The Caribbean Foundation

Objectives of the Charity

The Caribbean Foundation was established in November 2002 and is registered as a UK charity. Its Articles of Association state that it has the following objectives:

“The advancement of education, in particular but not exclusively through the provision of grants and scholarships to students pursuing study in the field of international development”.

In furtherance of these objectives the Caribbean Foundation may:

•   Provide and assist in the provision of money, materials or other help;

•   Organise and assist in the provision of conferences, courses of instruction, exhibitions, lectures and other educational activities;

•   Publish books, pamphlets, reports, leaflets, journals, films, tapes and instructional matter on any media;

•   Promote, encourage, carry out or commission research, surveys, studies or other work, making the useful results available;

•   Provide or procure the provision of counselling and guidance;

It is also able “with other organisations seek to influence public opinion and make representations to and seek to influence governmental and other bodies and institutions regarding the development and implementation of appropriate policies provided that all such activities shall be conducted on the basis of well-founded, reasoned argument and shall in all other respects be confined to those which an English charity may properly undertake”.

The Caribbean Foundation is a company limited by guarantee no. 4270328 incorporated in England. It is a UK registered Charity (no. 1094584).

Trustees

To date, trustees of the Caribbean Foundation are as follows:

David Suratgar, BCME Bank, UK (Chairman)
Michael Adda, CFAS Ltd
John Bowers, Bowers Consulting, UK
Jeffries Briginshaw, Transatlantic Business Dialogue, Belgium
Peter Odle, Mango Bay, Barbados and Chairman Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association
Yesu Persaud, Demerara Distillers Ltd, Guyana

Professor Victor Bulmer Thomas

David Jessop, the Executive Director of the Caribbean Council, is the Honorary Secretary

The Caribbean Council

The Caribbean Council, which remits its profits on an annual basis to the Caribbean Foundation, is the wholly owned company of the Caribbean Foundation. It is limited by guarantee (UK company registration no. 4276621).

Its Board directors are:

John Bowers (Chairman), Bowers Consulting
Michael Adda, CFAS Ltd
Barry Cole, Portman Investment and Development
Ruth Euling, De La Rue Currency

Alun Cole, Eversheds
Peter Garratt, Scott Wilson Piesold
Yesu Persaud, Demerara Distillers Ltd
David Suratgar, BMCE Bank
David Jessop (Managing Director)

Royal Charter Company

The Caribbean Foundation and its Trustees remain responsible for the name and exercise of any residual interests of the Royal Charter Company, the West India Committee, a charity that transferred its assets to the Caribbean Foundation in 2002 when the former ceased actively trading.

The priorities of the Caribbean Foundation

In the years 2007/8 and beyond, the Trustees of the Charity have agreed they will prioritise the areas in which the charity will make future grants. They have broadly defined the priorities as the development of human resources in tourism; and in the areas of the environment and climate change.

These priorities may, however be varied from time to time.

In developing a more closely defined strategy, the Charity’s trustees wish to avoid replicating the activities of other educational charities operating in the Caribbean region and for this reason the Charity is also interested in receiving applications from charitable and other bodies with the capacity to manage and account for any grants or co-funding that is agreed to.

Applications for support can come from the private sector and private sector associations in the Caribbean and EU; Caribbean and EU based foundations; educational bodies in the Caribbean and the EU; and from Caribbean nationals where the support required relates to areas of post graduate research in the priority areas.

Applications may also come from Caribbean Governments, their agencies, regional institutions and other public bodies; with priority being given to proposals from Caribbean educational institutions providing higher and tertiary education and vocational training.

Generally speaking, grants and bursaries are of the order of £3,000 to £6,000 per annum per applicant. The Caribbean Foundation is additionally happy to work with other charities on joint fund raising programmes that fund raise for sums many multiples of these amounts.

The Caribbean Foundation and its Trustees remain responsible for the name and the exercise of any residual issue affecting the Royal Charter Company, the West India Committee, a charity that transferred its assets to the Caribbean Foundation in 2002.