Giving with a warm heart
23rd August 2022
Atul Manek’s extraordinary life journey has taken him from being an immigrant at 10-years-old to achieving a highly successful 30-year career in financial services.
Now, having retired aged 60, he is embarking on a new phase in his life, helping people to have better lives, using what he has learned and what he has earned through experience and dedicated work.
Establishing a family fund with the independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation (ECF) and joining the organisation’s board as a new trustee are the two elements which will enable Atul and his family to have a positive and enduring impact, both in the county of Essex and internationally.
“I have been very lucky to have had a successful and financially rewarding career,” said Atul, who lives in Shenfield.
“We came here to the UK from Uganda in 1972 months before president Idi Amin expelled Asians from the country. We arrived with nothing, when I was 10 years old. Luckily, I had a sister already studying here and she helped us to settle down. We needed to work for everything we had and I feel fortunate to have been able to build up my career.
“Knowing that I had enough money to live comfortably I wanted to give to good causes, but didn’t know the best way of doing that.
“I had given to some causes on an ad-hoc basis, but wanted something that would endure, where you could see the results of the support you are giving. I didn’t want to set up my own charity and have the burden of all the necessary administration and governance that involves.
“It was my financial adviser Dan Haylett who introduced me to Essex Community Foundation. Setting up a family fund with them has been ideal, as they take on the running of it and do it so well. I can help charities meet their objectives, in a hands-on way too, and my family will be involved in deciding which to support.
“I have been very struck by a question Dan poses to people who want to give. He asks them, ‘Wouldn’t you prefer to give your money away with a warm heart rather than a cold hand?’ In other words, he recommends giving while you are able to, in your lifetime.
“I think working with the non-profit sector is going to be very interesting. After setting up the Manek Foundation with ECF I was so inspired by their work I put myself forward as a trustee and was delighted to be asked to join the Board. I have a lot of executive experience and I believe my skills can transfer very well to the charity sector.
“I am looking forward to spreading the word about ECF and discovering more about Essex, having lived in London until 2005 and, until I retired recently, spending so much time in London for work.”
Atul and his wife Carole, a former IT professional in the City, along with daughters Krishni, Georgie and Grace will be working with ECF to give grants to organisations in Essex dealing with children’s causes, education, minority communities, refugees and asylum seekers, environmental issues and domestic abuse. The Fund will also make designated donations to chosen charities working internationally.
Carole helped establish and now runs the Women and Girls section for Hutton Cricket club where both Georgie and Grace play for the Women’s team having been founding members 10 years ago.
Krishni is currently based in New Zealand running her own web design business.
Georgie is at Leeds University studying Digital Media and is about to embark on a year at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Grace is waiting for her A-Level results and is hoping to go to Liverpool University to study Criminology.
Travel and following cricket, a great passion in the family, will also be on the agenda for Atul and Carole.
Having come such a long way since arriving on these shores as a 10-year-old, Atul is all set to embark on his new endeavour with ECF.
If giving during your lifetime is of interest to you, why not give us a call. Click here to find out more or call Perry Norton, Head of Development, on 01245 355947 or e-mail perry@essexcf.org.uk