The Trades House: a charity funds management option

Founded in 1605, The Trades House of Glasgow includes within it the 14 ancient crafts of Glasgow. It is a Glasgow charity dedicated to providing poverty relief and educational support for people living in the city and surrounding areas. 

The Trades House and its 14 incorporated crafts make donations of more than £750,000 annually to deserving causes and individuals. They do this with income from managed funds and other fundraising activities. Charitable funds include the Commonweal Fund, which is available to charities and organisations within the city of Glasgow and surrounding areas, the Drapers Fund, which supports children up to age 17 and their carers in the wider Glasgow area where there is great and urgent need, and the Relief Fund, which is available to individuals within the city and surrounding areas who are in great need due to financial hardship or other disadvantage.

These funds are administered by trustees drawn from members of the crafts and supported by Trades House staff.

The House has recently been very successful in attracting new funds to manage including, recently, taking over the management of a £1 million fund.

This can come about because a charity or trust has struggled to find appropriate trustees prepared to undertake the administration, or has had difficulty in identifying beneficiaries, meaning it cannot distribute its income in accordance with the purposes of the trust or OSCR’s guidelines. It can also be where the trustees of these charities wish to reduce their administrative burden and costs.

In these circumstances, the funds can be brought under the umbrella of the Trades House charities and managed by the Trades House. This allows funds from underactive or dormant charitable trusts to be released to support good causes.

Anyone aware of such funds who would like to make enquiries about bringing them within the management of the Trades House may contact the chief executive and clerk, John Gilchrist: john.gilchrist@tradeshouse.org.uk

Shona Frame, partner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang