Charitable Trust

Clark Charitable Trust

In his last will (1936) and testament Frank E. Clark gave directions for a portion of his estate to be kept in a trust so as to give support to organizations whose aims were religious and charity oriented. The official name is Frank E. Clark Charitable Trust.

The funds targeted, firstly, small churches that were part of small communities usually supported by national or local bodies. Secondly, it aimed to help those organizations, which took care of adults in the lowest income group, especially the homeless. The location of the churches to be helped varies from year to year depending on the decision of the trust body. The other programs were to focus on New York. As regards churches, only solicited applications were to be considered - individuals or private groups would be outside its pale. The organizations eligible for the grant would have to be classified by Internal Revenue Service as public charities and be exempted from tax according to Section 501(c)(3) of Internal Revenue Code, 1986.

In 2006, $75,000 each was given to three bodies with the instructions that the fund was to be utilized for making grants ($10,000 each) to churches of communities that were not large. Four grants totaling $105,000 was to be utilized for helping adults with very low income. The total payout added to $330,000.

All proposals are to be submitted by 1st July and the decision-making is completed before the end of the fiscal year of the Trust, i.e., 31st December of each year. The type of support came under the qualifications of project and capital. J.P. Morgan Chase is the sole Trustee.

There are detailed instructions to qualify for the grants. An overview of the organization is required which includes outlining its primary goals, the problems it wishes to address and the population it targets to serve. The project has to be described - its purpose and the specific needs of those to be helped. The trust also required details of how the people concerned would be benefited, how long it would take together with a brief description of the executive director and the main members of the staff.

A detailed list of other foundation, corporate and support bodies, to whom assistance has also been applied for, will be necessary. All information (annual report, audited accounts etc.) are required to be mailed to the address of the trust, available online.