Cheque out

I'm a Trustee of Norfolk Community Foundation and so often meet people who give money to charity. Indeed the Foundation's role is to make it easy for people to become donors, by providing a very personal, professional and focused service. Their money is well invested to create an endowment fund from which the income will be distributed as grants for ever.

However I'm rarely there when the cheque is passed across; the very moment of commitment. The other day I witnessed a donor signing and passing over a cheque for £100,000. It's massively more than I give each year and indeed, more than I usually earn in a year. Yet to this donor, it was simply part of his programme of investing in Norfolk; the place where he was born, lives and has always called home.

I had that sudden thought that by comparison, my contributions were insignificant. The reality is though, that as Tesco are alwasy quick to tell us; 'every little helps.' The success of any endowment building charity relies as much on the many who give a little as thew few fortunate enough to be able to give a lot.