The Ireland Funds: Flagship Awards

Archived Addiction and substance misuse Adult Education/Learning Archives and artefacts Arts, culture and heritage Built heritage Community and neighbourhood development Community development Craft and design Cross community Cultural heritage Cultural, events and festivals Education and learning environment Gender equality and sexual orientation good relations Health promotion Health, wellbeing and sport Human rights and equality Multiculturalism Peace and reconciliation People with disabilities Performing arts Racial equality Refugees and asylum seekers Rural development School, College and University Social inclusion Social welfare and poverty Sport and physical recreation Verbal arts Visual arts and media Antrim & Newtownabbey Ards & North Down Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Belfast City Causeway Coast and Glens Derry City and Strabane Fermanagh and Omagh Lisburn and Castlereagh Mid and East Antrim Mid Ulster Newry, Mourne and Down Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Large (over £60,000)

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Overview

The Ireland Funds Flagship Investments programme provides grants for core funding, capacity building or programme costs for non-profit organisations working within one of their key programme areas of Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education and Peace & Reconciliation. Their aim is to improve the quality and sustainability of existing programmes, or to help scale initiatives that are already having an impact.

Size of Awards & What is Funded

The maximum amount you may request is €/£100,000 in financial support over a 2 year period. Additional non-financial supports will also be provided.

Organisations may apply for support for capacity building or programme costs.

Capacity Building: Funding is available for new or enhanced activities aimed at strengthening an organisation’s programmatic and/or administrative capacity. Projects must evidence a credible plan for sustaining costs.

Programme: In general, funding for programme development or the expansion of existing programmes will be limited to programmes which clearly demonstrate effectiveness and have a viable fundraising and sustainability plan. On a very selective basis, The Ireland Funds will consider programmes or projects that offer the potential to produce significant impacts.

What are the funding priorities of the Flagship Awards?

The Ireland Funds Flagship Award is suitable for organisations making an impact and a positive contribution to society. Suitable applicants will have projects that align closely with the following initiatives within The Ireland Funds key programme areas.

Community Development

Supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women
Providing support and advice to the LGBTQI+ community
Supporting migrant rights, family reunification and community integration programmes
Helping the homeless through pathways for independence
Providing opportunities and access to people with physical disabilities
Responding to environmental challenges and creating sustainable communities
Supporting an aging population
Providing youth mental health programmes

Education

Delivering early intervention education programmes
Providing access to education for marginalised and underrepresented groups
Providing access to education and opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities
Educating stakeholders on current societal issues e.g. cyber safety, mental health, climate change

Arts and Culture

Promoting innovative arts and cultural projects with a positive effect on society
Providing arts initiatives for people with intellectual disabilities
Combining arts and cultural initiatives with proven positive health benefits (mental health and physical health)

Peace and Reconciliation

Fostering positive relationships through cross community groups
Delivering restorative justice programmes

NB Applicants should be able to clearly demonstrate how their project impacts upon the lives of their participants, their communities and indeed the wider society. Projects should have tangible and quantifiable outcomes as well as qualitative outcomes.

What are the standard criteria?

Before beginning your application, ensure your application and organisation meets the criteria below.

The project must fit within one of The Ireland Funds key programme areas
The project must offer an innovative approach/solution to the problem
The project must define activities which are feasible, reasonable, and sustainable
The project must have a measurable positive impact on the beneficiaries
The project or activity for which you are seeking funding must take place within the 32 counties of Ireland
The project must be for a future activity, not for an activity or project that has already been completed
Organisations must come from an entity that has Charitable status in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland (i.e. registered with the Charities Regulator or with the Charities Commission for Northern Ireland)
Organisations must be established, well-managed, and financially viable
Organisations must be leading the way in transparency and accountability, publishing SORP compliant annual accounts and compliant with the Governance Code and Fundraising Code.
Organisations must provide a copy of their governing document (e.g. Constitution, Memorandum of Articles of Association), the most recent set of Audited Accounts and the most recent Annual Report to be considered in the second stage of the application.
Organisations must not have received an Ireland Funds Flagship Award within the past 4 years (i.e. only Flagship Awardees pre-2016 are eligible to apply)
Organisations may submit only one application