The Community Foundation awarded almost £9million to community and voluntary organisations in Northern Ireland between 2020 and 2021, more than doubling its impact on the previous year. In its annual report, which was published this week, the Foundation revealed that the funding awarded through its 54 grant programmes benefitted over 1.5 million people, supporting one in three of the population.
Chief Executive Roisin Wood, who joined the Community Foundation in July this year explained:
“This was an extraordinary year for the Community Foundation, in which we worked hard to give communities a voice, to listen to what was needed and to influence and advocate on behalf of those communities. The team has carried out this important work in partnership with our stakeholders and in support of our strategic priorities. We saw significant impacts in peacebuilding, supporting the most marginalised people in our society including the traveller and LGBTQIA+ communities and enabling communities to remain sustainable.
“Philanthropic giving came to the fore in 2020-21 as we managed three new Covid response funds with support and collaboration from multiple funders and stakeholders including NET, Bank of Ireland, DEARA, Department for Communities, Comic Relief and Ulster Garden Villages.
“Over the past 18 months, the voluntary sector has demonstrated incredible creativity and resilience by pivoting and responding quickly to the needs of people in their communities. We have worked hard to get funding to where it was needed by listening to these groups and we adjusted our grant making processes in partnership with our funders to enable applications to be managed quickly and efficiently. “
Organisations that support physical and mental health and vulnerable people received £3.5 million, Arts and Culture organisations were supported with almost £175,000 and the Foundation’s Techies in Residence programme invested over £300,000 in support of innovative digital solutions to social challenges.
Roisin continued:
“Looking forward to the year ahead, challenges such as climate change, poverty, accessible technology, inequality and human rights will remain rightly at the forefront of our work. Following on from the delivery of our Covid response, we have gained great insight into how best to fund this important work and develop funding that is flexible, for the long term, with greater percentages of unrestricted funding and less bureaucracy. Those essential discussions are needed to honestly address these challenges, so that we can strive for the positive future of Northern Ireland.”
Review the Community Foundation’s Annual Report at https://communityfoundationni.
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