Fire Fighters Charity proposes to amend the charitable purposes of a restricted fund it holds (known as the ‘Robinson Fund’) in order to bring them up to date and allow the money to be more effectively put to use.
Fire Fighters Charity will need consent of the Charity Commission before these proposed changes become effective.
History of the Robinson Fund
Ms Robinson died on 21 January 2017. Her Will, dated 31 July 1985, left a third of the residue of her estate to the “London Fire Brigade Widows’ and Orphans’ Friendly Society, London Bridge Headquarters, Albert Embankment, London”. As this Society no longer existed at the date of her death, at the time of distributing the estate her administrators concluded that Fire Fighters Charity was a suitable successor and should receive the legacy in place of the Society.
The Robinson Fund therefore exists as a restricted fund held by Fire Fighters Charity.
Current purposes
The Robinson Fund’s purposes have not been changed since the legacy was first received by Fire Fighters Charity in 2019 and are that the money must be:
“…applied solely in the relief of poverty among widows/widowers and orphans of members of the London Fire Brigade.”
The current purposes were written to reflect the intention of the original beneficiary named in the Will, The London Fire Brigade Widows’ and Orphans’ Friendly Society, which was established in the late 1800s when the context of life in the fire service and implications for dependants was very different than it is in the 21st century.
There are very few widows/widowers and orphans of London Fire Brigade members, and in particular very few who are also in poverty and in need of financial support.
For this reason, Fire Fighters Charity considers it difficult to spend the Robinson Fund in line with the original purposes. Fire Fighters Charity, as sole corporate trustee of the Robinson Fund, has decided to update the purposes of the Robinson Fund in a way that both honours the spirit of Ms Robinson’s legacy and which enables the funds to be spent in a way that better reflects the 21st century needs of London firefighters.
Proposed new purposes
The proposed new charitable purposes for the Robinson Fund are:
“such charitable purposes as the trustee shall in its absolute discretion determine (including, without limitation, the relief of poverty; the advancement of health or the saving of lives) for those persons having a direct or indirect association with the London Fire Brigade”.
These purposes have been formulated to honour the original donor’s intentions to benefit London firefighters, but introduce greater scope for Fire Fighters Charity (as trustee) to further any charitable purposes that benefit people connected with the London Fire Brigade (including current firefighters, dependents, and previous firefighters).
Consultation
If you have any comments on the proposed change to the Robinson Fund’s purposes please send them to [email protected] by 23/3/26.
Fire Fighters Charity will then take these comments into account before making the formal decisions to move forward with these changes.