The Ireland Funds
Heart of the Community Fund

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.

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.