Charitable Trusts & Philanthropy

Private individuals, and companies with corporate social responsibility on their agendas, often wish to use their wealth in support of good causes.

Whether our clients choose to dedicate time, money, connections or ideas, our philanthropy specialists can help them make the best choices in the light of their aspirations and financial circumstances.

We help our clients decide how best to approach the question of philanthropy, recognising that some wish to play an active, high profile role, whilst others prefer to remain anonymous and may wish to leave the decision-making to others.

These choices may involve establishing a charitable foundation (which might be a trust or corporate vehicle), or supporting an existing charity. A charity can now be created as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), which is a simple, low-bureaucracy alternative to a charitable company.

Charles Russell Speechlys advise on all aspects of charitable giving, including the duties and role of charity trustees, charity governance, charity tax reliefs and on the creation of non-charitable trading entities. We also advise on how to structure cross-border or off-shore giving including dual-qualified charitable structures.

Our philanthropy specialists work with our taxation, estate planning and corporate experts to create the most appropriate structure in line with a client's individual requirements.