Heart of the Community Fund


The Ireland Funds
Heart of the Community Fund


The Ireland Funds Heart of the Community Fund was first launched in 2021 to support organizations striving to meet the ever-growing need of people across the island of Ireland.

 

The Ireland Funds Heart of the Community Fund 2022

The Ireland Funds Heart of the Community Fund 2022 provided critical and timely funding to a wide range of not-for-profit organizations across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.


Selection of Projects Supported in 2022

 

174 Trust

174 Trust provides a ‘shared space’ for people of all ages from the Protestant and Catholic communities to participate in a program of activities. The Duncairn Center is currently open more hours during the week than ever due to community activity, which means the running costs are higher. This grant will enable 174 Trust to conduct an energy assessment and form an efficiency strategy to identify changes it can make to lower running costs.

Citywise Education

Citywise Education offers programs to underserved communities that help raise young people’s educational aspirations. West Tallaght has low progression rates to third-level education and above average unemployment rates. This grant will deliver a STEAM Education program to schools in West Tallaght, exposing young people to innovative technologies in order to deconstruct the narrative that a career in a technology company is not an option for them.

Daisyhouse Housing Association

Daisyhouse Housing Association provides accommodation and support to women experiencing homelessness who are in recovery from substance misuse for a period of up to eighteen months with aftercare support. This grant will be used to part fund the salary of a fundraising manager to develop the fundraising income stream of Daisyhouse to support the realization of its strategy, which is to double the number of clients it works with each year.

Dublin International Film Festival

Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual festival showcasing films from Irish and international filmmakers. This grant will support the salary of a full time Outreach Manager to expand festival outreach & community projects, using film to deepen community engagement with two underrepresented groups of filmmakers – young people (12-18) and older people (60+) – to learn new skills and address the issues of marginalized communities rarely represented on screen.

 

Fatima Groups United

Fatima Groups United was established in 1995 by a group of local residents in response to the chronic social problems in the area at the time. This grant will support a Family Link Worker to reach out to vulnerable families, particularly those with a child with additional needs. They will focus on building relationships with parents, early identification of needs and enhancing the strengths and protective factors within the child, family and community, providing 1:1 support and delivering an Additional Needs Programme.

Holywell Trust

Holywell Trust is a community-based organization delivering a range of projects to meet the needs of local people. This grant will be used to install 8 energy efficient windows in its shared community building and to meet increased energy costs. This will improve heat retention by 18% and allow Holywell to continue providing space for 15 community organizations.

Liquid Therapy

Liquid Therapy provides Surfing and Ocean experiences to young people with any disability who struggle to participate in mainstream activities. Its approach has been influenced by the NEAR health project, which investigated the benefits of human interaction with green (country) and blue (water) space based activities. This grant will enable Liquid Therapy to deliver 80 sessions of the Surf Experience program to up to 40 young people.

Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre is the only full-time producing and development house in Northern Ireland. This grant will support it to establish a permanent team for in-house set construction, allowing it to shift to a circular model, improve environmental sustainability and support the wider sector by renting sets out. There is currently no set construction expertise on the island of Ireland, so most hire from abroad. This project is impactful on many fronts as The Lyric can generate another stream of income through this work.

Phoenix Education Centre

The Phoenix Education Centre is a newly established community based, focused and led initiative. Its primary objective is to tackle educational underachievement at a grassroot level in East Belfast, bringing community members on board as co-designers in their own educational pathways in a space where young people can attend after school and receive assistance with homework, school projects, career guidance and interview skills. The grant provides core support to continue building this new organization.

The Crann Centre

The Crann Centre provides healthcare, mental welfare and social inclusion solutions for over 300 families impacted by a neuro-physical disability in Munster. Feedback from its participants showed great interest in learning more about conservation and birds, but there are no accessible bird hides in Ireland. This grant will fund the installation of accessible bird hides in Ireland’s only fully inclusive and accessible conservation area.

 

Women for Election

Women for Election is working to solve gender inequality in Irish politics by advocating for positive change and inspiring & equipping women to enter & succeed in politics. Globally Ireland is ranked 100th for gender equality in politics – 7th lowest in Europe. Only 23% of TD’s and 26% of local councillors are female. This grant will support the establishment of More Women Day, an annual community engagement tool to grow a national movement to help solve gender inequality in Irish politics by 2030.

PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland

PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland uses sport to unite young people from the Protestant and Catholic traditions in Northern Ireland. This grant will be used to equip participants with the skills and confidence to use sport to build positive cross community relations and deter their peers and those younger than them from offending and becoming involved in sectarian and antisocial behaviour.

100% of every gift to the Heart of the Community Fund goes directly to community organizations serving the greatest needs across the island of Ireland.

Donate Now

Make a Gift to support much-needed services to communities across Ireland.

