Community Foundation for NI: RTÉ Toy Show 2025 - Improving Wellbeing Grants

Overview

Last year €3.8 million was raised and distributed in 127 grants to support more than 1.1 million children and their family members all across Ireland. Thanks to the continued generosity of the Irish public, this year the Appeal raised over €4,800,000 which will be distributed through the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal Grant Rounds in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Each grant round will centre around three themes:

• Addressing Essential Needs
• Improving Wellbeing
• Creativity and Play

Improving Wellbeing Strand

All children should thrive in their environment, no matter their circumstances. The Improving Wellbeing strand will ensure that children and young people can improve their mental health and build resilience skills and coping mechanisms for the future. This strand will also ensure that children and young people with disabilities and illnesses have greater access to opportunities.

Children and young people in Ireland can be marginalised in a number of ways. Applications in this strand should focus on supporting those most marginalised in society, including:

• Those at risk of poverty and facing consistent poverty.
• Those facing discrimination.
• Those with disabilities, life-limiting conditions and additional needs.
• Those facing and recovering from trauma.

There are two main aims of the Improving Wellbeing strand. Applicants applying to this strand should choose one of the three objectives below that their project or programme will meet

Improving Mental Health

1 – Increase the number of children and young people accessing high-quality mental health services that support them in a crisis and improve their mental health.

OR

2 – Build resilience among children and young people that can prevent future mental health issues.

Improving Physical Health

3 – Empower children and young people with disabilities, and those who have life-limiting illnesses, through personal development programmes, assistive technology, education and employment.

Additional Notes

• Projects may be to continue/scale up a current programme, or to start a new one.
• Proposals to this fund can include the proportion of staff salaries specifically related to the project. This also includes new staff salaries required to increase service provision.
• Applications can include equipment or furniture that is relevant to the project or programme.
• The small-scale development of buildings or outside spaces is eligible, but large-scale development, constructing a new building, or buying a building or land is not eligible.
• Charities are encouraged to collaborate with other organisations as part of their work. There will be one lead applicant for this application who must be eligible, but this charity may collaborate with organisations who are not eligible or who may also put in their own application.

Priorities for this Strand

They anticipate that this will be a very competitive grant round so proposals that meet most or all the priorities below will be prioritised for funding:

• Projects that have a strongly justified need based on research or formal feedback. This should be referenced in the application.
• Projects or programmes that are centred around principles of prevention and early intervention.
• Proposals that have strongly articulated the impact of the project on the direct beneficiaries and wider community as well as for the direct beneficiaries.
• Projects that have the potential to be sustained beyond the life of this grant.
• Projects that will include the voice and feedback of beneficiaries in its development.

For charities who are applying for an Impact award (see further information on the Community vs Impact awards below), there are additional priorities:

• Projects that show innovation.
• Proposals that have strongly articulated the impact of the project on the organisation itself and the potential systemic change as a result of the project.
• Proposals that include evaluation as a part of the project and budget.
• Proposals that outline factors that ensure the success of the project.

Who can apply for funding?

Children and young people charities working at local, regional and national level can apply for a grant in the Improving Wellbeing strand. Children’s charities should be able to demonstrate that they work regularly with children and young people.   Charities must demonstrate that working with children and young people is a core purpose of the organisation as outlined in the governing document.

Community Grants 
Organisations that have an annual income of £20,000 – £500,000 must apply for a Community Grant and grants up to £10,000 will be awarded.

Impact Grants 
Organisations that have an annual income of more than £500,000 must apply for an Impact Grant and grants up to £35,000 will be awarded.

Eligible Projects

Eligible projects

• Must meet the objectives of the Improving Wellbeing Strand, outlined above.
• Must work with vulnerable or marginalised children and young people:
  • Those at risk of poverty and facing consistent poverty.
  • Those facing discrimination.
  • Those with disabilities, life-limiting conditions and additional needs.
  • Those facing and recovering from trauma.
• Must create strong impact for the children who will benefit and the wider community.
• Should employ models of best practice.
• Should empower the children and young people who are benefiting from the programme.
• May be a current programme that will be developed or upscaled with the funding.
• May be to continue a project funded in last year’s RTÉ Toy Show grant round.
• Must start no earlier than June 2025 and run for 12 months.

Eligible Organisations

Eligible organisations must:

• Submissions will only be considered from registered children’s charities where ‘children’ 0-18 years old form a key part and named in the organisation’s mission statement and organisational purpose/s. This includes:
•  
  • Those at risk of poverty and facing consistent poverty.
  • Those facing discrimination.
  • Those with disabilities, life-limiting conditions and additional needs.
  • Those facing and recovering from trauma.
• Be a registered charity
• Have an annual income of £20,000 – £500,000 to apply for a Community Grant and income of £500,000+ to apply for an Impact Grant.
• Have up to date and sufficient governing documents, annual accounts and child safeguarding policies.