No. 16: Foundation for the Carolinas December 17, 2015 UNITED STATES – £198m Since 1958, the Foundation for the Carolinas has connected individuals, companies and organisations to needs and philanthropic opportunities across North and South Carolina (combined population over 14m), and beyond. As a community foundation, the Foundation for the Carolinas works in cooperation with donors, civic leaders and non-profits to help achieve charitable goals [...]
No. 17: W.K. Kellogg Foundation December 17, 2015 UNITED STATES – £179m Will Keith Kellogg made his fortune developing and marketing breakfast cereals. Before becoming one of the richest men in America, he pledged: “If I am successful in getting out of debt, and become prosperous, I expect to make good use of any wealth that may come to me.” He kept his word and [...]
No. 18: Greater Kansas City Community Foundation December 17, 2015 UNITED STATES – £159m The story goes that the founders of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation passed around a hat in 1978, collecting $200 and some spare change and that’s how this enormous charity was begun, with the idea that charitable giving should be the responsibility of the many, not just a select few. Projects granted [...]
No. 19: David and Lucile Packard Foundation December 17, 2015 UNITED STATES – £155m David Packard, one half of the duo which set up one of the world’s largest tech firms, started the foundation with his wife Lucile in 1964. “Think first of the other fellow,” was the first of his 11 rules summing up his approach to life. In his foundation, this means promoting positive, lasting [...]
No. 20: Volkswagen Foundation December 17, 2015 GERMANY – £150m The Volkswagen Foundation (Volkswagen Stiftung) is Germany’s largest private science research funding foundation. More than 50 years ago, the original funding for the foundation came from the German federal government and the Federal State of Lower Saxony, from proceeds of the privatisation of the car company. Now, the funds allocated by the foundation are [...]
London house prices: Property in the outer boroughs have proved to be the best investments in 2015. Can they keep it up? December 11, 2015 It’s not like London boroughs are in competition with each other, but if they were, then 2015 has really thrown up some interesting winners and losers in the property market. A new survey published this week by estate agent comparison website GetAgent.co.uk shows that the real success stories in terms of asking price growth and [...]
UK weather: Storm Desmond threatens to bring floods and strong winds across Scotland, England and Wales as the Met Office issues weather alert December 5, 2015 The Met Office has issued an amber alert as parts of Scotland continue to be hit with heavy rain, flooding and strong winds from Storm Desmond this weekend. Forecasters have warned that up to 200mm (7.8 inches) of rain could hit central and southern Scotland, Tayside and Fife over a 30-hour period. Up to a month’s rain is forecast over the [...]
City A.M. Awards 2015 Business Personality of the Year winner Tony Pidgley, the co-founder of the Berkeley Group has a true rags-to-riches tale November 26, 2015 When it comes to determining the key to his success in life, Tony Pidgley puts it down to a good dose of common sense, a splash of luck and the life lesson his first lorry taught him when he was 15 and the engine blew up. His main means of earning his keep – transporting [...]
What does the Autumn Statement 2015 mean for you? November 26, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT CATHERINE GANNON, MANAGING PARTNER OF GANNONS LAW FIRM Gannons Commercial Law continues to perform extremely well as profits and earnings increased on last year. She is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a Limited Company due to the recent legislation covering LLPs. This illustrates that Catherine is [...]
Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015: The verdicts on George Osborneās proposals November 26, 2015 THE BUSINESS GROUP HEAD CAROLYN FAIRBAIRN, CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY, DIRECTOR-GENERAL The apprenticeship levy will be a big extra payroll tax on employers and widening the net will hit Britain’s smaller firms. This was a good spending review for longer-term investment in the economy but there’s a sting in the tail in the size and [...]