WHAT THE BENEVOLENT FUND OFFERS REGARDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT

LOANS & GRANTS

Awards to beneficiaries of the Fund are made by way of grants and loans. A loan is offered in the majority of cases. A grant is offered only if it is apparent that the beneficiary will not be able to repay in his or her lifetime or from the Estate after passing away.

LOANS

Loans are made against promissory notes or against a “special agreement”. A promissory note is a promise to repay and is in effect a simple form of a legally enforceable loan agreement. A “special agreement” is used for larger loans where the borrower has equity in a property. It is an unsecured loan but gives the consent of the borrower to register a restriction on the Title of the property at HM Land Registry.

No interest is currently charged on loans and they do not have enforceable repayment schedules. Loans are repayable “at call” but this is very rarely enforced and only when there has been a serious breakdown of trust between lender and borrower. When a loan is approved, an assessment will be made as to whether and when the recipient may be able to begin a staged repayment. Outstanding loans are reviewed by the Trustees at regular intervals of no longer than two years. In some cases a review shows that the borrower’s circumstances have improved and they are able to start some repayments. Equally likely is that the borrower is still in difficulty and more help may be offered. In the majority of cases, borrowers are grateful for the assistance given from the Benevolent Fund and are keen to make repayments if and when they can afford to do so.

The Trustees are not able at present to offer secured loans as we are not a registered financial institution though there are some historic secured loans still extant.

GRANTS

Grants may be paid direct to a beneficiary or to the Circle Benevolent Board for onward disbursement. In the latter case, the money remains the property of the Benevolent Fund until it is disbursed. The Trustees may impose conditions on the use of a grant and the money is returnable if it is not used for such purposes.

Grants made to support general living expenses and paid in tranches are released in variable amounts and at irregular intervals so that the payments cannot be taken by the DSS as regular income, thereby reducing the right to statutory benefits.

Otherwise, the most common purpose of grants relate to the targeting of specific debts and liabilities, where payment can be made direct to a creditor or through the beneficiary.