About Us
Trustees
The Wates Foundation is an unincorporated registered charity Number 247941. It is managed by a corporate trustee which is The Wates Foundation Limited, a charitable company limited by guarantee Number 1605766, operating under a Trust Deed dated 28 February 1966 and Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 23 December 1981.
Under the Trust Deed the charitable purposes or activities for which the Trust Fund (the fund), together with the income that derives from it, may be disbursed through The Wates Foundation are those that the Trustee, The Wates Foundation Limited, may direct at its discretion.
The general charitable purposes, aims and policies of The Wates Foundation are reviewed regularly by the Directors of the Trustee and published in the Foundation's Guidance for Applicants and elsewhere.
The Foundation has formulated policies covering Equal Opportunities, Confidentiality, Complaints Procedures and Training & Development.
The six directors of The Wates Foundation Limited are all members of the Wates family, two from each of the three main family lines. The Chairman until July 2007 is Mrs Jane Wates.
A Grants Committee, composed of around a dozen members of the family, meets three times during the financial year in July, November and March.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Trustee is held in July each year. Directors retire and are elected at the AGM under the terms of the company's Articles of Association.
The Trustees of The Wates Foundation are:
Rev John Wates (Chairman). A qualified solicitor. Served as a magistrate in Croydon for 21 years where he was Vice Chairman of the Youth & Family Panels. Formerly a Vice Chairman of the Association of Charitable Foundations. Founder and currently Chairman of Trustees of Community Options, a charity delivering mental health services in four London boroughs. Trustee of the Butler Trust and of the Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust. Member of the Council of Management of the Philharmonia Orchestra and in other roles. Ordained as a Non-Stipendiary Minister in the Church of England in 2002.
Mrs Jane Wates OBE. Has a particular interest in social problems, especially those concerned with disadvantaged young people. Active involvement in various other charitable bodies. Founding Trustee of the Elizabeth Jane Foundation that is currently working with projects for AIDS orphans in South Africa and with the young at risk.
Mrs Clare Price. Farmer’s wife with special interest in children experiencing disadvantage through disability, abuse or exclusion, and female victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. Trustee of The Chetwode Foundation and The Samworth Foundation.
Mr Nick Edwards. Chairman of Triangle Productions Limited. Worked for some years with the Social Service departments of the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Wandsworth, London. Has a particular interest in helping young people furthering their potential.
Mr James Wates. Deputy Chairman of the Wates Group with responsibility for corporate development and corporate responsibility. Board member of the Construction Industry Training Board; member of the Confederation of British Industry London Regional Council; Honorary Treasurer of the British Council for Offices; Governor of Emanuel School; Trustee of the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for Disabled People; member of the Prince’s Trust London Council.
Mr Christopher Agace. Managing Director of Chalk Hill Contemporary Homes. Formerly a practising Barrister with experience in, amongst other things, family breakdown, debt and housing issues.
Recruitment of New Directors/Trustees.
The Articles of Association of the Trust provide for the recruitment of new Directors of the Trustee Company who serve as Trustees of The Wates Foundation only from the families of the natural heirs to the Founders of the charity.
The Directors affirm that the numbers of those eligible for election is sufficiently large to provide diversity of interest, ability and experience in fulfilling duties as Trustees of The Wates Foundation. A plan has been developed that identifies potential trustees and the chairman of trustees until 2014 as part of the Directors’ strategic review of the Foundation’s policies.
Directors as Trustees serve for periods of three years up to a maximum of six years at any time, but may be re-elected again after a break of three years. The retirement age for Trustees is 65 years and for members of the Grants Committee 70 years.
Training & Development.
The Foundation’s Trustees have identified training and development as a key area within the Foundation’s Strategic Plan to ensure that members of the Wates Family associated with the work of the charity and the Foundation’s staff have the relevant skills, competences, knowledge and understanding that they need to deliver the Foundation’s mission effectively, sustaining and improving the overall performance of the Foundation and its grant making.
The Trustees have adopted five Training Objectives that classify training and development activity in which the Foundation engages in the way in which it contributes to or impacts on the ability of the Foundation to deliver its mission and related objectives. The Objectives are: Social and Public Policy & Practice; Programme Areas; Governance; Finance; and Philanthropy.
Funds are earmarked for training annually. The cost of training for Trustees and staff this year was £4,285 (£5,043 in 2005-2006). This figure takes no account of a substantial amount of training at nil cost. During the year, Trustees, members of the Grants Committee and staff took part in training and related activity on 83 occasions and visited 62 organisations.
New Trustees are inducted by gaining experience as members of the Foundation’s Grants Committee, taking part in the grant assessment process and related visits, and in a programme of visits to relevant organisations and institutions. New Trustees also undertake formal training conducted by professional and voluntary sector bodies such as the Association of Charitable Foundations.
A quarterly newsletter covering the Foundation’s activities goes to all Trustees, members of the Grants Committee and other Wates family members. Another periodical, Training News, circulates training courses and other learning opportunities to the same audience.
