The Merton College Charitable Trust
The Trustees of Merton College Charitable Trust resolved on 17 November 2011 to amalgamate the assets of the Trust in the College and to strike the Trust off the Charity Commission register. The Trust bank account has therefore been transferred into the name of the College. The account number remains the same and all current and future donations will continue to be collected in this account. With immediate effect, therefore, it will no longer be possible to make new donations to the Merton College Charitable Trust.
The Trustees have taken this step because they consider the purposes for which the Trust was established, in particular the publication of transparent audited information about the receipt and disbursement of donations made to the College, can be completely fulfilled by the College itself, since it was formally registered as a charity in November 2010 (prior to that date the College was classified as an exempt charity and did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Charity Commission).
The majority of donations by value are made directly to the College rather than through the Trust these days. In making their decision, the Trustees considered it extremely important that a group of independent persons should continue to have oversight of funds donated to the College, noting that amalgamation of the Trust assets would enable complete oversight of all College funds and not just those donated to the Trust.
The Governing Body of the College has therefore adopted a recommendation by the Trustees to instigate a Benefactions Committee which would fulfil the stewardship function carried out by the Trustees and extend it to all College funds.
We will be approaching Mertonians in the New Year with a view to recruiting to membership of this Committee.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do direct them in the first instance to the Development Office (Tel: 01926 276316).
