Why Charitable Trusts are great!
Here’s a quick summary!
Charitable Trusts come in all shapes and sizes.
But they all have two things in common. To do good and make things better.
Your Local Leisure and Culture Trust is no different.
They help make your community better because as a charitable organisation they are set up to do good.
Every penny they make goes back into local facilities like gyms, pools, parks, museums and libraries.
Or to create new programmes communities want and need like health walks, concerts or programmes to keep us all fitter as we get older.
This cross-subsidy approach distinguishes the model from other public leisure services because profit generating activities subsidise non-profit generating activities such as health, library and outreach programmes.
And with a combined turnover of £2 billion* a year – that’s a lot of money going back into the local economy.
It also enables income from users who can afford to pay to be ring-fenced to subsidise access to activities.
Trusts don’t have shareholders and they are NOT private businesses.
You might not have even heard of them. Yet people visit their facilities 414 million times every year.*
They work in partnership with local councils, they listen to communities, they are transparent. Each trust delivers slightly different programmes which reflect the need within the community. And it’s not just councils our members partner with. Partnership working is part of their DNA and our members work with health partners, social care partners and other third sector organisations and charities.
And they are run by board members from the local community.
Agile and flexible trusts are able to adapt and diversify to create resilience, highlighted by the diverse and ever expanding portfolio of our members.
About Charitable Trusts
All members are leisure and culture trusts and are either registered charities or registered charitable societies.
Trusts do not distribute profit and instead reinvest every pound generated into the provision of quality leisure and culture services and facilities. Trusts are rooted in the local communities they serve, with specific services designed and supported through the cross-subsidy model to support those in most need.
Community Leisure UK members’ manage facilities including: swimming pools, libraries, museums, pitches, gyms, ice arenas, beach fronts, parks, heritage buildings and children’s centres. Importantly, members deliver vital community services such as exercise or books on prescription, short breaks for disabled children, adult social care support programmes, walking programmes, internet access courses, apprenticeships and training, and sports participation programmes.
As a members’ association, Community Leisure UK is responsible to its members and an appointed Board. The Board is made up of member trust Chief Executive Officers or Managing Directors who are democratically appointed by the membership.
