Deadline: 10-Jan-2025
Rethink Ireland is partnering with the State Street Foundation, and the Department of Rural and Community Development on the three-year Breaking Barriers Fund to support projects or organisations that are working towards Equity in both education and the workplace in Ireland.
The fund will support access-to-workplace initiatives, sustaining employment and educational initiatives, in support of the fact that educational attainment leads to better employment opportunities.
The Breaking Barriers Fund aims to support awardees that tackle discrimination and inequality in the Irish labour market and education system. The fund will achieve this through investments in innovative projects offering tailored solutions combating discrimination and inequality in the Irish labour market or education system with outcomes including (but not limited to); sustainable jobs, work placements & internships as well as training and education.
Themes
- The fund will focus on projects which rise to the challenges captured in the following themes:
- Addressing Discrimination and Inequality: This includes tackling labour market discrimination and barriers to employment related to race, ethnicity, and nationality.
- Increasing Participation and Access: The fund aims to increase the participation of minority and disadvantaged groups in the labour market and facilitate better access to higher education, further education, and apprenticeships for those who face barriers (i.e through tailored employability programmes, holistic skills development courses, bespoke employment supports).
- Eliminate Barriers: This involves reducing both structural and practical barriers to employment, work placements, and educational opportunities for people/groups who face these barriers.
- Supporting Career Development and Skills Growth: The fund supports the career development and personal skills growth of employees/future employees who are under-represented at senior levels.
- Systems Change Approach-Empowerment of Marginalised Communities: The fund aims to empower leaders from marginalised and disadvantaged communities to self-advocate and champion their cause, strengthening networks and partnerships to challenge discriminatory practices and support systemic reforms that enhance access to decent work or education for the most marginalised communities.
Funding Information
- Up to five awarded projects will recieve:
- Cash grants up to (€63,000) each year across 3 years
- A business supports package
- A place on our capacity building Accelerator Programme
- Project performance management
Eligibility Criteria
- This fund is open to organisations that have a not-for-profit legal form, e.g. a company limited by guarantee, a co-operative, trust, charity, and other voluntary organisations that meet the following criteria:
- Rethink Ireland Criteria
- The project must address a critical social or environmental issue
- The project proposed must be innovative in an Irish context
- The project must be based on the island of Ireland and must make its main impact in the Republic of Ireland
- 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 provide evidence that it is up and running, or has been tested at least in a minimal way.
- Applicants must come from an entity that has a not-for-profit legal form, e.g. a company limited by guarantee, a co-operative, trust, charity.
- Breaking Barriers Fund Core Criteria
- Projects must be:
- Addressing labour market discrimination and/or barriers related to; Race/ ethnicity/ nationality.
- Increasing participation of minority and/or disadvantaged groups in the labour market (i.e through tailored employability programmes, holistic skills development courses, bespoke employment supports)
- Facilitating better access to higher education/further education/apprenticeships for people/groups who face barriers to the above
- Reducing structural and practical barriers to employment/work placements/ educational opportunities for people/groups who face barriers
- Projects must be:
- Advantageous criteria
- Projects/Organisations that work holistically with; migrant groups including asylum seekers and refugees, minority ethnic communities facing intersecting disadvantages such as people with physical or intellectual disabilities, young people, older job seekers/return-to-work employees, women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Projects/Organisations which help Ireland’s national effort to reach SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 5: Gender Equality, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and/or SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
- Projects that are community-led
- Projects that are minority-led
Ineligibility Criteria
- Ineligible applicants are:
- Applicants that are not eligible to apply are:
- Applicants under 18 years of age
- Commercial companies, sole traders and individuals
- Any staff member from Rethink Ireland and their family members. Family members include siblings, parents, spouses or civil partners or children.
- Individuals
- statutory or public bodies, companies limited by shares and organisations that are state bodies or agencies that are not registered charities
- Any consultant currently working with Rethink Ireland
For more information, visit Rethink Ireland.
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