Shared Island Civic Society Fund
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris has announced the opening of the 2025 round of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Shared Island Civic Society Fund.
The Shared Island Civic Society Fund seeks to ensure that funding is not a barrier to cross border engagement. It encourages and supports civic society and community organisations to develop new cross-border links, to further strengthen existing partnerships, or to create or broaden cross-border connectivity on issues of concern for the island of Ireland.
The new phase of the Shared Island Civic Society Fund is a €6 million three-year initiative, promoting practical North-South cooperation and engagement, primarily between grassroots community organisations across a range of sectors and themes, consistent with the objectives and commitments of the Good Friday Agreement.
The 2025 round will allocate up to €2 million (average grant of just under €30,000).
Applications must demonstrate a clear partnership between at least one organisation based in the South and at least one organisation based in the North or must be from an all island body.
Apply before the final closing date of Friday 27 June 2025 at 11:59pm Dublin Time
The Ireland Funds: Heart of the Community Grants
The Heart of the Community Fund is an open grant round designed to meet the needs of not-for-profit organisations delivering vital services and supports to people across the island of Ireland.
In recognising the challenges organisations face in securing funding to build their capacity or meet their core costs, the Heart of the Community Fund 2025 will provide Organisational Investment Grants.
In 2025, funding will be delivered through two separate grant rounds.
- Round 1 will support organisations in Northern Ireland focusing on organisations in rural and hard-to-reach areas, particularly those
- Supporting youth through civic leadership, employment, and ambition-building
- Addressing urgent mental health challenges in communities affected by trauma and limited opportunity.
- Round 2 supports organisations in the Republic of Ireland and will open later in 2025.
The Heart of the Community Fund 2025 will provide grants between £5,000-20,000 to non-profit organisations with an annual turnover of less than £3,000,000.
Round 1 applications are accepted from 29 May to 27 June 2025.
Join The Ireland Funds’ team at their upcoming in-person information session which offers detailed guidance on the application process and an opportunity to ask questions:
Northern Ireland Information Session In-Person: Wednesday, 18 June at 11 am, 174 Trust, Belfast. Register here
Change Maker Funding Programme
The Change Maker Funding Programme will distribute €40m over the next three years to support people to people projects on a cross community and/or cross-border basis, delivering awards of up to €100,000 directly into communities.
Grants are provided under PEACEPLUS themes:
- 1: Building Peaceful and Thriving Communities
- To promote positive relations characterised by respect, where cultural diversity is celebrated and people can live, learn, and socialise together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance.
and
- 6: Building and Embedding Partnerships and Collaboration
- To strengthen trust-building activities among citizens as a founding pillar for cross-border co-operation.
Investment Areas 1.2 (Strand 1) and 6.2 will be collectively promoted as the Change Maker Funding Programme.
Strand 1: Small grants programme is the focus of their first call
This objective is to promote positive relations characterised by respect, where cultural diversity is celebrated and people can live, learn, and socialise together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance. Funded projects will enable community groups to work on shared challenges, on a cross-community basis.
All projects must have a strong focus on improving cross community and cross-border relationships and applications should clearly identify a Lead Partner Organisation.
The programme area for the PEACEPLUS Programme is:
- Northern Ireland
- The border counties of Ireland (Counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan, and Sligo),
and thematic focus of projects may span a broad range of areas and groups.
A total value of €20 million has been allocated to this Investment Area with individual projects from €10,000 to €100,000.
- Applications between €10,000 and up to €20,000 is now open and is available on a rolling basis (no deadlines).
- Applications over €20,000 up to €60,000 and up to €100,000 will have three calls to be advertised with various Opening and Closing dates throughout the programme timescale.
Grants are available to cover 100% of the eligible costs of the project.
Irish-language Theatre Production and Touring Award
The Irish-Language Theatre Award supports the production and touring of large-scale Irish-language theatre. It focuses on ensuring more people can enjoy high-quality theatre experiences in the Irish language throughout the country.
The maximum awarded is €400,000 to organisations and individuals working professionally in theatre who must be based on the island of Ireland.
Proposals must clearly show benefit to the arts in the Republic of Ireland and include performances in at least four major urban centres on the island of Ireland, with a minimum of two nights in each centre, at least one of which must be in Northern Ireland.
The programme opens to applications from 1 July to 31 July 2025 at 5pm.
