THE LEONARD LAITY STOATE CHARITABLE TRUST
	About the Trust
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			Founder Leonard Laity Stoate 1885 - 1970
	History
	In the founder’s day, the background of the Stoate family was one of farming and milling in West Somerset, mainly between Watchet and Williton to the east and Porlock and Selworthy to the West. The family were staunch Methodists; Leonard’s great-grandfather John was one of the founders of Methodism in West Somerset, having heard John Wesley preach in Bristol. Leonard went into the milling business in Watchet, which successfully relocated to Bristol as Stoate & Sons Ltd after a disastrous fire in 1911. The business was ultimately taken over by Spillers in the 1930’s. Always philanthropically minded, Leonard founded the trust in 1950, initially as a vehicle through which he could make donations, especially to rural Methodism and to West Somerset causes, but mindful that it would carry on long after his lifetime. The initial trust fund was £20,000, and the annual income about £1,000. By the end of 1997, through the care of most the founder’s family of one daughter and five sons who acted as trustees, the trust’s assets had risen to about £750,000 with an annual income of £30,000 a year. It was at this point that Leonard’s eldest son Thomas died a bachelor, leaving the bulk of his estate to the trust, boosting it to about £1,780,000 at what was then the height of the stock market. In line with the stock market as a whole, it is at much the same level today, although currently over £2.4M.
	The Present
	The present life trustees of the trust are now all second or third generation, being grandchildren or great grandchildren of the founder, and representing all the families of the founder’s children. In addition the chairman of the Bristol Methodist District acts as a trustee in an ex officio capacity. Over the last 50 years the increase in income has enabled the trustees to broaden the scope of grant giving of the trust somewhat. However, it will be clear from the Grant Making Criteria that there is still a strong bias both towards Methodism, and towards the South West of England.
	Financial
(year to 31^st March)
				2026 2,364,600 76,650 65,850 73,400 68,000	2025 2,182,000 88,500 78,000 77,600 79,500		2024 2,208,000 78,200 68,600 73400 68,000
		£ / annum Invested funds Gross income Net income Grants awarded Grants paid
	Note: Since 2021 the charity's investments have been managed on a total return basis, which means that the Gross Income figure above includes a capital contribution. Averaging on a year-on-year basis, the trustees aim to distribute the whole of the available income. Averaging on a year on year basis, the trustees aim to distribute the whole of the available income. There is normally a discrepancy between grants awarded and grants paid, as there can be a gap of several years between award and payment, whilst fundraising for a project is completed and the project started. Top of page