King Edward's School Home

Gift Acceptance Policy

1. Mission of the Trust

The King Edward's School Birmingham Trust ("the Trust"), a charitable organisation registered with the Charity Commission (Charity Number 1129776), encourages the solicitation and acceptance of gifts for purposes that will help the Trust to further and fulfil its mission. The mission of the Trust, as set out in the Declaration of Trust, is:

"The advancement of education by supporting the provision of education at King Edward's
School Birmingham ("the School") in such ways as the Trustees see fit in particular (but
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) by providing funds to support the provision
of bursaries to boys on the basis of financial need to enable them to attend the School."


2. Purpose of this policy

On behalf of the Trustees the Development & OEA Office solicits gifts from individuals, corporations, and charitable trusts and foundations, to help further the mission of the Trust. These policies and guidelines govern the acceptance of gifts by the Trust and provide guidance to prospective donors and their advisers when contemplating and/or making gifts to the Trust. The provisions of these policies shall apply to all gifts offered to and/or received by the Trust.


3. Use of advisers and enquiries of donors

3.1 The Trust
The Trustees may seek legal or other advice in matters relating to the acceptance of gifts where they consider it appropriate to do so. Examples (which are not intended to be exhaustive) are:
 The offer of shares in private or public companies which might be subject to restrictions or which carry obligations or options for the holder.
 Any transaction governed by contracts or legal documents. This could include trusts naming the Trust as a trustee or any document obligating the trustee to take specific actions.
 Transactions with potential conflict of interest.

3.2 Donors
The Trustees and the Development & OEA Office are not responsible for the financial, tax or legal position of donors or of prospective donors in relation to their gifts. Donors or prospective donors must take such advice as they deem necessary and in no circumstances are they entitled to rely on guidance offered by the Trustees and/or the Development and OEA Office, whether written or verbal, which can only ever be generic in nature.

To comply with money laundering and related legislation as this might apply from time to time the Trustees and/or the Development & OEA Office might require donors and potential donors to provide reasonable proof of identity and, if necessary, furnish information as to the origin of the gift to be donated.


4. Restrictions on gifts

Subject to the provisions in 3.2 above, the Trust will accept unrestricted gifts, and gifts for specific purposes, provided that such gifts are not inconsistent with its stated mission, or wider purposes and priorities. The Trust will not accept gifts that are too restrictive in scope. Gifts that may be regarded as too restrictive are those that violate the terms of the Declaration of Trust, gifts that are too difficult to administer or gifts that are for purposes outside the wider aims of the Trust. All final decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift, and its acceptance or refusal, shall be made by the Trustees, although efforts will always be made to establish if the reasonable wishes of donors can be respected.


5. Types of gifts and forms of gifts that are accepted

The following gifts are or may be acceptable (depending on restrictions):
 Cash or equivalent
 Tangible personal property
 Shares
 Real estate (property and land)
 Bequests
 Other gifts

The following criteria govern the acceptance of each type of gift:

5.1 Cash or equivalent
In order to comply with money laundering regulations, cash donations of over £50 will not be accepted. Cheques are accepted and should be made payable to ‘The King Edward's School Birmingham Trust'. The Trust accepts payments by Credit Card and Direct Debit which can be made via a donation form or online at www.trust.kes.org.uk/give. All cash (or equivalent) gifts are processed by the Development & OEA Office on behalf of the Trust and any such gifts should be sent to: The King Edward's School Birmingham Trust, Development & OEA Office, King Edward's School, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2UA.

5.2 Shares
The Trust can accept both publicly traded securities and closely held securities.

Publicly traded securities: Marketable securities may be accepted subject to completion of the necessary transfer formalities and the payment of any Stamp Duty. As a general rule, all marketable securities will be sold upon receipt unless otherwise directed by the Trustees acting on the advice of their appointed investment advisers. In some cases marketable securities may be restricted by applicable securities laws; in such instance the final determination on the acceptance of the restricted securities will be made by the Trustees, acting on such advice as they deem to be necessary.

