Rethink Ireland are delighted to announce the opening of applications for the Rural Recovery Fund which may be of interest to you or your colleagues.
This one year fund was created with support from Google.org and The Department of Rural and Community Development under the Dormant Accounts Fund. The fund aims to support innovative not-for-profit organisations that are working to increase their impact in supporting rural communities to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and build resilience for future challenges. The fund will support services and groups to build capacity and knowledge as well as increasing their impact in their communities and across rural Ireland.
The Fund will focus on projects which rise to the challenge of;
- Re-skilling/upskilling/diversifying the labour force,
- Economic and social inclusion of marginalised communities,
- Job creation in rural areas (including supporting social enterprises to grow their operations)
- Equal access to education for rural communities,
- Digital inclusion for all, (closing the digital divide).
Up to 5 awardees will receive a package of supports worth a maximum of €90,000 each in total. This will include:
- Cash grants of up to a maximum of €80,000
- A place on a 6-month Rethink Ireland Accelerator Programme:
- Non-financial supports worth €10,000 tailored to the specific needs of each project
Who can apply?
We invite applications from
- organisations that have a not-for-profit legal form, eg: A company limited by guarantee /A co-operative /Charity /other not for profit legal forms
- Projects must be based in a rural setting or aim to significantly improve their impact in rural areas
- The applicant must not be a public body. Collaborations with public bodies, where the main applicant(s) are community or third sector projects, can be considered for funding
Applications are open from Thursday 21st 2021 until 5pm Friday 19th November 2021
All queries relating to the fund should be sent to ruralrecovery@rethinkireland.ie