Merchant Venturers
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A rare glimpse
Why all the fuss about a bunch of strangely-dressed men?
What is the Society of Merchant Venturers?
How do you join?
The ties that bind
Connections with royals
The Society's charities
Dirty money? The Society's investments
What's the extent of their influence?
"Cause for concern"
The inner circle
The outer circle
The Antient Society Of St Stephen's Ringers
Challenge to the Merchants
About the author

The Society's Charities

The Merchants run a large number of charities. We haven't been able to track down all of them, but understand they run 12 charities and control 40 trust funds. Those we have discovered spend more than £7.5m a year in Bristol.
Their largest concern is a nursing home on the Downs, called St Monica's. It currently houses 96 elderly people but a massive building programme means it will be responsible for 580 by the end of this year. The St Monica's Trust is by far the largest Merchant-run charity we discovered. Its annual income was £7.3 million in 2001, and it spent £6.4 million - which is broadly in line with its finances since 1997. The facilities are impressive, with state-of-the-art rehabilitation care for people with chronic illnesses, but don't rush to get your granny signed up: she'll have to be a baptised member of the Church Of England and from a 'professional' background to be eligible (however, Parkes points out that these restrictions won't apply to the new facilities).
The Society Of Merchant Venturers Almshouses Charity spends about £80,000 a year running accommodation for old mariners and clergymen. The Merchant Venturers Charity, which can spend money on anything the trustees see fit, has some £3.7 million in the bank and spent more than £300,000 in 2001-2. The Society also runs The Merchant Venturers Charities Investment Pool, which earns anything between £237,000 a year (1996) and £912,000 (1999). In 2001-2 it earned £433,000 and spent £249,000. It also runs the Cote Charity (which spent just short of £0.5m in 2002).
Substantial amounts of money and time go to supporting private education - Clifton College (www.cliftoncollegeuk.com), QEH (www.qehbristol.co.uk), Colston's School (www.colstons.bristol.sch.uk) and Colston's Girls' School (www.colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk) - although the Society has also given money to some projects for state schools (for instance, £10,000 to South Bristol's education action zone and £5,000 to Brislington School).
The Merchants have also donated money and buildings to several homelessness projects in Bristol, including the Cold Weather Shelter, a youth housing scheme and The Big Issue South West.