Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Communities Alex Muscat and National Development and Social Fund (NDSF) CEO Raymond Ellul have announced a solidarity contribution from the NDSF to alleviate the financial shortfall from the Telethon Technical Glitch.

The one-time contribution is equivalent to €1 million. This will be divided as follows: a total of €500,000 will be given to the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF), €350,000 will be given to Dar tal-Providenza and €150,000 will be given to Caritas Malta.

This comes following a technical issue that led to the double registration of pledged donations during several fundraising marathons in 2020. This means that the real amount collected was €1.4 million less than originally thought. The main fund raisers affected by this one-time technical glitch were the Istrina campaign organised by the MCCF, Dar tal-Providenza and Caritas Malta.

During a press conference on Saturday, NDSF CEO Ellul said that the fund aims to field a solidarity contribution with three major organisations in Malta. These include the Malta Community Chest Fund, Dar tal-Providenza and Caritas Malta.

“These organisation encountered a problem during an annual fundraising event which takes place to support their operation. Consequently, the NDSF together with the board saw how it could help these organisations continue with their work,” Ellul said.

Ellul highlighted that the grant which is being announced helps address a serious financial situation that could have interrupted the important work of the three organisations.

He remarked that since the fund was set up, social grants have already been approved to be given to various major voluntary organisations to move towards co-financing of projects that are considered to be of national importance and that will benefit both present and future generations.

Ellul mentioned how the NDSF is already contributing through investements such as the €8 million investment in St Michael Hospice as well as another investment of around €1.5 million which is allowing Caritas Malta to improve its facilities in San Blas and Blata l-Bajda.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat said that “the NDSF is there for us to use and for those in need.”

He explained that the NDSF manages funding from residency and citizenship initiatives.

“We remain committed to attracting foreign direct investment to Malta as this is benefical for the country’s community,” Muscat said.