New Options for Funding – Free Online Training
Training to help prepare and inform non-profit groups on identifying and securing funding in the midst of Covid19
Substance Use Issues & Community Work Course 2020/21 (QQI Level 5) – Applications Open Until 26 August 2020
This part time evening course is delivered in conjunction with the Cork College of Commerce is designed to promote good practice among those who work (paid / voluntary positions with young people and in various capacities across communities. It provides a critical perspective on some of the issues including community development and drug / alcohol issues which can affect young people and communities and encourages the development of coherent responses at individual and organisational level.
Ready & Able Training – Free Webinar
Participants will be guided through an easy to follow workbook which contains in one place the key steps and templates you need to re-open during this phase of the Covid19 restrictions. The workbook also helps you generate your key documentation, so it is a practically grounded session that will empower your group / organisation to start up again after lockdown.
Minister Ring Announces First Tranche of COVID-19 Stability Scheme Funding
This fund is intended to provide funding and support for communities across Ireland to play a greater role in promoting integration by providing practical support to facilitate social inclusion among the migrant population.
Masters in Voluntary and Community Sector Management – Application Deadline Extended to 10 July 2020
Offered to those involved in the voluntary & community sector who would like to improve their knowledge and skills base, the Masters in Voluntary and Community Sector Management may be of interest to anyone who wishes to develop a career in the community & voluntary or public sectors. Deadline for applications has been extended to 10 July 2020.
LGBTI+ Awareness Week – Proud to be part of a Rainbow City – Sunday 17 May – Saturday 23 May
LGBTI+ Awareness Week - Proud to be part of a Rainbow CitySunday 17 May - Saturday 23 MayFollow on Facebook: and Twitter: @CorkLGBTAwarenessWeek On May 17th Cork City will mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia - IDAHOBIT Day by organising an [...]
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Minister Ring Announces First Tranche of COVID-19 Stability Scheme Funding
Fund designed to provide immediate support to Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises
179 organisations to benefit from €10.5 million in supports
Mr Michael Ring, Minister of Rural Community Development, today announced the approval of €10.5M in funding under Tranche One of the COVID-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises (Stability Scheme). 179 organisations will benefit from this funding initially under Tranche One. Once-off cash injections of between €2,000 and €200,000 are being awarded to qualifying organisations that provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society to help with short term cash flow issues being suffered due to the COVID crisis.
It is important to note that due to the considerable interest in the Stability Scheme and in order to ensure that funding is released as quickly as possible, applicants are being considered in smaller groupings and the funding being announced today is just the first tranche with further tranches to be announced over the coming weeks.
Speaking this morning, Minister Ring said:
I am delighted to be able to announce this funding today. Community and Voluntary organisations, along with Charities and Social Enterprises have been at the heart of our country’s response to the challenges brought by COVID-19. In every corner of the country people have got behind their community and dug deep to help each other.
But they needed help and extra resources to ensure they could continue to deliver the critical services and cope with the inability to generate traded or fundraised income due to social restrictions. In many cases while the rest of the world shut down, these organisations kept going and my colleagues in Government and communities all over the country are grateful for that.
The sector reached out and asked for help, which is why I, along with other Government colleagues committed €35 million of Dormant Accounts Funding to help these organisations to keep the lights on, and keep delivering those critical services to the people that depend on them.
I am delighted to make the first tranche of payments available today and hope to see many more funded in the coming weeks as my officials and Pobal complete final verification checks.
Some of the successful applicants today include:
| Ballyphehane Community Association | €200,000 |
| Peter Mc Verry Trust | €200,000 |
| Barnardos | €153,953 |
| Gort Cancer Support Group | €14,784 |
| Limerick Autism Group | €14,323 |
The COVID-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises is intended to be a targeted once-off cash injection for organisations and groups delivering critical front-line services to the most at need in our society and in danger of imminent closure due to lost fund-raised or traded income as a direct result of restrictions to counter the spread of COVID-19.
Pobal will contact successful applicants announced under the first tranche in the coming days to finalise contracts and facilitate payment of funding. Additional checks are ongoing on remaining applicants to determine suitability for funding, with further announcements expected in the coming weeks. A full list of successful applicants under Tranche One is available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3957e-covid-19-stability-fund-successful-applicants/
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Contact:
The Department of Rural and Community Development Press Office
076-1006843 / 087-1734633
Notes for editors:
Following the announcement of a €40 million funding package for the sector, applications were invited for the €35 million Stability Scheme. The Stability Scheme, administered by Pobal, opened for applications from 11th – 21st May 2020. A total of 1,027 applications were received in that period.
The Stability Scheme will provide immediate, short term cash flow to qualifying organisations which provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society. The funding will be prioritised for those organisations which are most in need and have seen their trading and/or fundraising income drop significantly during the crisis.
