Mellon charity donations fall 25%

MELLON TOWNSHIP Limited, the organisation that runs a volunteer programme for the building of social housing in South Africa, saw donations fall 25 per cent in 2010, the charity said yesterday.

Total income dropped 46 per cent to €4.2 million last year, according to accounts just filed at the Companies Office.

Volunteer income fell from €5.3 million to €3 million, while total charitable expenditure arrived at almost €3.1 million, down from almost €11.9 million the previous year.

The fall in total income from €7.9 million to €4.2 million in 2010 is partially explained by a €1.9 million personal donation made by Niall Mellon in 2009. The sum accounted for 75 per cent of the Irish donations in 2009, boosting the figures for that year.

The charity has a separate company in South Africa, where turnover in 2010 was €21.5 million, down 12 per cent on 2009.

Mr Mellon said that despite the recession, the charity had continued to get “strong support” from Irish people. More than 600 people have signed up to his annual one-week building blitz in South Africa in November.

The charity said it was “in good shape financially” as a result of decisions made after the collapse of the Irish banks in 2008. “We cut our costs quickly and that eased pressure off us.”

The organisation has a surplus of €1.2 million as of the end of 2010, compared to a deficit of almost €4 million in 2009.

The bulk of its money now comes from the South African government, which has increased the money available to build homes.

The charity built almost 3,000 homes last year and expects to complete 3,500 homes this year.

Since being founded in 2002 by Mr Mellon, an entrepreneur who worked in the financial services and other industries, the trust has built 17,5000 homes, housing 87,500 people.