Charitable Purposes
Under its Trust Deed, the RTPI Trust has the following charitable purposes:
- The provision of support and financial assistance to members who are in financial hardship;
- The provision of support and financial assistance to students of town planning who are in financial hardship;
- To undertake research for the public benefit into town planning and its social, economic and financial effects on the community and into other such relevant fields of study in connection with town planning as the trustees think fit and to publish the useful results of such research;
- The provision and support of any charitable cause associated with town
Below the Trustees have provided prospective applicants for Trust funds with the broad criteria which Trustees will apply when considering future requests for assistance.
Charitable Purpose 1
The trustees will only provide financial assistance to members (including students) on an essentially “one off” basis and they will not enter into any on-going financial commitments. Funds will not be provided to cover debt, whether this be student, business or personal debt. Funds will not be provided for business related costs.
Examples of financial assistance offered under these terms of reference include:
- A cash grant to a member who had become ill and sought assistance with child care fees for a 3 month period,
- A cash grant to a severely disabled member who had become unemployed through illness and wanted assistance for a 12 month period with travelling expenses to enable him to keep up his CPD,
- A cash grant to the wife of a retired member who had advanced dementia and was living at home to enable her to seek short-term respite care.
Charitable Purpose 2
The Trust has a programme of bursaries awarded to students enrolled at RTPI accredited planning schools. The bursaries were established to promote and support a diversity of talent in the planning profession, supporting and celebrating students from a variety of backgrounds at the beginning of their town planning career. Bursaries can used to purchase equipment to support students' studies or as a contribution towards fees, travel or living costs associated with their studies.
The Trust has also previously provided funded courses for non-student members as part of their CPD or career progression.
Charitable Purpose 3
The spirit of the the Trust is support planners in need and not to become another generally available source of research grants. Therefore the Trust would primarily wish to support research related to the health and wellbeing of planners or which may direct benefit planners who are most in need, as this is a clear alignment with the Trust's other areas of work.
The Trustees will apply the following criteria in their assessment of any future application of funds for research, in addition to any other material consideration:
- The potential impact of the research in the promotion of the art and science of town planning practice;
- The potential benefit of the research on those planners who are most challenged in their practice of planning;
- The extent to which the research could or should be funded from other research funding sources;
- The level of support for the research proposal by the RTPI Executive Board, including their willingness to contribute to the research project financially or in kind; and
- The commitment to the dissemination of the results of the project.
Charitable Purpose 4
To date (2025) the Trustees have not received any applications for assistance under this category.
General
Applicants are advised to provide comprehensive information about their financial and other relevant circumstances as part of their request for financial assistance. The more specific the request for Trust's funds, the easier it will be for the Trustees to come to respond. Please note the Trustees may follow up applications with a phone call or a meeting with the applicant.