RTPI Trust

The RTPI Trust is a registered charity, independent from the RTPI. It exists to provide support to members of RTPI and their families who are in genuine financial hardship. This can include:

• “In kind” assistance, such as through advice and counselling services, to help a member and their family through a crisis;
• Financial support in the form of grants for specific items of expenditure, which are regarded as needed to support the welfare of the member and their family.

The Trust may also support individual students who are seeking a career in town planning but have barriers to undertaking the studies they need because of genuine financial problems. Please note, however, that the Trust only considers cases of extreme financial hardship; student debt generally is unfortunately part of the current experience for most students.

Examples of how the Trust has helped
In 2007, the family of a member who had recently died aged 40 contacted the Trust. The member’s widow had been left with two children under the age of four, but was unable to work because of obvious childcare issues. The Trust gave the family a lump sum to help with immediate financial issues, together with a further grant to assist with child minding and nursery costs to allow the widow to get back to her part time teaching job. The family was extremely grateful for this support, and commented that the Trust had been able to move much more swiftly than the member’s life assurance company in providing assistance at a difficult time.

Last year, a member contacted the Trust who had suffered years of mental health issues and long term unemployment, had eventually secured a planning degree but was now having difficulty finding work. The Trust was able to enhance the members’ employment prospects by financing a set of driving lessons for him.

At the end of 2011, a member who is a single mother with teenage children contacted the Trust. She was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, was unable to work and had not been able to provide any kind of ‘family’ activity for a considerable period. The Trust was able to make an immediate payment to ensure that a fun Christmas could be enjoyed by the member and her children, and in the New Year the Trust helped further by providing financial assistance for some home repairs.

Do you need help?
The Trustees recently wrote a guidance note for applicants to the Trust – please click here to read. (pdf: 51kb)

Please write to:

The RTPI Trust
c/o Ian Donald
Head of Finance
Royal Town Planning Institute
P O Box 2390
London
EC3R 8WA

Assistance is discretionary, so the Trustees may ask for further information to enable them to reach a decision, or even make contact with applicants if that would assist them.

Can you help us?
If you wish to make a donation then please e-mail rtpi-trust@rtpi.org.uk or call James Taylor, Executive Officer (Governance) on 020 7929 8172 for the appropriate form. If you wish to allow the RTPI Trust to claim tax relief on your donation then please complete the Gift Aid declaration on the form.