Terms and Conditions

1. Nature of ABF

1.1 All Funds donated by a Donor to ABF constitute an irrevocable and outright gift by the Donor to ABF of all right, title and interest in such Funds. ABF agrees to hold such Funds together with any Income and to apply them solely for Charitable Purposes and to provide such information to the Donor about the Funds and Income as is provided for in this Agreement. ABF further agrees that it will make the vouchers available to the Donor so that they may notify ABF of their wishes in respect of the distribution of the Funds and Income for Charitable Purposes. ABF will subject to the terms of this Agreement and in particular to clause 2 below, endeavour to act in accordance with the Donor’s wishes as set out in the Forms.

1.2 For the avoidance of doubt:
1.2.1 once a donation has been made to ABF, such donation cannot be repaid to the Donor; and
1.2.2 at no time will the Donor (nor any Connected Person) be able to derive any benefit from the Funds or Income in ABF.

2. ABF’s general authority

2.1 When distributing, ABF will, subject to the terms of this Agreement and to ABF’s procedures, policies and applicable law and regulation, take into account the Donor’s wishes. However, and notwithstanding any other terms of the Agreement, ABF shall at all times have final discretion as to whether or when to distribute or invest Funds or Income in pursuance of ABF’s Charitable Purposes. To this end, ABF may make such enquiries as it deems necessary to ensure that such Funds are applied for Charitable Purposes, and shall not make any distribution until it is satisfied that the outcome of such enquiries satisfies its Charitable Purposes.

ABF’s authority to distribute funds

2.2 Without prejudice to the more general provisions of clause 2, ABF may, in the following circumstances, distribute Funds and any Income from an ABF account for Charitable Purposes without seeking or having regard to the Donor’s wish, request or purported instruction:
2.2.1 where, in ABF’s reasonable opinion, the wish, request or purported instruction of the Donor in respect of the ABF is no longer possible, practical, ethical or viable or does not fulfil a Charitable Purpose;
2.2.2 where the Donor has not complied with any material obligation under or in respect of this Agreement.

3. Donor obligations and rights

3.1 A Donor may make a Giving Request as to how the Donor wishes ABF to distribute the Funds and/or Income for Charitable Purposes at any time and by such means as ABF shall make available from time to time.

3.2 A Donor may set out how it wishes ABF to distribute the Funds and Income for Charitable Purposes after its death, insolvency, dissolution or winding up (as appropriate) in a Letter of Wishes.

3.3 Where a Donor is an individual, he/she may set out who he/she wishes ABF to treat as their nominee/successor on an Appointment of Nominee/Successor Form.

3.4 A Donor may make an Investment Request as to how the Donor wishes ABF to invest the Funds or Income at any time and by such means as ABF shall make available.

3.5 A Donor shall be entitled to receive statements of its ABF account provided by ABF every month.

3.6 Once a donation is made to ABF, it cannot be returned to the Original Donor and, save as otherwise agreed by ABF in any applicable Deed of Gift, the Donor shall have no further right to or interest in the beneficial value of the Donation or any return or income accruing thereto.
3.7 Donors will be able to pay Funds to their ABF account by way of paying into the general bank account of ABF, details of this account will be provided by ABF to the Donor.

3.8 The Donor shall be responsible for monitoring activity in its ABF to ensure that it is being operated to its satisfaction.

3.9 The Donor must not, and must ensure that they do not, personally benefit or benefit a connected person (e.g. spouse, or close relative, and where donation is from corporate entity, the directors, shareholders or the person(s) with control or another company controlled by them) in any way either directly or indirectly from their donation to ABF.

3.10 If at any time, a Donor wishes to close its ABF account, it shall, on 30 days’ notice to ABF, be entitled to request that all Funds and Income within its ABF are distributed for Charitable Purposes and by providing written notice that it wishes to close the ABF and terminate this Agreement.

3.11 ABF shall be entitled to close ABF on giving 30 days’ notice in writing to the Donor.

3.12 The Donor acknowledges and accepts that as the Funds and Income in the ABF are owned by ABF, ABF owes no duty of care to the Donor in respect of the Funds or Income under this Agreement or in law and that neither ABF nor the Donor can foresee any losses that can be suffered by the Donor in respect of the Funds or Income in the ABF and that none are within the contemplation of the parties.

