Organisation and Governance
Tilehurst People’s Local Charity is an unincorporated trust registered as Charity No. 204048. The organisation is established for charitable purposes only, is regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and is subject to control under the charity law jurisdiction of the High Court. Further details are available from the Charity Commission website.
There is a Board of Trustees which governs the charity in line with its written constitution – the ‘Governing Document’ or ‘Scheme’. The Charity Commission formally established the Scheme in 1982 and approved amendments to it in 2022. The charity does not have a ‘wider membership’ as defined by the Charity Commission. However, the charity is considered to have groups of ‘supporters’ including its volunteer staff, its beneficiaries, and those allotment gardeners who have chosen to pay for a licensed plot from the charity.
The charitable trusts enshrined in the organisation originate from the Tilehurst Inclosure Act of 1811 and the Tilehurst Inclosure Award of 1817. In 1985 the Charity Commission merged a smaller trust dating from 1731 (Wheat’s Charity) into the organisation.
Charitable Purpose
The purpose of the charity is the prevention or relief of poverty, within the defined Area of Benefit, for public benefit. The Board of Trustees must make objective decisions in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries. The Board cannot put any other considerations ahead of the relief of poverty as this would be a breach of the trusts of the charity.
Charitable Activities
The charity provides financial support to eligible people who are in need, hardship or distress. We can also assist other organisations which provide appropriate types of support direct to such people.
Ours is one of the few charities which can make grants of money to families and individuals – for the supply of basic, essential goods or services. Exceptionally, we may also be able to help with paying off unaffordable debts (although there are certain types of debt we cannot help with).
Need, hardship or distress is usually interpreted as being on State benefits. It can also apply to low-income households or to individuals who are not entitled to State benefits. Grant applicants must ensure that they have claimed all State benefits to which they are entitled.
Although applicants can contact the charity directly, we prefer to receive applications supported by a referral letter from one of the main caring agencies. This helps to verify the personal circumstances of the applicant. Referral letters are taken into account when determining whether a grant should be made, and the size of the grant. More details are given in the section on Grant Making.
Area of Benefit
The principal Area of Benefit can be described as covering:
- West Reading (to the west of the Reading West railway line)
- Southcote
- Holybrook
- Calcot
- Theale
- Tilehurst
This corresponds to the area covered by ‘the ancient parish of Tilehurst’ in 1811.
The Area of Benefit was extended in 1982 to include other parts of Reading Borough. However, these other parts are served by other charities, and so grant applications from people resident in those places are often referred to another charity. Check if your address lies within the principal Area of Benefit using the link below. This applies to your normal, full-time, residential address – not temporary accommodation.
Fund-raising Activities
The organisation is an endowed charity. This means that its income is derived from its permanent endowment, that is, the assets given to it at the time it was established (or the capital proceeds from the sale of assets). The charity does not undertake any public fund-raising activities such as sponsorships, events or collections from the public, and is therefore not registered with the Fundraising Regulator.
The endowments take two forms – land and capital investments. Income can be generated from land by leasing out parcels of land or by licensing out plots as allotment gardens, and capital can be raised by selling the freehold. Investment of capital, which is derived largely from past land sales, yields interest and dividend receipts.
Individuals can make donations or bequests to the charity if they wish, but the charity does not actively seek to raise any funds in this way.
Land Ownership
The land owned by the charity is used solely for income generation and not for charitable purposes. There is no obligation on the charity to put its land to any particular use. The charity has the right to sell any or all of its land. All of the charity’s land is privately owned. None of the charity’s land is dedicated to the public and there are no rights of way over the charity’s land. The Trustee Board has Public Liability Insurance in respect of the Charity’s land. This protects the Board against any claims from the public for injury, loss or damage incurred on the land, but does not cover loss of or damage to the property of licensees or leaseholders.
