Deadline: 31 March 2020
The Begin Together Fund will provide valuable investment for community initiatives making a difference in towns and villages across the island of Ireland.
Bank of Ireland’s Begin Together Fund wants to get behind those making the lives of others in their communities better by improving their financial, physical and mental wellbeing.
Fortunately, in every town and village there are people, businesses and organisations working hard to make things better for everyone. Bank of Ireland supports them and their work in communities all across the island of Ireland. They want to get behind those trying to make the lives of others in their communities better by improving their financial, physical and mental wellbeing.
Begin Together is Bank of Ireland’s all-island initiative to improve the financial, physical and mental wellbeing of Ireland’s communities. This initiative has three strands – the Begin Together Fund, the Begin Together Awards and Begin Together Colleagues.
Funding Information
The Begin Together fund will support new and existing project-based activities with grants of up to €5,000 (or the sterling equivalent) for local, not for profit groups working to improve the financial physical and/or mental wellbeing of the communities they serve across all counties on the island of Ireland.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications will only be eligible if:
- The applicant organisation has an annual income less than €500,000.
- The proposed project addresses at least one of the strands of ‘wellbeing’.
- Preference will be given to applications that:
- Serve disadvantaged communities or minority groups.
- Will have an ongoing impact within their community.
- Address more than one strand of wellbeing.
Criteria
Applications are welcome from charities and not-for-profit community groups working in communities that address one or more of the following strands of wellbeing:
- Financial Wellbeing: projects that provide people with the skills and knowledge to access services and manage their money with confidence. Projects should either:
- Strengthen the capacity of individuals to engage with a range of available digital services in order to help manage their money in a digital age.
- Enhance people’s financial knowledge through financial education programmes.
- Physical Wellbeing: projects that aim to increase levels of physical activity and improve overall physical wellbeing within their local communities. Applications must demonstrate a clear link with one of the areas outlined below:
- Participation – projects that encourage inclusive participation of individuals in physical activity.
- Promoting Ability – projects that encourage individuals to become more physically active at a level appropriate to their ability e.g. projects supporting older people, young children, long-term inactive cohorts, to become more physically active.
- Mental Wellbeing: projects that promote positive mental health within their local communities. Applications must demonstrate a clear link with one of the areas outlined below:
- Active Participation – projects that encourage the active participation of individuals in their own mental wellbeing. Projects should aim to promote increased independence/resilience in relation to an individual’s mental health.
- Promoting Access – projects that improve the ability of individuals to access mental health and wellbeing services either i) directly, through the provision
Applicant Requirements
- Only one application will be accepted per organisation.
- Applications must be from community and voluntary groups that possess charitable aims and are not-for-profit.
- Applicant organisations must have an annual income not more than €500,000.
- Applicants will be asked to state if their organisation would benefit from volunteer support from Bank of Ireland staff.
- Organisations working with cohorts under the age of 18 will be required to produce a copy of their Child Protection Policy.
- Organisations working with vulnerable adults will be required to produce a safeguarding policy or ‘vulnerable adults’ policy.
- Organisations will be asked to submit a copy of their founding documents (e.g. Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association). Organisations that do not provide required documents will not be considered.
- Organisations will be asked to provide a copy of a recent bank statement – This is for account verification only and all financial transactions may be redacted before submission. Organisations who do not possess a bank account in the name of their organisation and/or who do not submit a copy of the statement as requested will not be awarded funding.
- Proposals must include clear, detailed, realistic costs and timescales.
- Applicant projects must take place only after the funding has been awarded i.e. July 2020 and must be complete within the following 12 months.
How to Apply
You must apply via online application form.
For more information, visit https://www.communityfoundation.ie/grants/types-of-grants/bank-of-ireland-begin-together-fund-2020