Where have our funds come from?

If you decide you do want to make some grants to Groups you need to work out whether, or which of the funds you hold are restricted or unrestricted. If you don’t know this already you will need to go into the old minutes of the Executive to check. Some donors or grant funders give money for use solely for a restricted purpose. Similarly, public fundraising appeals can sometimes raise funds for a specific restricted purpose. Restricted funds can only be used for the purposes of which they were collected. Money that was collected specifically to support a Jamboree unit for example, cannot be used to help a Group struggling with their membership fee.

Unrestricted funds are different. A great example of unrestricted funds might be the District proportion of the annual membership fee which might have built up over time. Funds you have received from an individual donor may also be unrestricted, it all depends on if that money was given for a specific purpose or just to help Scouting locally. Again, you will need to check minutes and other records (such as correspondence with the donor or posters/leaflets relating to a fundraising appeal) for clarity. Your annual accounts should show which funds are restricted and unrestricted. It is primarily through your unrestricted funds that you will be able to support Groups directly as the Trustees can decide how best to use that money in furtherance of your charity’s objects.

You may also have designated funds; these are funds that were originally unrestricted that the Trustees set aside for a particular purpose. These could, if the Trustees agree, be re-designated for the purpose of supporting local Groups.

Once you know, if you didn’t already, how much you have in your long term unrestricted funds, you can think about what you can actually afford to give. Remember that the POR rules require funds raised by a District to be used solely in that District and funds raised by a County to be used solely in that County.