“After a career in business, my wife and I sold our company and, for the first time, found we had more money than we needed to live on. We wanted to use some of that to help multiple charities in a way that would make a lasting impact. I opened a CAF Charitable Trust by donating quite a modest lump sum. The whole process couldn’t have been simpler. The CAF Charitable Trust serves as a ‘holding tank’ on which Gift Aid can be claimed, and I’ve since been able to add to it with further donations of cash and shares.
From the fund, we’ve already been able to make numerous gifts. As well as giving to a few major charities which have particular significance for us, we’ve enabled the creation of local school choirs, replaced the organ console in a chapel, fitted out a school library, funded a student in medical research, kick-started a symphony orchestra’s capital endowment fund, contributed to the building of new theatres and supported a reconciliation project in Burundi.