£1 million fund to help Staffordshire charities
Community groups across Staffordshire are in line for a £1 million boost out of funds raised from dormant charitable trusts.
The Community Foundation for Staffordshire, a charitable body which distributes funds to good causes in the county, says it has been able to raise more than £1m from dormant trusts since January this year.
The foundation estimates that £12-to-15m is currently held in the county by charities or trusts that may not be able to meet their goals, or where the trustees are no longer able or willing to manage the fund.
This year, it has been able to realise £1m from dormant trusts in Stafford, Lichfield, Tamworth, Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands, in some cases having lain there for many years, which will now be used to help people.
The foundation, a registered charity, invests the money to provide returns, and distributes it in the form of grants.
One example is a trust in Stafford, worth £20,000, set up in the early 1900s to help 'poor orphan girls'. Having received few applications for the funds, the trustees transferred the funds to The Community Foundation, which has now doubled the value of the pot to £40,000 and is working with trustees to widen its remit, making it more relevant to the present time.
Long history
Chief executive Steve Adams said: “We have a long history of working with trustees of local trust funds to help them breathe new life into their charity.
"We help to reduce the administrative burden, grow their worth and help ensure the trust becomes fit for the future. It is an excellent way to ensure trustees can relieve themselves of tiresome burdens, whilst making sure that they do the best for their trust. And more importantly, their funds stay local – going on to help more people than ever before in Staffordshire."
Mr Adams said there were many funds across the UK that were inactive.
“The original founders and trustees may have passed away and many of the funds are now relatively small pots of money, which makes it difficult to ensure they have a meaningful and local impact," he said.
"Collectively these trusts make up a significant amount which could make a huge difference to local communities."
Mr Adams urged anybody who knew of inactive trusts to get in touch so the foundation could analyse whether they could better benefit the community.
He said the Office for Civil Society and the Charity Commission worked with local community foundations to transfer millions of pounds of inactive trusts funds to invest into their areas.
