24 July 2003
SPELLAR ANNOUNCES £2MILLION BOOST FOR GROUPS
John Spellar, MP, the Minister with responsibility for Social Development, announced a £2 million boost for voluntary and community groups in Northern Ireland today.
The Minister was speaking at the headquarters of the Community Foundation in Belfast. He announced that the Department for Social Development will donate £2 million to the Foundation’s Endowment Fund and that this money will generate at least a further £2 million from other sources.
The Minister said: "I am acutely aware that many in the voluntary and community sector have concerns about their future; about how they can replace sources of funding that are either reducing or drawing to an end. I share their concern about the possible impact on services and facilities they provide that form an intrinsic part of the lives of so many people.
"The need for sustainability is very real at all levels, whether that means maintaining a comprehensive range of full time community services, or helping a small group to cover the cost of renting a room for one evening a month.
"That is why the Department for Social Development has set up the Task Force on Resourcing the Voluntary and Community Sector. This will identify action necessary to ensure that the sector can continue to make a major contribution to community life in Northern Ireland. Its report is due in March next year.
"This announcement today is therefore very timely. As the foundation moves towards its 25th year, it is embarking on yet another challenge in setting out to raise additional resources through a fundraising drive – which will involve private individuals and the corporate sector. I am confident that the £2 million that I have announced today will act as a catalyst to further contributions from a range of other sources."
Avila Kilmurray, Director of Community Foundation, said: "We are delighted at the news that the Community Foundation is to receive a £2 million pound Challenge Grant from the Department for Social Development. We happily accept both the generous cheque and the challenge to match the grant by raising a minimum of a further £2million from private sources.
"We have already received indications that £2 million will be made available by a major charitable donor to augment the investment in the Foundation endowment. Consequently today we pledge to raise a further £1 million to complement the amounts already secured.
"The increased endowment investment will lay the basis for long term grant-making to community and voluntary sector projects across Northern Ireland. The commitment to funding could not have come at a better time, as it will be delivering real benefits to real people at a time when European Peace funding is expected to end in 2006."
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, formerly the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, was established in 1979 to fund and support community organisations in Northern Ireland. The Foundation supports community development and social and economic regeneration across Northern Ireland. It has worked with groups on all sides of the community in order to promote a stable society.
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