What is it?
The Benevolent Fund exists to provide assistance to members and their families who are experiencing severe financial difficulty. In 2008, 2p per week of your membership contributions will be invested in the Benevolent Fund. Your union has already invested £50,000.00.
How to get it….
Applicants should apply to the Benevolent Fund via their Branch Secretary or Regional Office. The applicant should complete the form and return it to their Branch Secretary or Regional Office.
The Branch Secretary or Regional Office will then decide whether to support the application and forward it to Head Office.
Guidance Notes for Applicants Completing Benevolent Fund Claim Forms
- The Benevolent Fund has been set up to assist members who are in – ‘severe financial hardship’, and the Fund is available on the basis of donations agreed by the Benevolent Fund Committee, please note that the BFC is not in a position to make a loan.
- We understand that it may not be easy for you to make this claim, and we want to do all we can to assist you in your time of need, so if you follow these guidelines it will make your job easier, and help the Benevolent Fund Committee to make an informed decision, and help you as quickly as possible.
- Do not submit the claim form to central office directly, it should be submitted to your Branch Secretary, who will then forward it to central office along with a recommendation.
- If you do not have a Branch Secretary, or if you are a Branch Secretary, then the form should be submitted to your Membership Liaison Manager (MLM) at Regional Office, who will forward the form to central office along with the appropriate recommendation.
- It is a good idea to discuss the claim with your Branch Secretary/MLM before making the claim, as they will help with advice on completing the form.
- Provide as much information as possible, preferably enclosing an attached letter. The more information the BFC has regarding your circumstances, the clearer they can be in considering your claim, and the more chance you have of a successful outcome.
- Be specific in the amount you are requesting.
- Be specific about other organisations you have approached:
- Who are they?
- How have they responded? Is any solution pending from that source?
- Why have you not applied to any other funding bodies?
- Please also bear in mind that the BFC has also only recently been set up. The five members are all highly experienced members of the union, some of whom may have been involved with similar funds in the past, but this is a very new benefit to Community and the Committee is looking carefully at each claim in the early stages of this initiative to ensure we offer an appropriate and consistent response, and this may take a little time, so please be patient if you do not get an immediate response to your claim, you will be replied to.
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