Revitalise your dormant trust

Since 2018, UKCF has been working with the Charity Commission for England and Wales through the Revitalising Trusts Programme, supporting trustees of dormant and inactive charitable trusts. We are here to help when it becomes difficult to spend your charity’s income or identify where your support should go for both now and the long term.

If your trust is inactive or dormant

According to the Charity Commission, a trust is considered inactive or dormant if it has:

not spent any money in the last five years

spent less than 30% of its income in the last five years

If this applies to your trust, you may have received a letter from the Charity Commission asking you to consider its future. Even if you haven’t received a letter but are exploring your options, we can help.

Your options as a trustee

As a trustee, your duty is to ensure that your charity’s income is spent on public benefit in line with its objectives. If this is no longer practical, you may consider:

transferring funds to another charity via the Revitalising Trusts Programme – speak to UKCF to explore this option
winding up your trust
changing your charity’s purpose to better reflect current community needs

If you choose to transfer your funds, they must go to a charity with similar purposes. However, if your trust’s objectives are outdated or restrictive, the Charity Commission may approve changes (broadening only) during the transfer.

UKCF can advise and guide you through the full process.

How we can support you

UKCF has the experience and expertise to help trustees either close or revitalise a trust. Our role is to guide you through your options and ensure your charitable funds continue to make a meaningful impact for the communities around you.

Why choose a community foundation?

Many trustees we have worked with chose to transfer their funds to a local community foundation. This is because

community foundations manage thousands of charitable funds and distribute tens of millions of pounds each year to various local causes
our governance, due diligence and grant-making processes are robust and trusted by the Charity Commission
you can stay as involved as you wish – choosing to retain influence over how funds are used, establish a named fund or step back entirely

“I was a little sceptical at first, as I didn’t want our family trust to lose its identity; I wanted it to continue in the way that we had set it up and to retain some involvement in where the money was spent.

To my relief, when I discussed my concerns with the foundation, I discovered that they were as keen as I was to ensure that the fund stayed true to its purpose and that I could remain as involved as I wanted.”

A donor who transferred a charitable fund in her father’s name to Essex Community Foundation

What does the process look like?

Every trust transfer is unique. Some are quick and straightforward; others involve more administrative and governance steps.

Here is a general outline of the process:

Trustees struggle to distribute funds.
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Trustees decide to close the trust.
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UKCF supports the trust to revise objectives and complete closure.
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Funds are transferred to a community foundation or appropriate charity.
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Funds are revitalised, supporting life-changing work in local communities.