The Charity Commission has halved its target for releasing funds from inactive charities in Wales to £12m after just £50,000 was released in the first year of the scheme.
It launched the Revitalising Trusts Programme in Wales last year with an aim to redistribute £25m from inactive trusts to other good causes.
But so far, just £50,000 has been released for good causes under the scheme, with 46 small charities being “revitalised”, while a further £1.1m is in the pipeline to be released.
The regulator has now announced that it aims to unlock up to £12m of dormant charitable funds in Wales over the next two years through the programme, in which Community Foundation Wales redistributes the money to good causes.
The Welsh Government has paid £169,000 into the scheme since it launched and will pledge another £42,000 this financial year.
By comparison, the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), alongside Foundation Scotland, has “revitalised” around £3m since its equivalent programme launched last year.
The Charity Commission said the original £25m target for the Welsh programme was based on the success of its similar scheme in England, which has redistributed almost £80m to local projects since it launched in 2019.
Scottish scheme ‘revitalises’ £3m in first year
The OSCR said 13 charities with assets totalling £2.6m had been reactivated under its scheme, which launched in April 2021, and were now fulfilling activities themselves.
Another 15 charities with £233,500-worth of assets were “spending up or transferring assets to another charity”.
And three charities with assets amounting to £153,500 were “considering alternative management options”.
Its programme originally identified around 400 charities that may not be using their funds to full effect.
Meanwhile, the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation has received £4.6m through the English version of Revitalising Trusts programme, the largest transfer of funds since the initiative was set up.
Related articles
