The Fund is operated by Trustees appointed by the WPBSA Board. The Trustees act independently of the board in reaching decisions on applications received. All applications are treated on a strictly confidential basis.
Below are further details of the Benevolent Fund, its Trustees, the overall financial policy and types of support it can offer.
The WPBSA Benevolent Fund is entirely dependent upon sums it has received periodically from the WPBSA and other donations. However, the sums generated annually are modest. The Trustees are keen to attract further donations to enable the Benevolent Fund to remain in existence in perpetuity to offer financial and other assistance to professional snooker players and their dependents.
If you would like to make a donation to the WPBSA Benevolent Fund please contact:
Simon Brownell
WPBSA Benevolent Fund
simon.brownell@worldsnooker.com
Tel: 0117 317 8216
WPBSA BENEVOLENT FUND - DECEMBER 2008
INTRODUCTION
1. The WPBSA Benevolent Fund was originally established in 1983 with the following aim:
'To provide charitable assistance to professional players of billiards and snooker and their dependents requiring such assistance by reason of disablement, superannuation, death or otherwise.'
2. To be eligible for assistance, applicants to the Fund must be existing or past professional snooker and/or billiards players and who are also members of the WPBSA, or their dependents aged 18 and over.
3. As at June 2009 the Fund held a total capital sum of £214,190 which in turn generated annual interest of £4,814.
4. The current Trustees, who follow guidelines previously agreed by the WPBSA Board but act totally independently of the Board in reaching individual decisions, are:
Alan Chamberlain
Alan Chamberlain is one of snooker's most experienced referees, having officiated on the professional circuit from 1982 until 2010. He refereed the World Championship final in 1997.
Mark Pears
Mark Pears is the Finance Director of Litetask Limited who are the largest independent commercial lighting designers and distributors in the UK. Mark has been with the business for 12 years and has been the Finance Director for the last 6 years.
While John Wood is no longer a trustee, he will provide legal advice to the trustees when required.
Mark is a keen snooker players and also enjoys watching snooker and attending tournaments whenever possible. Mark is also a keen collector of snooker memorabilia.
Simon Brownell acts as Secretary to the Trustees and is Company Secretary of the WPBSA.
5. The Trustees are bound by Charity Commission law and Guidelines in conducting the business of the Trust.
6. These Guidelines are intended to provide some clarity in the way the Benevolent Fund conducts its business, what it might consider as priorities, and information that might be helpful to potential applicants.
GUIDELINES
Overall Financial Policy
7. First and foremost, the Benevolent Fund is entirely dependent upon the periodic sums it has received from the WPBSA and any other donations that it might be able to attract. It is not currently a wealthy trust, the sums being generated annually being quite modest. The guideline policy of the WPBSA is for the Fund to remain in existence in perpetuity to give financial and other assistance to professional snooker players and their dependents.
8. To achieve this policy the Trustees currently take the view that unless there are exceptional circumstances funding decisions annually will roughly equate to the amount of interest and/or investment income generated during any one year. In the current year, 2008/09 this figure is likely to be of the order of £10,000.
9. The Trustees are keen to attract further donations to enable the Benevolent Fund to play a more active role. WPBSA has already agreed to commit an element of any disciplinary fines it levies annually to the benefit of the Fund
Types of Support
10. The Fund can provide support in a number of different forms as follows:
10.1. A one-off capital payment to one or more beneficiaries which is non-repayable;
10.2. Payment of income on a regular basis to one or more beneficiaries which is non-repayable;
10.3. Repayable loans to one or more beneficiaries, without interest or with or without security.
11. Currently, the WPBSA Policy Guidelines suggest that the Fund favours loans rather than capital and income payments. The Trustees support this view but also favour making modest capital and income payments where they feel support is justified.
12. Players are reminded that any payments agreed should be declared as appropriate as these payments could affect supplementary benefit entitlement already being received.
Funding Priorities
13. The Trustees currently favour the following priorities:
13.1. A one-off payment in the event of the death of a professional snooker and/or billiards player and WPBSA member to cover modest debts and immediate liabilities, and funeral and other expenses;
13.2. A payment that covers the private medical insurance policy of a professional snooker and/or billiards player through illness or injury related to the sport, who is either still actively involved in competition, who has been forced to retire from the sport as an active competitor, or who is a former player and member of the WPBSA.
13.3. A loan that assists a specific temporary situation relating to a member and which can be easily identified and repaid over a specific period of time. Applicant for loans will have to identify how the loan will be repaid over a period of time.
14. Lower priority will be given to members who suffer financial loss as a result of their carelessness or reckless behaviour related to debt, alcohol, drugs, gambling or any other addiction. In the event that Trustees agree to support such an application Trustees reserve the right to pay any financial support to third party organisations to support the beneficiary.
15. All applicants are asked to complete an application form detailing personal and financial circumstances to assist the Trustees in their decision making and to provide medical evidence in support of their application where appropriate. All information disclosed is regarded as confidential to the Trustees.
16. All applications to the Trustees are processed on a strictly confidential basis.
Further Information
17. Further information is available from:
Simon Brownell
WPBSA Benevolent Fund
simon.brownell@worldsnooker.com
Tel: 0117 317 8216
