Governance and funding
The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust is an independent non-charitable trust.
JRRT is a limited company, paying tax on its income, which makes grants for political, campaigning or lobbying purposes that are ineligible for charitable funding.
Download our most recent annual report here.
Funding JRRT’s work
JRRT has a wholly owned subsidiary company, JRRT (Properties) Limited which holds a small portfolio of commercial retail properties. JRRT’s annual income is from dividends from its portfolio of listed shares and rental from its property portfolio, both derived from investing the endowment from Joseph Rowntree.
The Board
JRRT is governed by its Board of directors. The ten directors are drawn from a variety of backgrounds, to reflect JRRT’s Quaker and liberal values. Directors serve for a maximum of 15 years. The Board Chair is Andrew Neal.
The Board meets quarterly, usually in York. Directors give unpaid voluntary service.
The Board sets the strategic direction for JRRT and is responsible for financial oversight and compliance as well as making grant decisions.
The Board has two sub-committees: the Finance Committee and the Nominations Committee, which is responsible for succession planning and director recruitment.
Staff
The Trust has six staff:
- Fiona Weir, Chief Executive (full time)
- Liz Elsworth, Finance Manager & Company Secretary (part time)
- Ben Williams, Programme Manager (Grants) (full time)
- Ellen Berry, Head of UK Democracy Fund
- Betsy Dillner, Grants & Learning Manager (Democracy)
- Nicky Milsted, Administrator (part time)
Policies
Key Trust policies can be downloaded below: