WHAT IS THE MNÁ NA HÉIREANN, WOMEN OF IRELAND FUND?
The Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland Fund is a €1.8 million fund over three years created by Social Innovation Fund Ireland in partnership with Bank of America and the Department of Rural and Community Development. The Department of Rural and Community Development provides match funding for all philanthropic funds raised by Social Innovation Fund Ireland, via the Dormant Accounts Fund.
The Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland Fund is the first fund in Ireland to support charities and social enterprises that seek to enhance the economic mobility of women, and is designed specifically to equip these organisations to expand their business acumen, drive growth and deepen their impact across Ireland.
The SIFI are calling for applications from organisations that support and empower women to progress their education or progress into new or more sustainable employment.
WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE WOMEN OF IRELAND FUND?
Through the Fund the SIFI aims to achieve the following over 3 years:
1) Empower 1,000 women to find and secure sustained employment across Ireland by investing in organisations that provide training, upskilling, education and other services directly to women experiencing disadvantage.
2) Double the impact of successful applicants by providing growth capital and support to organisations with a proven track record of social impact.
WHAT DOES THE WOMEN OF IRELAND FUND OFFER?
- Cash grants between €50,000 – €100,000 per year for three years
- A bespoke business supports package designed to equip not for profit organisations to expand their business acumen, drive growth and deepen their impact
- A place on Social Innovation Fund Ireland’s Accelerator programme which provides training from best-in-class experts across the private, not for profit and public sectors
- Performance management & impact management
- Access to Social Innovation Fund Ireland’s networks
- Access to training and mentoring from Bank of America’s employees
WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS IS THE FUND LOOKING FOR?
All applicants to Social Innovation Fund Ireland must meet a set of standard criteria as listed below. All applicants to the Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland Fund must meet the minimum fund criteria which is also listed below.
Note: as part of Social Innovation Fund Ireland’s standard eligibility requirements, applicants seeking funding for capital assets are not eligible.
SOCIAL INNOVATION FUND IRELAND STANDARD CRITERIA
- The project must address a critical social issue
- The project must be innovative in an Irish context
- The project must have potential and a desire to scale or replicate in Ireland (it may also have potential internationally, but this is not a requirement)
- The project must have a proven track record
- The project must be based on the island of Ireland and make its main impact in the Republic of Ireland
- Applicants must come from an entity that has a not-for-profit legal form e.g. company limited by guarantee, trust etc.
MNÁ NA HÉIREANN, WOMEN OF IRELAND FUND’S CORE CRITERIA
- Projects that focus on women who are experiencing disadvantage (socio-economic, educational disadvantage, disability, members of minority group and other)
- Projects that focus on developing economic mobility for women in Ireland experiencing disadvantage through:
- Increasing access to job opportunities
- Increasing female labour force participation
- Assisting women to progress their current positions
- Workforce development – building employment-related skills that lead to employment (includes soft skills)
- Projects that have evidence of sustained impact
- Organisations or projects with strong financial and governance structures, with the ability and resources to handle multi-year funding
- Organisations or projects with a viable fundraising model that can maximise and leverage grant funding
- Organisations or projects that have demonstrated strong leadership
MNÁ NA HÉIREANN, WOMEN OF IRELAND FUND’S ADVANTAGEOUS CRITERIA
- Organisations and their projects with a sustainable future business model
- Organisations and their projects demonstrating a gender-balanced board
- Organisations and their projects with a developed network and pipeline of participants
- Organisations and their projects that will participate in helping to tell the narrative of advanced economic mobility in Ireland
Frequently Asked Questions about the Fund and additional Terms and Conditions for Funding are available on the SIFI website HERE
HOW LONG IS THE FUND OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS?
The Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland Fund is open for applications from 18th February 2019 – 18th April 2019
HOW DO I APPLY?
Our Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland Fund application form can be accessed through this link HERE.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF AWARDEES?
Awardees will be expected to participate in an Accelerator programme from September 2019 to June 2022. It is expected that a minimum of 2 days per month will be devoted to the programme by the project lead.
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