Closely held securities: Closely held securities, which include not only debt and equity positions in non-publicly traded companies but also interests in limited partnerships and limited liability companies, or other ownership forms, can be accepted subject to the approval of the Trustees. However, such gifts must be reviewed prior to acceptance to determine:
 There are no restrictions on the security that would prevent the Trust from ultimately converting those assets to cash.
 The security is marketable or likely to become marketable in due course (without imposing any undue costs, administrative or other burdens in the interim).
 The security will not generate any undesirable tax consequences for the Trust.

If potential problems are identified on an initial review of the security, further review and advice from suitable outside professionals may be sought before making a final decision on acceptance of the gift. The Trustees (acting on any necessary advice) will make the final determination on the acceptance of closely held securities. In the normal course of events every effort will be made to sell non-marketable securities as quickly as possible, unless professional advice is to hold the security or to defer its sale.

5.3 Tangible personal property
Tangible personal property includes art, furniture, books, School memorabilia, coin and stamp collections, jewellery, vehicles and any other personal property item owned by a donor. It excludes property and land (see 5.4). Trustees will examine a potential gift of tangible personal property for the item's financial value, its potential use by the Trust and/or the School, any associated ongoing risks or costs to the Trust and/or the School (e.g. insurance) and, if the item will not be used or kept, whether the item could be sold quickly and converted into cash.

5.4 Real estate (property and land)
Gifts of real estate may include gifts of developed property or undeveloped land. Prior to acceptance of gifts of real estate the Trust shall require a structural survey or other similar review of the real estate to ensure that it offers no significant on-going financial or environmental risks or costs to the Trust. The cost of such survey or review will generally be an expense of the donor. Prior to acceptance of the real estate, the gift will have to be approved by the Trustees acting on such advice as they deem to be necessary. Some criteria for acceptance of the real estate (but not an exhaustive list) are as follows:
 Is the real estate useful for the purposes of the Trust?
 Is the real estate marketable?
 Are there any restrictions, reservations, easements or other limitations associated with the real estate?
 Are there on-going costs, which may include insurance, taxes and mortgages associated with the real estate?
 Does the structural survey show that the real estate is in a reasonable state of repair and likely to remain so prior to disposal?

The Trustees may accept a remainder interest in a personal residence, farm, or vacation property subject to the provisions above. The donor or other occupants may continue to occupy the property for the duration of the stated life. On the death of the donor, the Trustees may use the property or convert it to cash at their absolute discretion.

5.5 Bequests
The Trust will accept bequests for the benefit of the Trust. The Trust asks donors wishing to leave a bequest to execute an appropriate Codicil or include in their Will the suggested wording available in the legacy brochure or online at www.trust.kes.org.uk/legacy. The Trustees are also keen that such donors complete and return a pledge form so that they can keep accurate records of those who have made a provision in their Will or Codicil and such pledge form should be kept updated from time to time (e.g. if the size and/or conditions attaching to the bequest changes).

5.5 Other gifts
The acceptance of any other gifts not listed above would have to be discussed by the Trustees.


6. Gift acceptance decision making process

The final decision on the acceptance of gifts shall rest with the Trustees. All reasonable efforts will be made to adhere to this policy and guidelines, as agreed from time to time, but this will not restrict the absolute discretion of the Trustees to make a decision even if this actually or apparently contradicts the policy.


7. Reporting and reviewing

Reporting: The Trust is audited every year and produces a formal report and financial statement which is available on the Trust website, on request from the Development & OEA Office or via the Charity Commission.

Reviewing: This policy will be reviewed annually to include any new types of gifts that the Trust will accept and to ensure it complies with new legislation.


8. Approval

This policies and guidelines have been reviewed and accepted by the Trustees of the Trust. The Trustees of the Trust must approve any changes to, or deviations from, these policies.

Approved on the 4th Day of May 2011.

Signed (with the authority of the full Trustee body):
Stephen Campbell, Chairman, The King Edward's School Birmingham Trust