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The Manx Benevolent Fund is an Isle of Man charity (number 1289) set up by my fellow trustees and I in late 2019.

Its stated objective is the relief of financial hardship for people residing on the Isle of Man, with a particular focus on the immediate needs of the most vulnerable and needy in our society, by, but not limited to, the making of grants and the purchase or payment of goods and services.

But why register yet another charity, with so many organisations already working hard to assist the less fortunate in our community?

The answer is as alluded to in our objective; ‘with a particular focus on the immediate needs’.

I have been involved with several charities over the years, all of which have genuinely made outstanding contributions to society and have changed people’s lives for the better.

There is one frustration however that I have often felt, that being a primarily unintentional lack of haste in delivery.

This lack of haste, I have found, tends mostly to be due to the restraints of bureaucratic process, such as fixed dates for regular trustee meetings, or processes which require consideration at several such meetings in order to gain assent.

Now of course, there is a serious responsibility placed on trustees who manage charitable funds, entrusted to their care and administration by the generous and caring people who realise that charity blesses him who gives as well as him who receives.

As such, process and due diligence in the careful discharge of trustee’s duties and the considered distribution of funds is, and will always remain, essential.

However, those of us who have at one stage or another faced financial concern, at whatever level of significance or severity, will realise that the need for relief is more often than not immediate, with consideration of assistance in two months time simply not cutting the mustard.

Depending on the nature of distress, an individual can easily find their situation worsening exponentially as time goes on, with the mental anguish intensifying and often spilling into other areas of life.

Similar to the financial concept of the time value for money, funds you receive now are worth more than the same amount received in the future, with the difference in this instance being that we are looking at mitigating an already detrimental situation, as opposed to increasing earning potential. In proverbial shorthand, he who gives quickly, gives twice.

That then is why the idea for the Manx Benevolent Fund came about; to create a charitable body for the Manx people that sees and appreciates the need for timely and efficient relief from financial distress.

Our board of trustees therefore is small, yet sourced from a broad range of business backgrounds, each bringing their own expertise and insights to the table in order to enable us to implement an efficient, but considered approach in the administration and distribution of funds, not only at our regular meetings, but importantly, at emergency meetings which may be called promptly to address individual requests.

We further realise that financial distress can take many forms, and that there is not a ‘fit all’ solution to everyone’s problems. Our aim therefore is to consider the individual behind each request, taking a wholistic view of their situation, and never judging a book by its cover.

So, the Manx Benevolent Fund; just another charity? Perhaps, but I like to think not quite.

If you want to support our work, please feel free to make a donation using this link. It will be gratefully received and faithfully applied.