Trustees Report 2004

During 2004 the Foundation earned over £170,000 from its investments and over £48,000 from its trading arrangement. Its total charitable expenditure on grants amounted to £205,279 and its administration cost nearly £50,000.

Although its investments again increased in value to nearly £4.5 million its dividends were substantially static.

The grants made to individuals increased by a large amount from 39 in 2003 to 56 in 2004. The total of these came to over £112,000. The balance of expenditure went to organisations and included two substantial project awards of £16,000 to Theatre and Beyond for its collaboration in 2005 with Chichester Festival Theatre and £20,000 to the Midlands Theatre Writing Partnership administered by Nottingham Theatre Royal. The Project Award of £20,000 made in 2003 to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre was paid in 2004.

Various awards and prizes are supported annually. In 2004 these included grants to TAPS, the George Devine Memorial Award, the Personal Managers Association, the Society of Authors (the Richard Imison Award) and the Alfred Fagon Award.

A new series of Project Awards of £10,000 each was decided upon for 2005. The Trustees will decide at the beginning of 2006 whether these are to be renewed, revised or discontinued. The decision will depend upon the funds available and their success in 2005.

Generally the Foundation in 2004, again achieved success in its charitable purpose of supporting writing for the stage.

The Trustees remain:-

  • G Laurence Harbottle
  • Simon Callow CBE
  • Michael Codron CBE
  • Sir David Hare
  • Baroness (Genista) McIntosh of Hudnall
  • John Tydeman OBE
  • Harriet Walter CBE
  • John Welch

It is required as a formal element of the Trustees' Report that we make the following statements:-

  1. The objects of the Charity are unchanged and involve the support of writers and writing for the stage and allied purposes.
  2. All major decisions are made by all the Trustees who usually meet four or five times a year and receive information on applications for help between meetings. All executive decisions are taken by Laurence Harbottle with such advice from available Trustees as he considers necessary particularly in relation to investments and minor urgencies.
  3. Most of the grants made by the Charity to companies or organisations are made to subsidised or charitable bodies. All grants to individuals are made in cases of need to writers of stage plays who have had at least one adult professional full length play produced.
  4. The Charity has investments. Some one third of the Charity's investments are in gilt-edged stocks, the remaining two thirds in general equities or investment trusts examined for their ethical purposes. All investments are made upon the recommendation of Laing & Cruickshank. The investments seek to strike a balance between income and capital growth and during the year have performed adequately.
  5. Apart from minor travelling expenses the Trustees are not paid by the Foundation.
  6. No fundraising activities are undertaken or contemplated
  7. No major risks are known.