A grant of £1.5 million has been allocated to island charities from dormant bank accounts in Jersey where contact has been lost with the customer for more than 15 years.
It is part of a three-year funding package that will total £4.5 million from 2025 to 2027.
In October last year, Ministers announced their intention to provide a three-year funding package of at least £4.5m between 2025 and 2027 to provide sustained support for local charities and voluntary organisations.
It came after a report last year found that a third of Jersey charities could have as little as three months of funding left in their reserves.
Established in 2017, the Jersey Reclaim Fund is administered by the government and consists of balances in dormant bank accounts in Jersey where contact has been lost with the customer for more than 15 years.
That money is then absorbed into the fund – however the customer can get back in contact with the bank at any time to ask for their money to be reimbursed.
External Relation Minister Ian Gorst, who is responsible for financial services, said: “This allocation from the Jersey Reclaim Fund marks the beginning of a new phase of long-term support for our charitable and voluntary sector.
“By providing funding over the next three years, we are giving organisations the certainty they need to plan ahead, and also to invest in their own resilience in order to serve our island community.
“I’d like to thank Jersey’s financial institutions for continuing to work with the fund, and the Jersey Community Foundation for their crucial role in making sure these grants reach the organisations and recipients that need them most.”
The funds will be allocated by the Jersey Community Foundation (JCF) to support charities on the island.
JCF CEO Anna Terry said: “We’re delighted that the Government of Jersey has not only allocated £1.5 million from dormant bank accounts to the Jersey Community Foundation this year, but also committed to a three-year partnership.
“This long-term support enables us to offer multi-year grants, giving charitable organisations the stability they need to plan and deliver lasting impact.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the government’s trust in us to manage and distribute these funds, and we look forward to continuing to support the vital work being done across the island.”
Charities can apply for grants from the fund, with priority to be given to projects in areas which have been identified as most pressing in recent local needs assessment research:
- Healthy living (including obesity)
- Mental health
- Care for an ageing population
- Community inclusion/inequality
- Cost-of-living impact (poverty)
There will be two rounds of funding this year and successful applicants from the first round will be notified within the next week.
A request made under the Freedom of Information Law revealed that, as of October 2024, there was a total of £42.385 million which can distributed to charities from the fund or used to reimburse customers who contact the banks.
The fund also pays for the administration of the office of the Jersey Charity Commissioner and is not classified as public money.