Complaints procedure

The Cornwall Community Foundation is committed to providing a quality service and achieving the highest standards of conduct. The Foundation welcomes comments, complaints and recommendations about our services, and we treat them as an opportunity to develop. We are grateful therefore to hear from people who are willing to take the time to help us improve, and will always thank people who contact us with feedback or to tell us about their problems, concerns or worries.

We aim to ensure that:

Making a complaint is as straightforward as possible;
We treat a complaint as any clear expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for a timely response;
We treat it seriously whether it is made in person, by telephone, by letter, by fax, or by e-mail;
We deal with it promptly and politely;
We respond in the right way – for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have made mistakes, or information on any action taken;
We learn from complaints and use them to improve our service.

Please note that grant award decisions are final and will not be revisited or overturned. This policy relates to expressions of dissatisfaction about the quality or nature of our service.

General advice about complaining

If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from the CCF we hope that in the first instance you will feel able to speak about the problem with the member of staff of the Foundation who is involved with the particular matter, or with the CEO. It is hoped that this will lead to a resolution of the issue in the most informal way. If that is not successful, however, or if you are not content to follow that course of action for whatever reason, the following information is provided to guide you on how you can take the matter forward in other more formal ways.

How to make a more formal complaint

In the first instance, a complaint should be made to the CEO of the Foundation. We request that all complaints are in writing to reduce any misunderstandings about what the actual details of the complaint are.
If you require some help in doing that, please do not hesitate to ask for such help. Every effort will be made to provide assistance in an appropriate way.
Every endeavour will be made to reach a satisfactory outcomeAn outcome is the impact of a change. Outcomes measure impact by how much it affects society. within 7 working days. A record of the complaint will be prepared and maintained at the Foundation Office.
Letters and emails will be acknowledged by the CEO, normally within 24 hours.
The CEO will investigate the circumstances outlined in the complaint, and will reach a decision regarding it.
A response in writing will be sent to the complainant, whenever possible within 10 working days of first receiving the letter of complaint.
If a complainant is not satisfied with the response and decision (or, because the complaint involves the CEO, and a complainant feels unable to address it to them in the first instance), the complainant may write to the Board of Trustees of the CCF.
Complaints about the operation of a grant scheme will be dealt with in the first instance by the CEO. If he or she is unable to resolve a complaint it will be passed on to the Chair of the Grants Committee, and if still not resolved, the Chair of the Board.
The Funder will be involved wherever necessary, in line with the guidance set out in the agreement.
The aim will be to produce a decision and response, which is final, and to notify the complainant of that decision, together with a clear explanation the reason(s) for reaching it, within 15 working days of receiving the letter of complaint
The Chair of CCF, after taking all matters into account, will take the final decision.