All about the Benevolent Fund
(Picture shows speaker Daphne O’Hanlon with President Pat).
The club was happy to welcome to its September speaker meeting Daphne O’Hanlon, a member of SI Guildford club and the region’s representative to the Benevolent Fund (BF). It was started in 1942 for Soroptimists in the United Kingdom of reduced means or in difficult circumstances. The application form asked for personal details, including a complete summary of income and expenditure, and a description of what it can do to help. There are currently about 20 recipients of BF grants, but none in our region.
Daphne started her talk with a story of how she got into this in the first place – particularly because the person responsible was in the room! She had driven into the car park at Sparsholt College for the regional AGM a few years ago when Sue Douthwaite accosted her and said there was nobody to take over as rep to the Benevolent Fund, and would she, please? Like a mug she said yes and was promised that paperwork would follow as the handover.
“What did I know about the Benevolent Fund?” she asked.
At regional meetings she had listened to a number of previous reps talking about the BF but not much more. No information was ever sent on so she attended her first AGM of the BF at 63 Bayswater Road with only an agenda, to be given one piece of paper on arrival – Information for members of the Benevolent Fund! That explained the various tasks, such as if there was a recipient in her area she should visit them, and speaking at the regional meeting etc. What hadn’t been made plain was that as a committee member she would automatically also be a trustee of the Fund. That was where Daphne’s previous experience as the trustee of another small charity, and her second career as a Citizens’ Advice Bureau advisor, came into its own.
Beneficiaries get an average payment of £600 per quarter plus something towards a telephone (because it is a lifeline) and a small grant at Christmas. Some are one-off payments to tide them over through a difficult time – some are ongoing support payments.
Daphne then outlined a number of case studies, who through divorce, disability or circumstances had a need for support. Many recipients are over 80, without capital, and having worked for voluntary organisations or on a low salary had not been able to put by any significant sums for their retirement - they are all Soroptimists who have been generous with their service to our organisation (and others) over the years.