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25.11.20

Opera legend Lesley Garrett lends her voice to support launch of ‘Together Charitable Foundation’ for philanthropists

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Jarrovian Wealth has teamed up with Professor Paul Palmer, one of the UK’s leading experts in charitable financial education, to create the ‘Together Charitable Foundation’ (TCF) which aims to encourage more wealthy people to support charities through philanthropy.

TCF was officially launched at a Zoom Webinar event yesterday evening attended by representatives from across the UK financial planning sector. They were joined by special guest Lesley Garrett CBE, one of Britain’s leading Opera singers, who is renowned for her support of charities and good causes.

Lesley says: “I am delighted to be taking part in the launch of the Together Charitable Foundation. I have worked with the charity sector most of my professional life and I think this creative and innovative idea will be much appreciated, particularly by those who are new to the idea of giving.”

TCF, which has been registered by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, is the brainchild of Professor Palmer and Jarrovian Wealth CEO Graeme Price.  The pair collaborated on a publication for the Centre of Policy Studies back in 2010 which identified that very wealthy people give a larger percentage of their net worth than those on the next two levels of wealth classifications recognised by the Office of National Statistics.

Professor Palmer says: “People in Bands 2 and 3 of the ONS wealth classifications, often referred to as the mass affluent, do not donate as much to charity as those in the top level. We have now established TCF as a vehicle to promote efficient, economic and effective philanthropy for clients of the financial planning community.

“TCF is a Donor Assisted Fund or DAF which allows the clients of financial planning firms to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction and then recommend grants from the fund over time.  Donors can contribute to the fund as frequently as they like, hold assets and then recommend grants in their own time to their favourite charities.”

Professor Paul Palmer

Mr Price says: “There are many people in the mass affluent category with wealth levels of from £5million up to £20million plus. While there are existing DAFs in the UK, we feel there are a number of issues in their service provision and in particular confusion and misunderstanding for financial planners.

“We’ve established TCF as an education and facilitating tool for financial planners who look after mass affluent clients to enable those individuals to give effectively to charity.”

Mr Price says that although the initial research goes back to 2010, the TCF concept was one of the key goals when he co-founded Jarrovian Wealth three years ago.

“TCF’s purpose is twofold. First it will provide education to financial planners in philanthropy that goes beyond tax efficient planning. This will equip and empower planners to then engage with their clients on how to effectively give to charity and how philanthropy can enrich their lives. Secondly, as a DAF it will provide a platform for the profession to use that will provide a reassurance to clients that their philanthropy will be efficient, as TCF is a transparent and regulated giving platform which has a clear and easily understood cost structure,” he adds.                                                                            

Professor Palmer says: “The financial planning profession has evolved over the years with an increasing focus on understanding the holistic vision of clients rather than just financial. Many clients will have personally or through their business a relationship with a charity. Many clients will build an empathy or have developed an interest in an issue for example in health, education, culture or nature or wish to donate to an emergency appeal. However, they often face barriers in how they develop that interest and in particular offering financial support.”

Professor Palmer says there are often concerns regarding:

  • How will I know the money I give will be spent on what I wish to support?
  • Will I be constantly contacted for more?
  • I want the money to go to the charity and not on other costs? 

“The industry by having its own DAF can help its clients overcome these issues. This is the profession ‘walking the talk’ and is what it should be doing to enrich their own clients’ wellbeing and contribute to a better society and planet,”

Professor Paul Palmer.

The TCF training programme should enable Financial Planners and their Clients to make informed donation and grant making decisions in the vast majority of cases. However, there may be issues relating to more complex giving; for example, funding a development or programme over time, joint ventures, governance or overseas giving which require a more in-depth consideration or plan. TCF can provide that expertise on a bespoke basis through its expert philanthropy panel chaired by Professor Palmer.

Need to know more? If you have a question or would like more information please contact me or a member of our team at hello@jarrovian.co.uk, contact the Together Charitable Foundation at hello@togethercf.org or visit www.togethercf.org.

Jennifer Turner

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