Dormant Accounts Fund NI supports the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Northern Ireland to be more resilient and prepared for the future by funding activity that increases capacity and sustainability. The programme will support organisations to adapt to future challenges and be more financially resilient.

The funding distributed through Dormant Accounts Fund NI is not generated through National Lottery activity. 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.

We received policy directions from the Department of Finance in September 2019 to distribute these funds to the sector. Money from Dormant Accounts will continue to be released for us to distribute each year to support capacity-building and increase resilience and sustainability in the Northern Ireland VCSE sector.

Given that this is a rolling fund, we’re taking a phased and long-term approach to support the sector, based on learning. Organisations can only receive one award so we are encouraging groups to take their time in developing an idea which will best fit their needs for the future.

For this first phase, we have developed a flexible and responsive grant programme that will support organisations to be able to adapt to future challenges and be more financially resilient. We want to fund organisations that can identify the best way to improve their long-term capacity, sustainability or resilience to best deliver their mission.

We’ll award funding for between one and three years, in order to have the greatest impact for the organisations and the communities they serve.

Up to £100,000 is available for individual organisations.

If you are working with other organisations to share services or are considering merging with another organisation, talk to us before you apply as we may consider awarding more than £100,000.

The Dormant Accounts Fund will also support larger strategic investments that will enable collaboration and develop new and creative approaches to sustainability for the sector. These will be Northern Ireland-wide or sector-specific proposals that could focus on a specific theme. Contact us if you feel this avenue is more appropriate for your idea.

Area: Northern Ireland
Funding size: Up to £100,000 for individual organisations. If you are working with other organisations to share services or are considering merging with another organisation, talk to us before you apply as we may consider awarding more than £100,000
Total available: Total programme pot will vary, depending on Dormant Accounts funding available
Application deadline: 5pm 3 March 2023
Important information regarding this programme

We are pleased that new legislation has now been passed expanding the UK-wide scheme to include a wider range of Dormant Assets in the future. This means that additional funds will be made available to Northern Ireland through the scheme in the future, as announced by Finance Minister Conor Murphy on 25 October 2022.

The Department of Finance has confirmed its policy direction that the Dormant Assets scheme should continue to support the sector to build capacity, resilience and sustainability in the future.

We plan to close Phase One of the fund on Friday 3 March 2023. We will continue to assess applications received before this date and expect to continue making awards into the summer, but no new applications will be accepted after this date.

We will continue to have conversations with the sector regarding strategic projects. Discussions will take place with organisations who are interested in developing ideas that enable collaboration and develop new and creative approaches to the sustainability of the sector.

While the programme is closed to Phase One applications, we will reflect on how we have delivered against policy directions and engage further with the sector to identify and address gaps. In doing this, we will continue to work with the Department of Finance and ensure that feedback from stakeholders informs the development of the next phase.

To apply, click here!