St Patricks Day Small Grants

Overview

The funding is for small-scale community events or activities to celebrate St. Patrick's Day as part of the council's aim to promote and support the cultural diversity of the City, and should be seen to be as an inclusive occasion, for all those who wish to celebrate.

Groups may apply for up to a maximum of £1,000 to organise an event in their local community. Please note that food and drink costs will be capped at 30% of the total award. The funding is for events or activities organised and held prior to 31 March.

The funding programme is for groups within the Belfast City Council area only.

Selection of projects will be based on the following eight criteria:

Projects should fulfil at least one of the objectives of the Good Relations Fund, listed below:

• To promote good relations between people of different religious and political beliefs and different racial groups.
• To build awareness, dispel myths and stereotypes and address sectarianism and/or racism.
• To promote and encourage trust and mutual understanding through dialogue, learning about others and developing meaningful relationships.
• To provide space to deal with the past and address issues of mutual interest or concern in relation to the Shared Future document and/or the Race Equality Strategy.
• To improve shared civic life by building sustainable networks to transform contested space and identity and implement collaborative actions.

The funding made available should be on the basis that the Celebration of St. Patrick's Day should be seen as an inclusive occasion and should be accessible to all who wish to celebrate.

The funding is for small-scale local community events or activities to celebrate St. Patrick's Day as part of the council's aim to promote and support the cultural diversity of the City.

Your project must represent value for money.

Groups receiving funding must

• be non-profit making organisations or groups;
• enclose copies of their valid Constitution or set of rules;
• have a bank or building society account, in the name of the group, which requires at least two (unrelated) signatures on each cheque or withdrawal;
• enclose copies of the most recent annual accounts or formal statements of income and expenditure. These must be audited or signed as approved by an office bearer;
• follow their child-protection guidelines if working with children and young people;
• make sure that the project has enough insurance cover (they are not responsible for providing insurance for or claims which arise from grant-aided projects); and
• provide valid receipted invoices, plus a short report on how the funding has been used and applied to the work of the group.

Events or projects should be organised in the month of March.

Grant aid will not be available for activities which are party-political in intention, use or presentation.

Travel costs will not be available for projects outside Ireland or the United Kingdom.