About the Thomas Davies Charity
A small charitable trust, constituted long ago, and still quietly doing the work it was set up to do — within one Welsh parish and for one specific kind of need.
Our story
A gift, remembered in the place it was given.
The Thomas Davies Charity takes its name from its benefactor, whose legacy was placed in trust for the children of Llanybydder. Like many small parish charities across Wales, ours is part of a quiet older tradition: people of modest means leaving what they could, so that those without means might later receive something.
The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and carries the charity number 215597. It has continued since then under trustees drawn from the community, whose task is simply to carry out the founder's intention — carefully and without fuss.
Our constitution
The charity is governed by the terms of its founding instrument. That instrument restricts the charity in two important ways:
- By beneficiary: our assistance is for children who have lost both parents ("fully orphaned").
- By place: those children must live within the parish of Llanybydder in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
These limits are not restrictions we choose — they are fixed by the gift that created the charity. The trustees take them seriously and apply them honestly.
Area of benefit
Llanybydder is a small market town and parish on the river Teifi in Carmarthenshire, historically known for its horse fair and as part of the rural heart of Welsh-speaking Wales. Our area of benefit is the parish itself, traditionally understood. If you are uncertain whether a child's home falls within our area of benefit, please contact the trustees and we will help you check.
How we are run
The charity is administered by its trustees, who serve voluntarily and receive no payment. There are no employees, no contracted fundraisers, and no operating offices. Every pound held by the charity is held for the beneficiaries. Administration is deliberately kept to a minimum so that the endowment remains directed at the purpose for which it was given.
Our reporting
Each year the charity submits its annual return and accounts to the Charity Commission. Our reporting is currently recorded as on time, and our details can be checked at any point on the public register of charities. We see public transparency as part of the trust we hold.
Why this charity matters
Small, local, and answerable to the parish.
Charities like ours are easy to overlook. We do not run campaigns. We do not advertise. We do not fundraise from strangers. And yet, in each generation, there is a child in Llanybydder whose circumstances have changed overnight — and for whom a small, kindly, local response makes a real difference.
That is what parish charities are for. We exist so that the community, even when it does not know by name who needs help, has already arranged — decades in advance — to respond when help is needed.
How to apply for support →