# Dormant accounts funding to open in June in N Ireland

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/03/10/dormant-accounts-funding-to-open-in-june-in-n-ireland/
- Published: 2020-03-10T14:06:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The Community Fund in Northern Ireland say they expect to open the Dormant Accounts
Fund for applications in June 2020.**

Dormant accounts are UK bank and building society accounts that have been untouched
for 15 or more years, and where banks and building societies are unable to trace
the customer who owns the account. Around £16 million has accrued from dormant accounts
in Northern Ireland in the past 10 years.

‘We will be sharing our plans for this fund with the Department of Finance in March,
who will then lay the strategic action plan in the Northern Ireland Assembly,’ the
Community Fund says.

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## Consultation on dormant accounts

The plans for the Dormant accounts funding have [developed following a consultation](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/10/18/dormant-accounts-fund-consultation-launched-in-northern-ireland/)
over the last few months which was framed around a number of questions:

 * What are the existing barriers to resilience in the VCSE sector?
 * In what ways does the sector need to build its capacity?
 * What does a sustainable third sector look like?
 * How could this funding support the sector to build its capacity and sustainability?

To allow for the greatest impact over a sustained period of time, the [Community Fund](http://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/media/Dormant-Accounts)
say they will adopt a tiered and phased approach will allow them to both respond
to some of the immediate needs of the voluntary sector while also identifying opportunities
for longer term support and development.

‘In the first phase, we plan to offer small, flexible and responsive grant funding
to build the core resilience of individual organisations,’ the Community Fund says.

‘We are also planning to support larger strategic investments that leverage other
funding, enable collaboration and new creative approaches to long term sustainability,’
the Community Fund adds.

## Understanding how dormant accounts funding works

In developing their funding guidelines, the Community Fund say they have used wider
learning including how dormant accounts have been delivered across the UK and Ireland
to develop the programme in Northern Ireland. They have also looked at other funding
streams and pieces of work on resilience, capacity and sustainability of the third
sector more broadly to inform their approach.

The Community Fund caution that despite the pressures on the voluntary sector they
the Dormant Accounts funding can’t be used to fill the gaps left by a reduction 
of other sources of funding.

‘It won’t provide core costs for organisations to keep their lights on – this funding
has to be used to encourage a change in mindset, providing time and space for organisations
to lift their heads from day to day delivery to effectively plan for the future,’
the Community Fund says.

 * **[Government releases £150 million from dormant assets to support charity coronavirus response](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/05/21/government-releases-150m-from-dormant-assets-to-support-charity-coronavirus-response/)**(
   21 May 2020)
 * **[Charities have received over £32 million from dormant trusts](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/07/06/charities-received-over-32-million-from-dormant-trusts/)**(
   6 July 2020)
 * **[Northern Ireland VCSE sector receives £1.3m in latest dormant accounts award](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/01/20/northern-ireland-vcse-sector-receives-1-3m-in-latest-dormant-accounts-award/)**(
   20 January 2022)