The Heart of the Community Fund is an open grant round designed to meet the needs of not-for-profit organisations delivering vital services and supports to people across the island of Ireland.

The Ireland Funds recognises the challenges organisations face in securing funding to build their capacity or meet their core costs, so the Heart of the Community Fund 2024 will provide Organisational Investment Grants. The application form will enable you to share what you’re working towards and how you deliver on your mission, so we can get a picture of your organisation as a whole. If your application is successful, you can then allocate the funding to meet your most pressing needs.

How to Apply

Applications are being accepted through the online portal only, which will be available on the website from Monday, April 15th. Please read the guidelines in full before beginning your application.

The closing date is Friday, May 3rd. Late applications will not be accepted.

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Funding Levels

The Heart of the Community Fund 2024 will provide grants between €5,000-25,000 to not-for-profit organisations with an annual turnover of less than €/£3,000,000.

At least €500,000 will be distributed through this grant round.

How will this work?

The application form includes questions that will help us understand what your organisation does, why you do it, who you do it for and how you monitor your effectiveness. It also includes questions about your budget for the year and how much your current shortfall is, as well as a section where you can provide some examples of what this funding could be used for.

The Ireland Funds Grants Team will assess your application and, if your application is successful, will determine the most suitable amount to offer your organisation within the range available.
When you receive the grant offer, you will then be asked to specify the designation for the funding e.g. €10,000 for Marketing Manager Salary and €10,000 for Utility Bills.

They understand the need to have flexible funding that can be deployed throughout the year as needed, so up to 25% of the amount you are awarded can be designated to your “Flexible/Contingency Costs Fund”.

Please note that funds must be expended within 12 months.

Funding Priorities

In 2024, within the four pillars, they will prioritise applications from organisations working in the following spaces:

1. Community Integration and Inclusion

The focus here is ‘Belonging’. Your organisation defines what community means to your work e.g.older people, LGBTQI+, people with disabilities, migrants etc.

2. Youth and Family Supports

This stream focuses on areas such as youth clubs, food provision and mental health supports. For the purpose of this grant round, youth is defined as 0-18years.

You will not be asked to self-identify as aligning with one or more of these priorities, our team will determine that based on your application.

If your organisation works outside of these areas, please still feel welcome to apply, just note that these areas are where we will focus the majority of funding.

Contact

Due to an expected high volume of applications, all inquiries will be dealt with through email. Please contact us at grantsinfo@irelandfunds.org if you have any outstanding questions that have not been addressed through the information provided.

For more information, please visit Grants - The Ireland Funds, Progress through Philanthropy