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History of The Harvesters Trust
In October 1989 Mick Wood, the Chairman of The Harvesters Trust became a Christian. As his faith developed he saw a world in chaos with famine, war and crime commonplace. He remembered an idea that he had formed years before becoming a Christian and he set out to make that idea become a reality.
Sir Bob Geldof was the inspiration behind Band Aid and Sport Aid which raised £150 million for famine relief. What would happen if, rather than give the money away, it was invested and the interest generated given away each and every year?
This concept of raising and investing money, generating and then giving away the interest is what The Harvesters Trust is all about. The initial target is to raise and invest £1 million.
The Harvesters Trust became a registered charity in December 1993. Its objectives are to advance the Christian religion in accordance with its Statement of Beliefs, and to relieve people who are in need, poverty or distress throughout the world. The Harvesters Trust is also a member of the Evangelical Alliance.
In practice The Harvesters give away almost all of the funds raised. The Trustees are determined, whenever possible, to ensure that each grant is given for a specific purpose or individual rather than added to a central fund. Harvesters Trust supporters can see exactly how their gifts are used. The Trustees are determined to keep running costs to a minimum, and certainly below 10 pence in the pound. In fact. since the Trust was formed, expenses have never exceeded 10 pence in the pound!