The current Trustees are:

Roger Dawe (Chairman)

Margaret Evans

Margaret Webb

Michael Saunders

Catherine Houghton

A Brief History...

Wilfred Kenneth Norman founded a chain of Cash & Carry Warehouses that started in Budleigh Salterton, Devon in 1959.  By 1979 there were 9 branches throughout the South West and, because of approaching retirement, the business was sold.

Using some of the proceeds from the sale, Mr Norman, together with his wife Pat, sister Peg and son Philip, set up The Norman Family Charitable Trust.  It was the intention of Mr Norman to repay the loyal customers from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset who had helped to make the business such a success, through making grants to those in need.

Chairman's Report (from the statutory accounts for the year ended 31st March 2007)

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2007. The financial statements comply with applicable statutory requirements and the Trust’s governing document and the current Statements of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting by Charities

Reference & Administrative Details

A Trust Deed dated 19th March 1979 established the Charity and it was amended by a Charity Commission Scheme dated 10th January 1990. The Scheme increased the maximum number of Trustees possible from five to ten.

The Trustee Body was incorporated by a Certificate of Incorporation sealed by the Charity Commission on 30th September 1996.

The Charity is registered with the Charity Commission under reference number RCN 277616.

Structure, Governance and Management

There have been no changes in the Trustees in the year under review. The Charity has not remunerated any of the Trustees or met any individual expenses incurred by the Trustees for services provided to the Charity.

The power to appoint new Trustees is vested in the Trustees for the time being. They have not yet needed to consider or formulate the process by which any future trustee would be identified and inducted.

The Trustees meet quarterly and at each meeting receive comprehensive written reports on every aspect of the Charity’s affairs.

Two Sub-Committees have been formed by the Trustees, one to deal with routine day to day grant applications and the other to deal with routine matters concerning the management of the Charity’s commercial property portfolio.

The Grants Sub-Committee meet every six weeks and have delegated power to make grants of up to £5,000 each. A list of the decisions made at these Sub-Committee meetings is circulated to all Trustees before the cheques are despatched. Grants in excess of £5,000 are dealt with at a quarterly meeting of all the Trustees.

It remains the Trustees’ policy to keep the administrative overheads to a minimum.

Every year the written Risk Assessment statement is reviewed, revised and agreed by the Trustees at a quarterly meeting and the relevant internal systems altered to mitigate the risks to which the Charity could be exposed.

Objectives and Activities

The Charity makes grants for charitable purposes at the discretion of its Trustees. The Trustees’ powers in all respects are wide.

As a matter of policy the Charity does not generally make grants to individuals, to any cause which uses live animals for research or experimental purposes, to overseas projects or for the maintenance of buildings used for religious purposes. This policy reflects the known wishes of the original Settlors.

As a general rule preference is given to good causes in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset and to national charities for use in those areas, the few exceptions being grants which benefit humanity, e.g. medical research

Most grants are made for a specific project identified by the Trustees and are thus restricted funds in the hands of the recipients who are asked to acknowledge receipt of the award in writing. The Trustees also wish to be kept informed of progress of the cause supported.

A website is maintained and the Charity makes available freely to public libraries, resource centres and publishers any information required as to its affairs so that its work is as widely known about as possible.

The Charity does not undertake any fundraising activities and does not have any volunteer workers.

It remains the Trustees’ intention to distribute the whole of the Charity’s income in grants to charitable causes with any under spend being kept to a minimum and carried forward to be first expended in the following year. 361 grants were made in the year under review totalling £437,651. In both number and total value they were the highest ever made in a year by the Charity.

The Trustees’ investment policy continues to be the maintenance of a balance between income for present and future beneficiaries on the one hand and capital appreciation on the other.

The Trustees are mindful of the long awaited Charities Act 2006 and keep in touch with the progress of its implementation and the way in which it may affect this Charity.

Future Plans

The way in which the Charity achieves its objectives is constantly under review both in terms of internal organisation and the use of its resources to the best advantage of the community generally.