Deadline: 20-May-22
The Community Foundation for Ireland is pleased to announce the AXA PARKS Fund, a new environmental grants programme, supporting local community projects that demonstrate a real commitment to improved outcomes for their environment and their communities’ wellbeing.
AXA PARKS will serve not only communities but will also look to help protect the native biodiversity – helping ensure that people, plants, and animals can thrive across the whole island.
AXA’s ambition with this programme is to ‘Act for human progress by protecting what matters’, building on existing AXA initiatives such as the Carbon Neutral Car Insurance offering and Tree Planting programme that will see 600,000 native trees grown in Ireland.
Priorities
- Organisations that have a strong community engagement track record.
- Projects that provide opportunities for community members to participate in the creation and/or enhancement of green spaces.
- Green spaces that aim to improve mental or physical health.
- Green spaces that allow for an educational element, such as allowing for workshops on biodiversity, planting, or citizen scientist projects etc.
- Projects that will be sustained beyond the life of this grant.
- Projects that adhere to environmentally friendly principles and use of sustainable materials.
Funding Information & Duration
- Organisations can apply for funding between €3,000 and €20,000.
- Funding should be spent by the end of August 2023.
- In this grant round, over €600,000 is available for charitable organisations in the Republic of Ireland, and grants will be awarded proportionally across Ireland based on population spread.
- They anticipate that this round will be highly competitive and up to 100 grants will be awarded.
Eligible Projects
- Must be to enhance/develop an outdoor physical space in the local community.
- Must be accessible to the whole community or fit the specific cases above.
- Must encourage community engagement and participation in the development and use of the space.
- Must enhance or protect local biodiversity.
Eligibility Criteria
- Can be a registered charity or a local community/ voluntary group.
- Can be a non-fee paying school or non-profit pre-school.
- Must have an annual income of less than €500,000.
- Can be a local branch of a larger charity, provided the branch has an annual income of less than €500,000.
- Must be embedded in the local community and must have a track record of responding to community needs.
- Must have up to date and sufficient governing documents and financial accounts.
For more information, visit Community Foundation for Ireland.
For more information, visit https://www.communityfoundation.ie/grants/types-of-grants/axa-parks-fund