4. Successors, Letters of Wishes, Additional Signatories and Authorised Signatories

4.1 A Donor may appoint a Successor/Nominee to operate his/her ABF account by completing the Appointment of a Successor/Nominee Form (which is available on request) and obtaining the consent of the relevant Successor/Nominee on such Form. On receipt of formal notification of the death or permanent incapacity of the Donor, the appointed Successor shall acquire the rights and obligations of the Donor under these Terms and Conditions, save that the Successor shall not have the authority to replace or amend any Letter of Wishes that the Donor has submitted.

4.2 Where a Successor is appointed and the Donor has completed a Letter of Wishes, the Successor shall be bound by the terms of the Letter of Wishes and ABF shall give effect to the terms of the Letter of Wishes notwithstanding any request from the Successor.
4.3 In the event of any conflict between the requests received from a Donor (including its Authorised Signatories where applicable), or any Additional Signatory, then ABF shall act according to its discretion as to which request it shall honour.

 

5. Fees and recovery of costs

5.1 The Donor agrees that ABF shall be entitled to recover from its ABF account any sums of money which may be required to be paid to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for any reason in relation to such trust (including, without limitation, costs caused by infringements of any requirements, including the ‘benefits rules’).

5.2 The Donor agrees that ABF may deduct from its ABF account all costs, fees, contributions and expenses (as set out in the Fee Schedule) that it incurs in connection with the operation and administration of the Donor’s ABF account. The Donor accepts that ABF will recover its costs by means of a deduction from the ABF account of a sum equivalent to the costs, fees, contributions and expenses set out in the Fee Schedule.

5.3 For the avoidance of doubt, the Donor agrees and acknowledges that the Funds and/or Income that are required to pay for the costs, fees, contributions and expenses referred to in this Agreement will not be available for distribution in accordance with a Giving Request or Letter of Wishes.

6. Complaints

ABF will make every effort to resolve a complaint quickly and fairly. If a Donor has a complaint in relation to any aspect of its ABF account, ABF will follow the procedure set out in the ABF complaints procedure prevailing at that time.

7. Changes to terms

7.1 ABF may change any of the terms set out in this Agreement on providing one month’s written notice to the Donor at the address held on file for such person or Organisation save where ABF is required to change such terms for legal or regulatory reasons. Where a change is required for legal or regulatory reasons, this may be made immediately.

7.2 Where the Donor regards any proposed change as unfair or unreasonable in law the Donor shall notify ABF of this view within the one-month notice period giving reasons for its views. ABF shall review the Donor’s concerns and respond in writing as soon as is practical indicating whether it accepts or rejects the Donor’s views. The parties may discuss what alternatives, including termination of this Agreement, may be pursued if the proposed change is unfair or unreasonable in law.

8. Data Protection

8.1 The Donor acknowledges that any information provided by it to ABF is up to date and accurate and will keep ABF informed of any changes to the information it holds as soon as possible.

8.2 ABF shall, at all times, comply with its obligations and procure that its sub-contractors comply with their obligations under all applicable Data Protection Legislation.

8.3 ABF shall only process Personal Data for the purpose of lawfully providing the Services or as otherwise expressly authorised by the Donor.

8.4 To the extent that any Personal Data is required to be disclosed by ABF to any Supervisory Authority or pursuant to any legal requirement, such disclosure shall be permitted provided that such disclosure is made subject to adequate obligations of confidentiality.

8.5 ABF will use appropriate processes to keep the Personal Data or Confidential Information safe.

8.6 ABF is required to complete identity checks on people opening and operating ABF accounts. Where possible these checks are performed electronically, however, where this is not possible, the Donor agrees to provide ABF with any documentation that it might require in order for it to comply with all applicable anti-money laundering regulations. The Donor agrees that it may also have to provide details of any funding in connection with its ABF account and details of the underlying source of those funds. The Donor confirms that it has procured the consent of each of its Additional Signatories to ABF undertaking such identification searches.