A charity established to strengthen a family of frontline poverty relief charities will close later this year after “successfully fulfilling” its founding mission.
Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul Services was established in 2012 to strengthen a family of six charities serving people experiencing poverty, exclusion and disadvantage.
Its member charities are: St Vincent’s Family Project and Vincentian Care Plus, based in Westminster; Out There, based in Manchester; The Marillac Neurological Care Centre, based in Essex; and The Louise Project and St Joseph’s, both based in Scotland.
The parent charity was created to unite these member organisations under a single group structure, providing governance, shared services, infrastructure and Vincentian formation during a period of transition to lay-led leadership.
The group structure was formally dissolved on 3 March, making the six member charities fully independent organisations, rather than operating within a parent-subsidiary model.
The parent charity will close later this year, it has announced, saying it has successfully fulfilled its founding mission.
“Following an extensive period of review and discernment earlier this year, it was concluded that Daughters of Charity Services had successfully fulfilled its founding purpose and reached the natural conclusion of its role,” the charity said.
The parent charity previously employed six staff members but now has just three employees remaining, all of whom have been issued with redundancy notices as part of the planned closure.
The charity recorded an annual income of £230,010 for the financial year ending 31 March 2025.
Any remaining assets will be transferred to the charity’s founder, the Daughters of St Vincent de Paul, in accordance with its articles of association.
The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul established Daughters of Charity Services and its member charities, providing initial funding and ongoing financial support.
The organisation’s former chief executive, Mark Choonara, left in December last year and it has since been led by its chair, Sister Ellen Flynn.
The board will dissolve following the charity’s closure, but some individual board members expect to remain involved with member charities in separate capacities, such as through voluntary or other independent roles.
The member organisations will continue to collaborate, the parent charity said, adding that participants at a conference held in May agreed to develop a shared vision for future collaboration; strengthen connections through networks, shared learning and formation; and to empower the chief executives of the six original charities to lead the next phase of this work.
Vincent de Paul was a 16th-century born French Catholic priest who served the poor and who was best known for founding the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity.
Flynn said: “To everyone who has supported, guided, worked with, volunteered for, funded, partnered with, or championed Daughters of Charity Services over the years, thank you.
“Your dedication, generosity, compassion and commitment have touched countless lives and helped bring Vincentian values to life in communities [across] Great Britain.”
She added: “While this marks the end of an important chapter, it is not the end of the Vincentian mission that has inspired and united us.
“Rather, it is an opportunity for that mission to continue in new ways through the strength, commitment and shared values of our organisations and the wider Vincentian community.
“The charity itself may be closing, but the Vincentian spirit that has brought us together remains very much alive.”