Government cancels €950k annual grant for public database of non-profits

A review by the Department of Public Expenditure found that Benefacts, which is shutting down in March, was not providing ‘sufficient quantifiable value’

Anna Visser, social justice advocate and researcher, at the launch of Benefacts.ie with Minister Paschal Donohoe and Patricia Quinn, managing director of Benefacts, in 2016.

The government has terminated a €950,000 annual grant for a public database on the non-profit sector, after a review found it was not providing any “sufficient quantifiable value”.

Benefacts, which publishes information about the income of around 20,000 charities, community groups and voluntary groups, is shutting down in March due to the loss of the state funding.

It had a high-profile board of unpaid voluntary directors, including Rory Coveney, the brother of Simon Coveney, the ...