With funding being provided from the Dormant Accounts Fund, the Stability Scheme will provide a once off grant to qualifying organisations. In line with the objectives of the Dormant Accounts Fund, the Stability Scheme will focus on organisations providing supports and services in the following sectors:
- Health and Social Care (including addiction, disability and mental health)
- Child and Family Services (including counselling/therapies)
- Domestic/Sexual/Gender based violence
- Housing/Homelessness
- Community Services (e.g. meals on wheels/befriending services/old age supports/vulnerable people’s support groups etc.)
- Community Education Sector
Organisations were required to demonstrate the impact that the crisis has had on their services and applications will be prioritised according to need. Pobal, which works on behalf of Government to support communities and local agencies toward achieving social inclusion and development, administers the Stability Fund on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development.
Communities Integration Fund Open For Applications
This call is open to local community based groups carrying out projects or activities under the following themes:
- Combating Racism and Xenophobia – A project aimed at preventing racism and xenophobia among local communities.
- Intercultural Awareness – A project that brings host communities and migrant communities together to celebrate each other’s cultures and customs.
- Sport & Community Games – A project to facilitate local migrant integration by encouraging migrants to get involved in sport.
- Arts – A project to encourage social interaction between migrants and members of their local communities, through arts and crafts, music, dance, theatre and literature. Projects considered may be in the form of visual art, crafts, dance, film, literature, music, opera and theatre; including contemporary art practices such as performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art etc.
- Other Community Events – A project to adapt existing community activities or events to make them more inclusive of migrants.
- Capacity Building – A project with a social inclusion focus that seeks to help particularly vulnerable groups of migrants overcome specific difficulties (e.g. English conversation classes for young migrant parents not active in the labour market).
- Employment – A project offering employment advice and/or opportunities, e.g. through sponsorship by local businesses for training, skills assessment, placements, etc.
- Integration Research – A project to identify knowledge gaps and carry out local needs assessments so that local community integration resources can be used to maximum benefit.
- Food/Cuisine – A project to promote inter-culturalism and integration through the sharing of different cuisines and cooking methods.
- Education – A project focused on the educational needs of migrants through provision of additional supports to help migrant children to maximise the benefit of their school attendance (e.g. homework clubs) and older migrants to develop their language skills and better orient themselves to Irish society.
€500,000 available for local community projects in 2020
Applications opened today for community groups nationwide who wish to apply for grant funding under the Department of Justice and Equality Communities Integration Fund.
Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration & Integration, David Stanton TD, today announced funding of €500,000 for community integration projects to be carried out in 2020.
The Communities Integration Fund will provide grant funding for local community projects that support the integration of migrants. Applications can now be made online to the Funds Administration Unit at the Department of Justice and Equality.
Launching this year’s call for applications, Minister Stanton said,
What happens at the local level is critical to successful integration, and I believe strongly in the power of communities when it comes to bringing about lasting change.
In 2017, I launched the first Communities Integration Fund, which supports local initiatives by migrant and non-migrant groups to promote inclusion and most importantly, allow people to get to know each other. 124 organisations received funding in 2019 and projects are being funded which are explicitly intended to challenge racism at grass roots level.
The 2020 call for applications for this fund is now live, and I would encourage groups around the country who are working to promote inclusion in their locality to contact the Department and make an application.
The application period runs from 09:00 Friday 19 June (today) until 13:00, Thursday 16 July, 2020.
Applications must be submitted electronically, and Community Groups can access a guidance document and complete an online application form at ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CIF2020.
Notes
Last year, every county in Ireland was allocated funding for locally run projects to support the integration of migrants. The projects granted funding are local community based projects, with a maximum grant amount of €5,000 and a minimum grant amount of €1,000 allocated to any single project. 282 applications were received in 2019 with 124 projects successfully granted funding.
The Communities Integration Fund was first established in 2017 to implement the commitment under Action 51 of the Migrant Integration Strategy to support actions by local communities throughout Ireland to promote the integration of migrants and refugees.
As this Fund is intended to support the integration of migrant and host communities, all applications must demonstrate how they will involve both migrant and host communities in the activities proposed and projects may not be directed solely to any one particular group or nationality.
Project activities must be additional to the usual business of the applicant organisation and should complement but not replace mainstream structures at local level.
Eligible Project Dates
Projects must commence before 31 December 2020 and must be completed no later than 30 June 2021. Projects failing to observe these dates will be deemed ineligible, and funding returned.
2019 projects have been allowed carry funding forward until 30 June 2021 due to COVID-19.
Billion Euro Rural Regeneration & Development Fund Open for Applications
Rural Development Investment Programme
The Department of Rural and Community Development’s Rural Development Investment Programme includes a number of integrated funding interventions:
- Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF)
- Town and Village Renewal Scheme
- CLÁR
- Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme
- Local Improvement Scheme
- LEADER
- Walks Scheme
The Department’s total funding allocation for 2020 for the Rural Development Investment Programme is €149.7 million.
