Dorset County Council has transferred six trust funds worth £254,000 to Dorset Community Foundation’s DCF Bursary Scheme. The trusts were set up by local people over several decades and bequeathed to Dorset County Council who became the sole trustee.

The Foundation put together a proposal to Dorset County Council and worked with the Charity Commission to wind up the six trusts and clear the way for the transfer of the endowed funds to a single fund with similar educational aims. The transfer which happened towards the end of the summer is already supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the DCF Bursary Scheme.

Chris Scally, Joint Commissioning Manager at Dorset County Council explained: ‘We are pleased with the trust transfer and the work of the Foundation. Together, we have simplified some complex funding arrangements to help create a single Dorset Bursary Scheme of a reasonable will size. We hope that this bursary will now be able to attract more funding, whether it be from other trusts funds or from new bequests. The trust transfer was only completed a couple of months ago and the money transferred into an endowment fund is already supporting young people in education and training and will do so for future generations. ‘

The Foundation works with local authorities, charities and trusts to manage dormant or ineffective trusts. We also work with organisations that are facing difficulty with succession planning or those looking to alleviate the significant administration needed to manage an effective grant-making trust.