Carnegie United Kingdom Trust
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, established by Scottish-born American steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
on the model of his U.S. foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
.
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust was founded in 1913 with an endowment of $10 million and formally incorporated by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
on 19 May 1917. It is a registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
under Scottish law and in 2007–08 had a gross income of £2,875,562.
It has its headquarters at Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, the hometown of Andrew Carnegie, in Andrew Carnegie House, a new building opened in 2008 on the edge of Pittencrieff Park
Pittencrieff Park
Pittencrieff Park is a public park in Dunfermline. It was purchased in 1902 by the town's most famous son, Andrew Carnegie, and gifted to the people of Dunfermline in a ceremony the following year...
. This also houses the head offices of the Dunfermline Carnegie Trust, the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust, and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland is a charitable trust established by Andrew Carnegie in 1901 for the benefit of the universities of Scotland, their students and their staff....
.
In its early years the Trust focused on the building of Carnegie libraries
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
, then in the 1920s moved into the promotion of adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
, funding the Workers' Educational Association
Workers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
, Carnegie College in Leeds, (now part of Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
), Coleg Harlech
Coleg Harlech
Coleg Harlech is a further education college for mature students in Harlech, Gwynedd.It is Wales' only long-term, mature students education college and was established in 1927 by Thomas Jones , Cabinet Secretary to both David Lloyd George and Stanley Baldwin, to continue the work of Workers'...
in Wales and Newbattle Abbey
Newbattle Abbey
Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which has subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution.-Monastery:...
college in Scotland.
After World War II the Trust established a number of independent national Carnegie Commissions of Inquiry and was instrumental in promoting the concept of a Welfare State
Welfare State
The Welfare State is a commitment to health, education, employment and social security in the United Kingdom.-Background:The United Kingdom, as a welfare state, was prefigured in the William Beveridge Report in 1942, which identified five "Giant Evils" in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness...
.
In 2001 it was a founding partner in establishing the Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy which are awarded every two years to one or more individuals who "have dedicated their private wealth to public good and who have a sustained an impressive career as a philanthropist."
In 2003 the Trust abandoned its grant-making policies and redefined itself as a social foundation and think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
and is now involved in "areas of public concern to influence policy and practice, in the interest of democracy, civil society and social justice."
Further reading
- Lester, Robert M. (1941) Forty Years of Carnegie Giving: A Summary of the Benefactions of Andrew Carnegie and of the Work of the Philanthropic Trusts Which He Created. New York: C. Scribner's Sons.