The Honorable Sophia Ward Charitable Trust

Public benefits

We give small amounts of grant aid to relieve the poverty of identified needy individuals living in the Ballyculter area, near Strangford village. The aid is usually distributed a few weeks before Christmas each year. No discrimination of any kind is made regarding, for instance, religion, age, sex or ethnicity. Most aid is given unsolicited. The

trustees are advised of the names and circumstances of needy individuals by local clergy and the St Vincent de Paul Society. In addition, occasionally individuals will make an approach for an additional grant for a particular purpose (eg, fees for an educational course for a dependant young person), and we consider their request. The large majority of our clients (ie individuals to which we give money) do not have bank accounts. Therefore, donations are most often presented in cash. We recognise that handing poor people, or those normally short of funds, a cash donation alleviates immediate financial pressure, but it may also create a potential problem for those unused to having much spending power. We therefore normally only make donations close to Christmas time, and the amounts given are carefully considered and are reckoned not over-generous. We thus take care to ensure that the temptation to squander the windfall in an unwise or harmful manner is reduced to a minimum. The clients are sent or handed a letter informing them of the source of the donation, and they are asked and expected to complete and return an attached acceptance slip in a provided stamped addressed envelope. Only the donation recipients receive payment. None of the charity’s funds are given as expenses of any kind. The Hon. Treasurer pays for postage and stationery and does not reclaim it. Donations are made quietly with absolute discretion, and there is no possibility of private benefit flowing to trustees or to anyone else advising them.

What your organisation does

Essentially we distribute small sums of money at Christmas time to needy individuals living in and around Ballyculter Parish, near Strangford village, Co. Down.