The charity regulator for Wales and England has announced that over £10 million of unused charitable funds has been recovered to support communities across Wales.
The Revitalising Trusts programme ensures charitable funds that are lying dormant are spent and make a difference as originally intended. The programme helps charities by supporting and advising trustees who find it hard to spend their income, recruit new trustees, identify beneficiaries, or find time to run the charity.
Good causes, community foundations and charities across Wales have received a collective total of £10,361,324 since the programme started in 2021. With help from the programme, 72 charities that were inactive are now operating again.
When a charity cannot continue but has unspent funds, the regulator helps trustees to identify a charity or charities with similar purposes that can use the funds as intended. Those who cannot identify a suitable charity, can transfer funds to Community Foundation Wales. The regulator has overseen a total of £1,522,068 transferred to Community Foundation Wales.
Marking this milestone, Charity Commission Chief Executive David Holdsworth visited Dinas Powys Voluntary Concern – a recipient of Community Foundation funding. For over 50 years, the charity has worked with the local community to enable the elderly and people with limited mobility to maintain their independence, providing services such as transport to the local medical centre, wellbeing services and a soup lunch programme. After receiving a grant, the charity has expanded its wellbeing garden.
David Holdsworth, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said
It’s important that every penny of charitable funds goes where intended. It’s great to be in Wales again, seeing for myself the impact of our Revitalising Trusts programme. We’ve now distributed over £10 million of dormant funds and by continuing to work with Community Foundation Wales, the Welsh government and trustees, I’m confident we can make even more of a positive difference to people and communities across the country. I encourage anyone working with a charity that has fallen inactive to reach out to us.
In these challenging economic times, small charities and trusts continue to play a crucial role in meeting the urgent needs of communities across Wales.
We are proud to have supported the Charity Commission, through the Revitalising Trusts programme, to unlock over £10 million of unused charitable funds to help support people across Wales.
We recognise that trustees are concerned about inactive funds, and we are here to support them in adjusting charitable purposes or releasing these funds to communities in need.
As a result of this support, Community Foundation Wales has been able to invest in more Welsh communities so they continue to benefit, as was originally intended, from these funds.
Notes to editors
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The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive. This ambition will help to create and sustain an environment where charities further build public trust and ultimately fulfil their essential role in enhancing lives and strengthening society. Find out more About us – The Charity Commission (www.gov.uk)
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Over £1.2m has been revitalised in Swansea, almost £900,000 in Cardiff and almost £75,000 in Carmarthenshire. The largest sum recovered so far is in North Wales amounting to over £1.9m, with mid Wales reaching over £1.4m. *Figures are based on register data and so this does not capture charities/funds that do not list a specific region of Wales.
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If you are working with a charity possibly in need of our help, email the Charity Commission at CSrevitalisingtrusts@charitycommission.gov.uk for information and advice.
