NI Community Foundation increases grants by £1 million
Howard Lake | 5 September 2014 | News
The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland’s grant giving was up over £1 million in 2013, according to its latest annual accounts.
Grant income was £4.6 million last year compared to £3.6 million the year before. The increase in grants was despite a significant drop in voluntary income which fell to £133,000 from £337,000.
Most of the Foundation’s grant income comes from various funds it administers on behalf of such organisations as the EU Peace Programme and Atlantic Philanthropies. ‘Funds received’ increased from £4.6 million to £7.1 million which included additional funding from the EU, Atlantic Philanthropies and nearly £790,000 from the Community Relations Council for ‘interim funding.’
The Foundation administers grants for a number of private sector companies in the banking and energy sectors. Other grants are also distributed on behalf of Comic Relief and the lottery funded Building Change Trust.
The Foundation’s own funds provide grants to community organisations throughout Northern Ireland, ranging from several hundred pounds to £10,000.
The accounts also record an ‘exceptional item’ of £4.6 million which the Foundation transferred from its endowment to cover a pension liability. As a result, the Foundation’s capital endowment declined from £14.4 million to £9.8 million.
The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has 44 staff, including three working on fundraising.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.