The fund opened for application on Monday 22nd April and closes on Friday 24th May at 5pm
Fund Objective
Irish Youth Foundation have a fund of €200,000 / £171,000 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time) will be available to support community-based projects and programmes across Ireland and Northern Ireland that are focused on cultivating inclusive communities by empowering young people aged 16-25 to become skilled and engaged citizens under the pillars of learning and sustainable development.
The two categories are explained in detail below:
1. Empowering Learning
Help them understand how your work is empowering young people who may otherwise be at risk of early school leaving or low education attainment, through inclusive practices. Show them how you are engaging these young people to access supportive interventions that will empower and equip them to become active members of their communities by successfully transitioning into skills-based opportunities, engaging in mentorship opportunities or further learning and employment opportunities.
Specific emphasis will be placed on supporting one of the following three areas:
- Education support – e.g projects working with young people, from communities experiencing levels of disadvantage, to access additional education opportunities such as grinds, internships, mentoring and soft skills such as interview preparation, CV development and management of your online profile.*
- Upskilling opportunities – e.g programmes offering targeted skills training for young people.*
- Personal development opportunities – e.g programmes designed to build resilience and help participants develop positive coping strategies to overcome challenges in their lives.*
2. Empowering Sustainable Development
Help them understand how your work is creating inclusive communities through projects designed to empower young people to address the theme of sustainability in their lives. They are looking to support projects and programmes that are focused on education, action and / or awareness building, with specific emphasis on the following three areas:
- Climate Action e.g Projects equipping individuals, SMEs or communities with knowledge and skills to develop solutions to the environmental and climate crises. This can encompass nature restoration and water stewardship.
- Supporting the journey towards a Circular Economy e.g projects focused on designs or concepts that move away from take-make-waste models. These can be focused on eliminating pollution or waste, recycling or reuse of products or materials, or regenerating nature. This can include education and awareness initiatives around the new Deposit Return Scheme.
- Food insecurity e.g projects in the community that are designed to support reduction of food waste, combating the issue of food insecurity and hunger and education around such initiatives.
*Applications are not limited to the examples listed above. These are included to offer an idea of the types of projects we aim to support through this year’s Coca-Cola Thank You Fund.
The fund will support not-for-profit or charitable organisations working with young people across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland aged between 16-25 years.
Who is eligible to apply for funding?
To be eligible the applying organisation must;
- Work with young people aged between 16-25 years old.
- Be a registered not-for-profit or charitable organisation.
- Have a bank account set up in the name of the organisation.
- Be registered in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland and active for the past 12 months.
- Have a child protection / safeguarding policy in place.
What funding opportunities are available?
Awards of between €8,000 – €15,000 / £7,000 – £13,000 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time) will be available.
Organisations applying for funding will be asked to submit a detailed budget breakdown of expenditure for the total funds being requested. The final allocation of awards will be determined after all applications have been reviewed.