Blindcare

Blindcare supports people who are visually impaired or blind from across the UK, focusing in particular on the expert delivery of education, vocational, independent living and employment skills training.

The charity understands that intervention at an early stage in life makes a massive positive impact on the future life chances, opportunities and outcomes for people with VI and it supports a range of projects that deliver on this.

Its main partner is the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC), the UK’s leading further education (FE) college for those aged 16 plus with visual impairment. RNC supports up to 80 students a year, age 16-25, in a residential setting and was rated ‘Outstanding’ for its residential provision by Ofsted in 2018. Some of RNC’s students go on to university while others transition into work or volunteering in their own communities.

If you’d like to find out more about supporting Blindcare or would like to update how we contact you, update your contact preferences with the charity or email us at blindcare@rnc.ac.uk

Consultation on changes to Blindcare charity March-April 2021

                                                                                                           

Blindcare’s trustees wish to consult with interested parties, in particular donors, regarding proposed amendments to the governing document of Blindcare (the articles of association). The trustees are planning to make necessary changes to the articles which have not been amended since the incorporation of the company in 1993.

Background

Supporters of Blindcare will know that it was originally founded as a consortium of charities. After many years of success, the majority of consortium members withdrew by agreement in 2019, with The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) remaining as sole member. 

Blindcare continued to distribute legacy income to the former consortium members until the end of 2020, which is the reason that proposed changes to the articles are being communicated now.

With RNC as sole member, Blindcare has accordingly shifted its focus to supporting the life changing education and training of visually impaired young people age 16-25 from across the UK which is provided by RNC. The trustees propose to amend the articles of association to reflect this change and to generally update the governance of the charity. 

Changes

The current objects of Blindcare refer to enabling ‘the Member Charities to better meet their respective charitable purposes’, which reflects the previous consortium arrangement. The trustees propose to amend the objects to recognise the current focus of Blindcare with RNC as sole member and beneficiary charity, as follows:

‘The objects for which the Company is established are to promote the relief of people who are blind or partially sighted, in particular by enabling The Royal National College for the Blind to better meet its charitable purposes.’ 

In addition to the object change, the trustees propose to generally update the articles. In particular, they will be amended to:

• remove references to the former Member Charities and reflect the current governance structure;
• update the restrictions around benefits to trustees and conflicts of interest, so that they are based on the Charity Commission’s model articles; and
• amend the dissolution clause to allow RNC as the beneficiary charity to receive assets from Blindcare in the event of its winding up.

The trustees believe that these changes are in the best interests of Blindcare to further its purpose and convey its current work with RNC. 

Representations

If you have any comments or questions regarding the proposed amendments to the articles of Blindcare, please email blindcare@rncb.ac.uk by 26 April 2021. These representations will be considered by the trustees as part of their review.

Lucy Proctor
Chair of Trustees, Blindcare