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A Dormant Asset is a financial product which has been dormant for over 15 years, where an owner cannot be traced. The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act established a system for distributing dormant accounts (2008), and later, assets (2022), to good causes in the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund is the sole named distributor of Dormant Assets money, distributing funds across all four nations of the UK. In Northern Ireland (NI), the funding has been used to support the NI Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector to be more resilient and prepared for the future, by funding activity that increases capacity and sustainability.

In January 2021, The National Lottery Community Fund launched the Dormant Assets NI Phase 1 Grant Programme, which offered grants to VCSE sector organisations in NI to fund activities seeking to build their capacity, resilience and sustainability. By its closure in March 2023, the Grant Programme had received over 700 applications and had awarded nearly £20m to 244 VCSE sector organisations in NI. 

SQW was commissioned to evaluate the Grant Programme in November 2023. The evaluation runs to May 2025 and aims to provide evidence about the extent to which the Grant Programme and its funded activities are contributing to improving the resilience of VCSEs in NI. It also seeks to share what can be learnt regarding effective practice in sector capacity building, resilience and sustainability.

The first interim evaluation report has been published here with an executive summary, alongside a blog and infographic setting out learning from a rapid wider evidence review conducted as part of the evaluation. The rapid evidence review drew on findings from a small sample of literature focused on building capacity, resilience and sustainability in the VCSE sector. Alongside this, SQW conducted a survey of grant holders, a survey of unsuccessful applicants, and a series of interviews with each cohort.

At this first interim stage, we have found:

• The Grant Programme received a considerable number of applications, suggesting demand for this type of grant fund. Motivations for applying reflected the broader socioeconomic context for VCSE bodies in NI, notably the short-termism of VCSE sector funding, increasing costs and demand, and cost of living challenges.
• The programme aims aligned with the sector’s key challenges. Crucially, the Grant Programme was seen as a rare opportunity for VCSE organisations to access funding which would support organisational strategic activity and sustainability planning, as opposed to short-term project funding.
• Encouragingly, the activities delivered by grant holders have reflected effective practice identified in the wider evidence base. Overall, grant holders report making good progress in delivering Grant funded activities. The flex of the programme was valued by grant holders.
• Funding remains a key challenge for some grant holders. The purpose of the Grant Programme was to generate transformative change for organisations in the VCSE sector to alleviate issues around funding, leading to sustainable financially resilient organisations. It is interesting, therefore, that funding is still considered a significant challenge.

A recording of the webinar we delivered with the National Lottery Community Fund reflecting on the findings from the first interim evaluation is also available to watch below.