Community Foundation for Northern Ireland: The Brian Conlon Foundation

Overview

Brian was hugely successful in many walks of life – a high achiever in education, entrepreneurship, sport and in business. When a knee injury ended his budding Gaelic football career, Brian turned his attention to business, setting up First Derivatives from his mother’s spare bedroom in 1996. Now one of Ireland’s most successful companies, it employs nearly 3,000 people with fifteen offices globally. Thousands of local graduates have passed through the company’s HQ in Newry, many of whom ended up being deployed to large financial institutions throughout the world.

Grants will be awarded to community associations and groups in the Newry area, who are working to advance education, amateur sport, provide opportunities for young people, and assisting communities in the local area.

Grants up to £3,500 will be open for applications.

The Brian Conlon Foundation will support the provision of support for projects based in Newry City – view boundary map here

The fund will focus on the following priorities: 

• Advancement of Education
• Advancement of Amateur sport
• Opportunities for young people from the local area
• Assistance for communities in disadvantaged areas

This might include:

• Educational activities supporting people from disadvantaged areas
• Projects that provide enhanced sporting opportunities for people who are particularly disadvantaged
• Projects that will directly benefit those disaffected from mainstream education
• Early years intervention, particularly in disadvantaged areas, within Newry city

Awards will be available of up to a maximum of £3,500 to support small community projects. They anticipate, however, that the average grant will be around £2,000.

Under the most recent funding round (January 2024) – 64% of applicants were successful.

Who can apply?

• Constituted organisations with charitable purposes based within and to support beneficiaries in the Newry city area

Examples of projects that may address some of these issues include:

• Addressing expectations of young people, and/or parents, giving people hope e.g. digital literacy giving a sense of energy, developing something new and exciting
• Projects building self-esteem with young people disaffected from mainstream education, or who have faced or face barriers to employment
• Sporting projects for disaffected people
• Provision of after school/homework clubs in disadvantaged areas
• Community based clubs
• Community based apprenticeships