Special Purpose Funds (SPFs)
The Royal Free Charity manages over 200 unique funds, each set up to support a specific purpose within the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL). These funds are called Special Purpose Funds (SPFs).
SPFs contain money that has been donated to the charity to be spent on a particular area of disease, department, or service. This could include funds donated to honour the care a loved one received while undergoing treatment, or to support a particular area of research.
There may be SPFs you can use to support your patients, or you and your colleagues, in line with the fund’s purpose. Our SPF funding is now aligned with our grant funding, and we will not provide a grant if there is charitable money available in an SPF. To find out if there’s an SPF available, please email [email protected].
Please note not all departments have an SPF, as they are created uniquely from the donations the charity receives. If you’d like to fundraise for your department, please contact our fundraising team who can assist you at [email protected].
For further information please refer to our SPF guidance and our FAQs here.
1. How can I find out if I have access to a special purpose fund (SPF)?
As our SPFs are either specific to an area of disease or a department, please check with your department head whether there is an SPF for your department/area of work. If unsure, please email [email protected] and we can investigate what might be available.
Please note, not all departments have an SPF, as they are created uniquely from the donations the charity receives. If you’d like to fundraise for your department, please contact our fundraising team who can assist you at [email protected].
2. What can be funded from a SPF?
All expenditure must fall into one of the approved expenditure categories in our SPF guidance, AND be in line with the purpose of the fund. If in doubt about a potential expense, please email [email protected]. Expenses that are not approved will not be reimbursed.
3. What cannot be funded from an SPF?
Anything that sits outside the defined purpose of the fund and SPF guidance. We cannot fund:
- Staff entertaining
- Christmas parties
- Payments or gifts to individual patients
- Payments or gifts to staff (*see guidance for retirement gifts)
- Degree or master’s course expenses (*with the exception of funds with the stated purpose of education)
- There are restrictions on the purchase on gift vouchers
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] for guidance before making a purchase. Expenses that are not approved will not be reimbursed.
4. Can I spend from a fund?
If you’re not the signatory, please contact the signatories of the fund to ensure they authorise the expenditure. Signatories are designated individuals who manage the expenditure of the fund and ensure it is in line with guidance and the purpose of the fund.
If you need assistance, please contact [email protected] and we can advise.
5. How do I make a claim
Please use the documents below to help you in submitting your claim. Ensuring that you have submitted all the correct documentation will ensure your claim is processed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Acceptable receipts and invoices
6. When will I, or the supplier, receive payment?
Please allow 30 days for the funds to be received if submitted with the correct supporting documentation. If supporting documentation is not received, or scans are unclear or cannot be read, this will delay processing times.
Payment runs happen every two weeks on a Friday, and it takes three working days to reach a recipient bank account from the date of RFC making the payment.
