NICVA Chief Executive Seamus McAleavey has welcomed the recent announcement that an extra £150million will be invested into Northern Ireland communities over the next five years by the BIG Lottery, nearly a third more than originally predicted.

He said: "NICVA is delighted to hear the announcement made today by Frank Hewitt of the BIG Lottery.  This is a very significant injection of funds in years that will be very difficult for voluntary and community organisations.  In fact we expect to see falls in almost every area of income generation so this announcement stands out against the general trend."

Seamus continued, "Voluntary and community organisations have been hit by the recession at the same time as the demand for many of our services goes up.  Next year we expect heavy cuts in public expenditure which will affect public services in Northern Ireland.  That's added to a fall in public donations in the UK and an expect drop in income from charitable trusts.  Quite frankly, this is the silver lining in a sky of very dark clouds."

Read the press release from the Big Lottery Fund at Community NI.