By Claire Racine

New bank accounts and low tax zones for charitable giving are the focus of the first manifesto for Community Philanthropists published by Community Foundation Network (CFN).

“We need to empower local people to fund and deliver change within their own communities,” said Matthew Bowcock, CFN chair and community philanthropist.

“In these difficult economic times when money is tight, there are far too many obstacles to philanthropists who want to engage with local groups to bring about change.”

The manifesto is the result of nine months of research by a working group of donors, grant makers and academics led by Bowcock and overseen by Baroness Prashar, CFN’s honorary president.

To write the manifesto, CFN called on the experience of its 57 local foundations, which work with around 1400 philanthropists.

Together, they make around £70 million in grants to community organisations every year.

The manifesto’s 29 recommendations include the establishment of a system of lifetime legacies to enable philanthropists to release funds earlier, the creation of special giving zones with favourable tax treatment for donors and the set-up of a £30 million Philanthropy Infrastructure Investment Fund to provide seed capital to support IT projects to release more giving.

CFN is now inviting comments on this draft manifesto before it publishes its final proposals in the autumn.

All comments should be sent to Community Foundation Network, Arena House, 66-68 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9HS or emailed to network@communityfoundations.org.uk, no later than 31st July 2009.