The Social Innovation Fund has announced that the following funds are now open for application. Awards include cash grants, business supports, accelerator programmes, training and mentoring.
Ignite Fund
The objective of the Ignite Fund is to spark meaningful social impact in communities across Ireland by providing support to some of the most innovative charities and social enterprises. The Fund is seeking applications from organisations and projects who are ‘igniting’ impact in any of the following four categories: Empowering Families, Music to Impact, Harnessing Ability and Youth Resilience.
[Closing date for receipt of applications has been extended to Friday 10th May 2019 at 5:00 pm]
Mná na hÉireann / Women of Ireland Fund
The aim of this fund is to to support charities and social enterprises that seek to enhance the economic mobility of women, and is designed specifically to equip these organisations to expand their business acumen, drive growth and deepen their impact across Ireland
[Closing date for receipt of applications is 18th April 2019]
Children and Youth Education Fund
The aim of this fund is to improve access to higher and further education for students (including the full primary school cycle and up to the age of 25) who are affected by disability or disadvantage.
[Closing date for receipt of applications is 17th May 2019]
Children and Youth Mental Health Fund
The aim of this fund is to provide meaningful, lasting support to innovative mental health programmes and initiatives that reach out to children and young people before and during the societal, academic, physical, and emotional pressures of early adolescence and early adulthood.
[Closing date for receipt of applications is 17th May 2019]
Application Criteria
While each fund has a different goal, the following core criteria for projects include:
- Projects must address a critical social issue
- Projects proposed must be innovative in an Irish context
- Projects must have potential and a desire to scale or replicate in Ireland
- Applicants must come from an entity that has a not-for-profit legal form e.g. charity, company limited by guarantee, trust etc.
Full information on the Funds can be found on the Social Innovation Fund website at http://www.socialinnovation.ie/open-for-applications/