Poverty relief charity Elizabeth Finn Care is taking over the management of 38 local trusts with a total value of around £12m, from the City of Edinburgh Council.

The charity to manage will take over management of the various endowments and the grantmaking operations of the trusts, many of which have lain dormant for centuries.  It will open an office in Edinburgh with a dedicated caseworker.

The transfer of funds will take place on 5 April next year.  Elizabeth Finn Care intends that its Turn2Us advice service, which helps people check their eligibility for benefits and charitable grants, will help to boost the reach of the funds under management.

The funds will be ring-fenced for the benefit of the residents of Edinburgh City and a range of new funding streams will be announced in the new year.

The trusts include a residential care home which is currently managed by Bield Housing Association on behalf of Trinity College Hospital Fund.  The management of this home will be unaffected.

The trusts already support some 670 beneficiaries between them.

Matthew Sykes (pictured), the charity's recently-appointed chief executive, said the Council had shown "considerable foresight" in recognising the benefits that can be had by appointing a charity as guardian of the funds.

Elizabeth Finn Care was set up in 1897 and has since given away over £130m in direct financial assistance to people in need.  In the most recent financial year almost £4m was given in grants to more than 3,500 British and Irish citizens.