WHO WE ARE

Using a Brailler (reproduced by permission of Skillshare International)

The Dorfred Charitable Trust was set up in 2002 by Philip Gardam from the estate of his mother, Dorothy (1908 - 2000), which derived in part from the estate of his father, Frederick (1911 - 1983).

So I, Philip Gardam, was the founding Trustee. I worked for many years in scientific publishing, leading a pretty comfortable life (albeit I like to think quite hardworking!). So when I retired I explored working in the voluntary sector and indeed did so part-time for a while in Cambridge for Action Health, the forerunner of Skillshare International, cited above. Then having acquired some money I decided I could actually achieve more in this field by setting up a charitable trust and hopefully contributing to a wider range of needs (see WHAT WE DO).

This brings me to the second Trustee, without whose help I would probably have given up part way through the apparently interminable process of satisfying such bodies as the Public Trust Office, the Charity Commission, and of course the Inland Revenue, that we weren't pulling a tax dodge. I had never realised how difficult it was to give money away! This was my solicitor, Roger Dean, who continues to provide thoughtful and indeed essential legal advice on the quite often thorny points involved in charitable work.

Next came my cousin, the Reverend Geoffrey Wood, who had much experience in this area and indeed has served other charitable organisations. His thoughts on charity policies and the likelihood of positive results were much appreciated until he was forced to retire as a trustee due to ill health. He has been succeeded as a trustee by our accountant Jon Morley (see below).

For a couple of years a personal friend of mine, Patricia Fulker, was a trustee before she had to give this up recently because of other commitments. She had a wealth of organisational experience in the Human Resources sector of a large national company and a real interest in the voluntary sector as evidenced by her other charity trusteeships. She was very influential in the concept, and the preliminary setting up, of this website

Mention must also be made of some other close associates - Roger Macdonald, who was our accountant and audited our accounts for the satisfaction of the Charity Commission. His financial expertise and advice, and indeed that of his successor, Jon Morley, has been essential to the smooth and viable running of the Trust. Also, Paul Butler, our financial advisor who has been successful with his recommended investments and sympathetic to our ethical requirements. Upon retirement, he was succeeded by Peter Beale who has carried on the good work and indeed made several helpful changes to the investment portfolio in line with recent major global financial downturns. The good dividends accruing from these investments enables us to make significant grants and thus fulfil our aims.