Charities to gain £4.5m from dormant bank accounts

Wednesday 30 October 2024

Jersey's struggling third sector will receive £4.5 million from dormant bank accounts over the next three years.

The Chief Minister and External Relations Minister intend to allocate the money from the Jersey Reclaim Fund.

Set up in 2017, the fund is administered by the Government and made up of balances in dormant bank accounts in Jersey where contact has been lost with the customer for more than 15 years.

In recent years, £1m each year has been provided to the Jersey Community Foundation (JCF) from the Jersey Reclaim Fund.

Now Ministers wish to provide a three-year funding package for 2025 – 2027 of at least £4.5m to provide sustained support to charities and voluntary organisations, and appropriate arrangements are being made to enable the change to be implemented.

As well as supporting the community, charities will be able to use part of the grants to sustain or strengthen the resilience and sustainability of their organisation.

External Relations Minister Ian Gorst, who has responsibility for financial services, said the increased funding would support organisations who provided “invaluable” contributions to society.

He added: “This package will provide increased financial support for charities and voluntary organisations over a longer period, increasing confidence and recognising their invaluable contribution to our society.

“I’m grateful to all those financial services institutions who support the reclaim fund, and to the JCF for their continued work.”

Charities can also use part of their grant to improve the sustainability of their organisation.

A recent report on the value of the third sector stated that a third of charities were “vulnerable”, with less than three months of reserves left, while the Jersey Community Foundation has also called for increased support for charities from financial services firms.

Jersey Recovery College, which offered education and training to islanders experiencing mental health difficulties, cited increasing costs and a reduction in donations as factors in its decision to close with immediate effect in August this year.

Ten staff lost their jobs, while around 50 volunteers were affected.

Following JRC’s closure, Robert Surcouf, Deputy Chair of the Association of Jersey Charities, warned that the charitable sector was doing “a lot of heavy lifting” when it came to mental health support in the island.

Announcing the new charity funding this week, Deputy Gorst said: “We are also discussing with JCF other schemes to match-fund large private donations, and hope to have further announcements later in the year.”

Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham added: “Against the backdrop of recent economic conditions, this government is committed to increasing and strengthening support for the sector.”