An 'ask' from the LionHeart chair
As the nights start to draw in, two asks are guaranteed - Siri will be asked daily by my daughter how many sleeps there are until Christmas, and I will be asked to pay my RICS subs!
And, after being appointed Chair of LionHeart earlier this year, I’ll be adding an ask of my own - asking my fellow surveyors to donate to LionHeart alongside paying their subs, if they are in a position to.
It’s a common misconception that LionHeart receives funding from RICS: we don’t. The only money that RICS gives to LionHeart is the money they collect for us from those surveyors who commit to donate by ticking the box as they pay their subs. So in short, your donations are what keep the lights on and the phones operational for the team (and for the surveyors who need us).
With many changes to the RICS corporate payment scheme, more and more firms and organisations are now able to bulk pay their employees’ subs directly to RICS. That means more and more individual members are no longer being presented with their subs invoice each year. As a result we have seen a significant decrease in the number of donations which quite simply impacts our bottom line.
In numbers: while demand for services has risen 100% in the last 5 years, we have seen a 40% drop in donations over the same period. You don’t need to be an accountant to see those numbers don’t add up.
The work that LionHeart does is hugely valuable - have a look at the comments from people we have helped, or our impact report to see the difference we are able to make to individuals. We are here for RICS members past and present and for your families too.
The range of services we provide is far more than just grants, although we gave out well over £500,000 in grants last year alone to families and individuals in difficult circumstances. But in addition to that there’s counselling, coaching, career and legal advice, APC support and more at the end of the phone. Our wonderful support staff are there and ready to help RICS professionals, wherever in the world they are and whatever it is they are facing.
But, in the face of falling financial support, what can you do to help?
If you pay your own subs
Tick the box to tell RICS you want to donate £25 to us, they’ll make sure we get the money. If you'd like to give more, or less, or would prefer to set up a regular donation to suit you, you can do so on the LionHeart website
If your company pays for you
You don’t get the chance to make your suggested £25 donation via the RICS subs portal, so please:
- Make a donation of your chosen amount securely on the LionHeart website
- Even better, set up a Direct Debit so that you don’t have to remember to do it all again next year!
- Or one better again, how about asking your company to match fund the donations of RICS professionals to LionHeart and help us double our funds that way - speak to our partnerships team for more information and support on this
And, most of all, don’t forget to talk about it with your colleagues! Please remind them LionHeart needs the support of the profession to keep supporting the profession. If everyone nudges one other person, then we double our money - you can do the maths if you nudge more!
Hopefully you’ll have seen that 2024 is our 125th anniversary year; a big milestone for LionHeart, and the surveying community! The staff team and the trustees are so proud of what LionHeart has done (and continues to do) for surveyors and their families since 1899. But we couldn’t have done that without the support of the surveying community past and present.
We are committed to being here for you and your family now and throughout your career - and we’re asking for your help to keep us here for the next 125 years so that LionHeart can continue to serve the profession.
Thank you!
Philippa Sampson-Bancroft FRICS has worked in housing, development and regeneration throughout her public sector career, qualifying as a Planning and Development surveyor in 2016 and achieving FRICS in 2024. She joined LionHeart as a trustee in 2020, becoming vice-chair in 2023.
Find out more
See below for 7 ways your donations helped last year
