidance she decided to set up a Donor Advised Fund.

On a personal note, I continue to be heartened by the number of clients who are interested in making charitable donations as part of their financial plan and having good conversations around this subject is a valuable part of the service we provide.

Tracey Payne BA(Hons), Chartered FCSI, DipPFS
Investment Director & Financial Planner

Herbert Scott Ltd
The Left Bank, 173 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1YE

enquiries@herbertscott.uk
www.herbertscott.co.uk

Herbert Scott is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

This article is distributed for information and/or educational purposes and should not be considered investment advice or an offer of any product for sale.