The Ireland Funds: Small Grants

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 Multiculturalism Natural environment and climate 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 Micro (up to £1,000) Small (up to £10,000)

Track grant Notes

Overview

The Small Grants Round offers awards up to €10,000 for small community organisations and for organisations that have not previously been supported by The Ireland Funds. Projects seeking larger grant amounts will not be considered for the Small Grants Round.

Funding priorities

The Ireland Funds Small Grants Round is suitable for organisations making an impact and a positive contribution in their local community. Suitable applicants will have projects that align closely with The Ireland Funds priorities - Community Development, Education, Arts & Culture and Peace & Reconciliation.

Community Development

Supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women
Promoting LGBTQI+ rights
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 eg. 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

Organisations should be able to clearly demonstrate how their project impacts upon the lives of their participants and their local communities. Projects should have tangible and quantifiable outcomes as well as qualitative outcomes.

Before beginning your application, ensure that your application activity does not fall within one of the ineligible items listed at the end of these guidelines. If you are unsure as to whether an activity is eligible please contact a member of their Grants Team.

What are the standard criteria?

The project must fit within one of The Ireland Funds key priorities
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 quantifiable 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
Applicants must come from an entity that has a not-for-profit legal form in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland e.g. school, charity, social enterprise, voluntary organisation or Higher Education Institution
Organisations may submit only one application
Organisations must have an annual turnover of less than €/£1,000,000. Organisations with a turnover exceeding this limit are not eligible for awards in the Small Grants Round. The only exception to this criteria is where an organisation does not currently have a track record of funding with The Ireland Funds.
Applicants must provide a copy of the organisation’s governing document (e.g. Constitution, Memorandum of Articles of Association) and the most recent set of Audited Accounts or bank statements to be considered at the time of application.