Make a Gift


ORGANISATIONS SUPPORTED

Organisation NameCountyCountryTier of Funding (EURO)Pillar
174 Trust Antrim Northern Ireland10,000Peace and
Reconciliation; Arts and
Culture; Education
Accidental TheatreAntrim Northern Ireland20,000Peace and
Reconciliation; Arts and
Culture; Community
Development
ARC Fitness LimitedDerryNorthern Ireland10,000Community Development
Artillery Youth CentreAntrim Northern Ireland5,000Community Development
AsIAmDublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development; Education
Atlantic Corridor Links Ltd t/a Midlands ScienceOffalyRepublic of Ireland20,000Education
Baboró International Arts Festival for ChildrenGalwayRepublic of Ireland5,000Arts and Culture
Ballymun Initiative for Third Level EducationDublinRepublic of Ireland5,000Education
BCT N.I. C.I.C.Antrim Northern Ireland10,000Community Development
Blackmountain Shared Space ProjectAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Peace and Reconciliation
Blue Teapot Theatre CompanyGalwayRepublic of Ireland20,000Arts and Culture
Butler GalleryKilkennyRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and Culture
CARI FoundationLimerickRepublic of Ireland20,000Education; Community Development
Carrigrohane Union of ParishesCorkRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Children's Books IrelandDublinRepublic of Ireland5,000Arts and Culture; Education
Children in Hospital Ireland DublinRepublic of Ireland20,000Commmunity Development
Citywise EducationDublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Education
Cork University Hospital (CUH) Charity CorkRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Daisyhouse Housing AssociationDublinRepublic of Ireland15,000Community Development
Drogheda ABACAS Special School for ChildLouthRepublic of Ireland10,000Education
Dublin International Film Festival DublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and Culture
Eastside PartnershipDownNorthern Ireland5,000Community Development
FamiliBaseDublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Fatima Groups UnitedDublinRepublic of Ireland20,000Community Development
Fighting Words Belfast T/A Fighting Words NIAntrim Northern Ireland5,000Arts and Culture
Generation: You EmployedMeathRepublic of Ireland20,000Community Development; Education
GIYWaterford Republic of Ireland10,000Community Development; Education
Glencree Centre for Peace and ReconciliationWicklowRepublic of Ireland10,000 Peace and Reconciliation
Helplink Mental Health GalwayRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development; Education
Herstory Education Trust WestmeathRepublic of Ireland5,000Peace & Reconciliation;
Arts & Culture;
Community Developement;
Education
Holy Trinity Youth CentreAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Peace and Reconciliation;Education
Holywell TrustDerryNorthern Ireland20,000Peace and Reconciliation; community Development
Irish Chamber OrchestraLimerickRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and
Culture; Community
Development;
Education
KASI - Killarney Immigrant Support CentreKerryRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Kerry Writer's MuseumKerryRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and Culture
Kids' Own Publishing PartnershipSligoRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and Culture; Community Development
Kinship Care Northern IrelandDerryNorthern Ireland10,000Community Development
Liquid TherapyDonegalRepublic of Ireland5,000Community Development
Lus na Gréine Family Resource Centre CLGLongfordRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Lyric TheatreAntrim Northern Ireland20,000Arts and Culture
Making Connections DublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Meath Women's Refuge & Support ServicesMeathRepublic of Ireland5,000Community Development
Milford & District Resource CLGDonegalRepublic of Ireland20,000Community Development; Education
North Belfast Women's Initiative & Support Project T/A NBWISPAntrim Northern Ireland5,000Peace and
Reconciliation;
Community
Development
One Foundation Books CLG (t/a Books At One)DublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and Culture; Community
Development
One in Four DublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Parenting NIAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Education
PeacePlayers International - Northern IrelandAntrim Northern Ireland20,000Peace & Reconciliation;
Community Development;
Education
Phoenix Education CentreAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Education
PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland CharityAntrim Northern Ireland5,000Community Development
Politics in ActionAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Peace and
Reconciliation;
Education
Projects Arts CentreDublin Republic of Ireland10,000Arts and Culture; Community
Development
REACH AcrossDerryNorthern Ireland10,000Peace and
Reconciliation;
Education
Roscommon Women's Network (RWN)RoscommonRepublic of Ireland20,000Community Development
SAFE Ireland National Social Change AgentsDublinRepublic of Ireland20,000Community Development; Education
Sailing Into WellnessCorkRepublic of Ireland5,000Community Development; Education
Sample-StudiosCorkRepublic of Ireland15,000Arts and
Culture; Community
Development;
Education
Scotch Street Youth & Community CentreArmaghNorthern Ireland5,000Community Development
Sensational Kids CLGKildareRepublic of Ireland20,000Community Development
ShoutOutDublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development; Education
Sing IrelandClareRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and
Culture; Community
Development
Solas ProjectDublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Education
Speedpak GroupDublinRepublic of Ireland20,000Education
Spraoi agus Spórt Family Centre LtdDonegalRepublic of Ireland20,000Community and Development
St. Peters Immaculata Youth CentreAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Peace and
Reconciliation;
Education
Streetbat Youth ProjectAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Education
The Anne Sullivan FoundationDublinRepublic of Ireland20,000Education
The Crann CentreCorkRepublic of Ireland10,000Education
The Speedwell TrustTyroneNorthern Ireland10,000Peace and Reconciliaiton
Travellers of North Cork CLGCorkRepublic of Ireland10,000Education
University of AtypicalAntrim Northern Ireland10,000Arts and Culture
Women for ElectionDublinRepublic of Ireland20,000Community
Development;
Education
Graffiti Theatre CompanyCorkRepublic of Ireland10,000Arts and
Culture; Education
Roscommon Safe LinkRoscommonRepublic of Ireland10,000Community Development
Our Lady Immaculate Junior National School DarndaleDublinRepublic of Ireland10,000Education;Community
Development