Jane Underdown, the School’s Director of Finance, oversees the finances of the Cranleigh Foundation. Here she explains the governance of the Foundation and how the funds are stewarded.
THE GOVERNANCE OF THE CRANLEIGH FOUNDATION
There are currently eight Foundation trustees of the Cranleigh Foundation charity who meet at least once a year. In addition to the trustees, the Headmasters of Cranleigh School and Cranleigh Prep School, the Foundation Officer, the Head of Cranleigh Giving and I attend board meetings in an ex-officio capacity. The Clerk of the Governing Body is the Company Secretary.
Trustees are appointed on the basis of nominations received from the Governing Body of Cranleigh School, other trustees and those involved with the Cranleigh Foundation, taking account of their experience, professional qualifications, skills, local knowledge and availability.
objectives of the foundation
The trustees assume fiduciary responsibility for the charity’s funds which today has the primary purpose of providing financial support to Foundationer pupils. The Foundation seeks to provide a stable boarding education for children who have a significant pastoral need.
The funds raised for the Cranleigh Foundation are building an endowment and it is the trustees’ ambition to raise £10m by 2029 which will fund 10 Foundationer places at Cranleigh in perpetuity.
THE FOUNDATION’S INVESTMENTS
In order to grow the endowment, the board of trustees invests the Foundation’s funds with CCLA. With CCLA investment management advice investment risk is spread through the selection of the CCLA COIF Fund which invests broadly so as to spread risk.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
Income and Expenditure, 2017-21, taken from Charity Commission website
Income
Expenditure
In the last financial year (2020-21), the Foundation received £365k from donations and investment income and, with fundraising events, the total income for the year was £371k. This included a large legacy from an Old Cranleighan.
The trustees authorised charitable donations during the year of £31k to Cranleigh School.
At the end of the financial year the Foundation investments were £1.66m. To read the Annual Report for 2020-21, please follow this link.
This year, as part of the School’s social purpose, the Governing Body of Cranleigh School donated £1m from our overseas school in Abu Dhabi to the Cranleigh Foundation.
Fundraising
We are fortunate in that the Foundation receives generous donations from Cranleigh Schools’ parents. We also host a Christmas Fair in aid of the Cranleigh Foundation which has run annually since 2010 and in that time has raised over £100k. Many of the OC events and reunions the School organises support the Foundation. The board is extremely grateful for the generosity of parents, OCs, friends of the School and corporate sponsors.
Nationwide, the effects of COVID bit into the number and level of donations charities received and, with this in mind, we paused our plans to launch a concerted fundraising campaign. Instead, we focussed on gathering information, within data protection regulations, in order to assist future fundraising initiatives. We look forward to hosting the long awaited Spectacular Summer Ball on 4th June and hope that we can raise a significant amount so we can get a step closer to meeting our £10m target.