Deadline: 14-Aug-25
Applications are now open for the Energy for Generations Fund Program.
The Energy for Generations Fund sees over €1 million per year disbursed across a range of community and issues-based initiatives through a bi-annual fund to charities working in the areas of social inclusion relating to access to education as well as access to employment, and homelessness.
Aim
- Aim of ESB’s Energy for Generations Fund
- The aim of the fund is to maximise the impact of the social investment in disadvantaged communities, by taking a more strategic approach to effect sustainable change aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The fund also aims to leverage skills and knowledge within the company to bring about viable and positive outcomes. Only project proposals from charities delivering supports and services impacting on communities located on the island of Ireland are considered.
- The project should be aligned with at least one or more of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the corporate strategy and corporate social responsibility vision:
- SDG 4 – Quality Education
- SDG 5 Gender Equality
- SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
- SDG13 – Climate Change
Funding Information
- The guideline application amount is c. €15,000. This is neither a minimum nor a maximum, rather an indication of the scale of the resources available.
- Average funding awards in recent years have been c. €8,000 – €12,000
Eligibility Criteria
- To apply to ESB’S Energy for Generations Fund, the project must operate in one of the following areas and be aligned with:
- Social Inclusion – Access to Education
- They will fund services and projects working to promote access to education, they have a particular interest in projects that support the following:
- Early years and primary education projects focusing on supporting transition into education and specialist literacy and numeracy skills development initiatives.
- Post-Primary level proposals supporting science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM).
- Adult education supporting competency development and return-to-education programmes aimed at those long-term out of work.
- They will fund services and projects working to promote access to education, they have a particular interest in projects that support the following:
- Social Inclusion – Access to Employment:
- They will fund projects that focus on supporting inclusive access to employment initiatives committing to an increasingly diverse workforce and agile culture of inclusion and belonging in line with ESB’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy.
- Projects promoting an inclusive community supporting efforts and activities aimed at helping marginalised members of society obtain work. Thereby growing a diverse and inclusive workforce of the future, opening doors for excluded groups in the communities, which consistent with ESB’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy.
- They will fund inclusive employment initiatives that promote the Sustainable Leadership Plan.
- Homelessness
- They will fund services and projects benefiting homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. They welcome projects particularly relating to the Sustainable Leadership Plan as well as projects orientated towards social inclusion namely access to education and access to employment initiatives
- Social Inclusion – Access to Education
Ineligibility Criteria
- Funding is not awarded to/for:
- Individuals and individual fundraisers
- Administrative or operating costs
- Salary expenses
- Third party fundraising (e.g. fundraising events)
- High risk ventures
- Retrospective funding
- Community counselling services
- Overseas work
For more information, visit ESB.