Article by Peter Waterman: The Beginnings of the Community Foundation

Peter begins by pointing out the uniqueness of MK Master Plan in making provision for Social Development(SD). Milton Keynes Development Corporation(MKDC) had a strong relationship with the voluntary sector as grant-giving body, also using its Amenity Fund to set up, for example, Stantonbury Leisure Centre and social projects. Local Councils were unused to this positive support of the voluntary sector. Peter traces changes in MK during the 1970s; fluctuations in the numbers of incomers from London, and their changing social needs led to a decline in grants required for voluntary services later in the decade. The Government’s decreased population target of 150,000 led to concern about growth rates.

Peter describes the recommendations in the 1977 Wolfenden report for creation of intermediate bodies between the voluntary sector and local authorities, which led to proposals from the MK Council for Voluntary Services (CVS), led by Rev Stephen Little, suggesting transfer of the Social Development Department and its resources & buildings to a ‘Community Trust.’ Peter recounts details of the development of proposals, first by a 1980 Working Party, chaired by David Baxter, to set up a Payroll Scheme and Community Trust (modelled on USA schemes). In 1984 MKDC launched a Payroll Scheme with Steering Committee and a Board of Directors for a Community Trust. The Trust strategies were approved by the Home Office in March 1986 with a budget of £25k for 3 years; in 1988 MKDC agreed the Trust should also administer £4k of its Minor Amenities Fund. The Trust succeeded, but the Payroll Scheme failed. The final high note was when the Government agreed that the MKDC property portfolio occupied by voluntary organisations throughout the city could be transferred to the Community Trust (now Community Foundation) when MKDC ended in 1992. In conclusion, Peter says that the MK Community Foundation has a vital role, alongside the CVO, to maintain and develop the voluntary organisations and the spaces they occupy in Milton Keynes.