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund was established to deliver on the National Strategic Objective in the National Development Plan 2018-2027 of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities and will be rolled out over a 10-year period. The Fund is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The Fund provides investment to support suitable projects in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000, and outlying areas, which will deliver on the National Strategic Objective of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities and achieve sustainable economic and social development in these areas. Initial funding of €315 million has been allocated to the fund on a phased basis over the period 2019 to 2022.
Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories. Category 1 relates to projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and which are ready to proceed, while Category 2 projects are those which required further development to become ready for Category 1 status. The call the Minister is announcing today relates to Category 1.
The first call for applications to the Fund closed in September 2018. Arising from the first call, 38 successful Category 1 projects and 46 Category 2 projects were announced, with funding of €86m provided from the Fund to support projects worth €117m.
The second call for Category 1 applications for the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund closed in August 2019. Arising from the second call, 26 projects were approved for funding of €62 million to support projects costing €95 million.
To date, the Fund has now provided €148 million for 110 projects across Ireland, worth a total of €212 million.
The second call for Category 2 applications closed in 28th February 2020. The applications received under this call are currently being assessed under the guidance of the Project Advisory Board, made up of representatives from key Government Departments and independent experts. It is expected that an announcement of successful applications from this call will be made shortly.
The Department has produced a guidance document, which can be accessed on our website, for those seeking more information on this third call for Category 1 call applications from the Fund. In addition, the Department is also planning information and discussion opportunities for stakeholders relating to this call for applications.
Minister Ring seeks new applications for €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund
- The funding to be provided will focus on supporting economic recovery in rural Ireland and delivering sustainable regeneration in rural towns and villages.
- This call for applications for the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is in addition to a €30 million package of integrated supports already announced by the Minister as part of his Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme.
Mr Michael Ring TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development, today (Friday, 19 June) announced the third call for proposals under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
The Fund is part of the Department of Rural and Community Development’s Rural Development Investment Programme which is funded under Project Ireland 2040. The Fund is providing €1 billion in investment over 10 years to support the regeneration and development of rural towns, villages and outlying areas. Initial funding of €315 million was allocated on a phased basis over the period 2019 to 2022.
Announcing the third call under the Fund, Minister Ring said:
“I am pleased to announce the launch of the third call for proposals under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. The impact of the funding allocated under previous call to the Fund has been transformative for rural communities. Since the conclusion of the first call in late 2018, this Fund has provided €148 million in support for over 100 projects, located all across the country, worth a combined total of €212 million. The funding of these projects was very well timed, as they are right now delivering an immediate and much needed economic stimulus in rural Ireland. The assistance provided by this Fund has meant that businesses and communities have benefitted from the activity and jobs provided in delivering these projects, at precisely the time they have been most needed.”
This call under the Fund is for Category 1 applications, which relate to capital projects that have planning in place and are ready to commence at the date of application. It is expected that a funding announcement relating to the second call for Category 2 applications – for projects which require assistance for project development work in order to reach full delivery readiness – will be made shortly.
This call for applications to the Fund seeks to provide assistance in supporting economic recovery in rural areas in light of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and to assist in delivering sustainable regeneration in rural towns and villages, driving greater economic activity and helping to address challenges such as dereliction and vacancy. Applications to the Fund which support in the decarbonisation of the economy and environmental sustainability are particularly welcome.
The Minister continued:
“The level of investment provided by the Fund is more important than ever to address the challenges arising from the COVID-19 crisis and to drive the economic recovery and sustainable development of rural areas. The focus of this third call will be to support large-scale strategic projects that will significantly assist our rural towns and villages to bounce back from the crisis in the months ahead.”
The Minister concluded:
“It is vitally important that the project proposals for the Fund seek to make a tangible and sustainable contribution to economic recovery, the continued development of rural towns, villages and their communities and help support the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy. In order to make certain that we receive the very best applications possible and that the requirement for communities, agencies and Local Authorities to source the necessary match funding is kept to a minimum, I have increased the funding rate that will apply to projects approved under the third call under the Fund to a maximum of 90%.”
The Fund is seeking to support large-scale, ambitious projects which deliver on the objectives set out above. In that regard, applications of scale are sought, with a minimum funding request of €500,000. Applications to the Fund must be led by a State-funded body – Local Authorities, Local Development Companies, State agencies, commercial State bodies etc. – but collaboration between parties, including with communities, is strongly encouraged.
The closing date for the receipt of proposals is 12 noon, on Tuesday 1st December 2020.
Full details of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website at https://www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/c77144-rural-regeneration-and-development-fund/
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Learning From International Experience – Free Webinar on the City Development Plan From an International Perspective
Learning from International Experience
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