The Latest News & Updates for Irish Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises

NEWS & RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Take the We Act Pledge

Your organisation is invited to take the We Act pledge, championing the work of Irish charities, community and voluntary groups, and social enterprises.

The We Act campaign belongs to all the organisations, staff, and volunteers in our sector who work to make our communities more welcoming, more sustainable, and more just. From the charity shop manager to the climate justice activist, when we come together, We Act.

Just last year, We Act celebrated its first anniversary, highlighted over 120 organisations, covered 81 stories in the media, hosted trainings and a We Act programme at Culture Night, and much more.

In 2023, We Act is looking to highlight more of the sector’s work, showcase more stories, and continue celebrating our collective impact and action. With support, We Act can reach further and by pledging, your organisation will be a part of the continuing evolution of our campaign.

You can learn more about the pledge and its benefits here: weact.ie/pledge

Take the pledge here.

Blueprint for Advanced Skills & Trainings in the Social Economy

The social economy is concept that has gained prominence in Europe in recent years. It is defined as a sector made up of a diversity of enterprises and organisations such as cooperatives, charities, community organisations, voluntary groups, associations, foundations and social enterprises among other forms that can be specific to each country. We often refer to this sector in Ireland as the community and voluntary sector.

As the umbrella body, Social Economy Europe, states: “[Social Economy organisations] are united around the values of: primacy of people and the social objective over capital, democratic governance, solidarity and the reinvestment of most profits to carry out sustainable development objectives.”

As part of our work to advance the promotion and support of our sector in Ireland and across Europe, over the next 4 years, The Wheel will be working with social economy partners across 10 countries on a new project focused on the social economy skills agenda. This European Commission backed project aims to establish an alliance for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills for the Social Economy. For the next four years, the baSE [Bluepring for Advanced Skills and Training in the Social Economy] project will focus on the upskilling and reskilling of social economy workers.

The Wheel will contribute to the research and analysis of the skills and competencies needed by the social economy, and will help create a competency framework, develop online training courses and provide policy recommendations for the continued development of our sector in Ireland and at European level.

If you want to know more about the project, visit the baSE LinkedIn page. We will keep you updated on the progress of the baSE project over the coming years.

CoRá Information and Networking Event – Cork, 28 Feb

You and your network are invited to attend the CoRá Information and Networking event on Tuesday, 28 February 9am – 10.30am.

Venue: Maldron Hotel, South Mall, Cork City, T12 EE72

This event is an opportunity to bring together all social innovation stakeholders from a cross-section of the public sector; industry; academia; and civil society with the aim of sharing updates on developments within the CoRá Project. Throughout the event we will highlight the challenges and opportunities within the Social Innovation Ecosystem.

CoRá is part of a wider EU project, Facilitating United Approaches to Social Innovation in Europe (FUSE), which is a consortium made up of Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Portugal. FUSE is set up to promote social innovation and cross-collaboration in each of the partner countries. The CoRá project is the Irish dimension of the FUSE project and is led by Rethink Ireland and Genio Trust. CoRá aims to develop a joint blueprint for a Social Innovation Strategy and Action Plan. This will be developed with a collaborative and inclusive approach with the active participation of representatives from the public and private sectors, civil society, and academia.

Further information about the CoRá and FUSE project will be provided at the event. This includes a briefing on the role of the project, a presentation of the results of the Social Innovation mapping research undertaken in Ireland, and the planned next steps of the project. There will also be a presentation by an organisation working in the social innovation ecosystem. In addition, this event will provide excellent networking opportunities for those in the Social Innovation field.

Register your free spot here.

Expert Trainers & the Latest Knowledge – Charity Law Certificate Programme Enrolling Now

Charity leaders, whether staff or board members, must engage with good governance in order to guide their organisation prudently and successfully towards their goals. But it can be a challenging, and sometimes overwhelming, task. That’s where the Certificate in Charity Law, Trusteeship and Governance comes in.

This popular programme run by the Law Society of Ireland in collaboration with The Wheel, provides you with an opportunity to learn from the key experts about the latest developments in areas such as charity regulation, data protection, procurement, employment law and fundraising. With speakers ranging from legal professionals, charity CEOs, staff of the Charities Regulator, and expert consultants, you will have the opportunity to learn, network and develop, alongside a committed and diverse peer group.

This practically focused professional certificate, over 8 module days, provides expert knowledge and guidance through a blend of online and in-person sessions. The 2023 programme begins on Friday 10 March and runs until 27 May.

We’re delighted to offer members of The Wheel a 10% discount on the course fee of €1,900. Applications close on 24 February and you can apply via the Law Society Diploma Centre.

Alternatively get in touch with the Course Leader, Suzanne Crilly, with any questions, s.crilly@lawsociety.ie.

Next Leadership Breakfast Club to Mark International Women’s Day 

We are delighted to announce the details for our next Leadership Academy Breakfast Club, which will be held Thursday, 2 March 2023 from 8.30am to 10am, at the beautiful new LinkedIn offices at Wilson Place, Dublin 2.

As March is the home of International Women’s Day, our March Breakfast Club will serve a dual function of celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world.

This month’s event will look at Leaders of Self and the leadership theme of moral courage. At some point, all leaders have to face the challenge of stepping out of fear and into moral courage, against viewpoints, against expectations, even against institutions. Our speakers for this event, Yemi Adenuga and Linda Kelly have both done this in very different ways. We will discuss both of their personal leadership journeys.

Following the panel discussion, we will have a chance to roundtable with other attendees and discuss how we might foster and develop moral courage in our own leadership community. Register here.

New Guide for Inclusive Community Engagement in Local Planning and Decision Making Launched

Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development, Integration and Charities, Joe O’Brien TD, recently launched ‘A Guide for Inclusive Community Engagement in Local Planning and Decision Making’.

This new resource guide is aimed at ensuring that marginalised and disadvantaged communities have opportunities to engage and participate in local planning and decision-making.

Inclusive engagement with marginalised communities, and the organisations that represent them, will ensure that their views are reflected in local decision-making. The guide also aims to enable more sustainable development at a local level.

Local authorities, public sector bodies, community groups or any organisation committed to inclusive local decision-making can use this plain English resource.

This initiative is as part of a wider Dormant Accounts Funded project on the engagement of marginalised communities and is just one of a wide variety of actions being delivered under Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, the whole of Government Strategy to support the Community and Voluntary Sector in Ireland 2019-2024.

Download the guide and learn more here.

The HeadStart Fund to Focus On Youth Mental Health

This is a three-year, €3,000,000 Fund created by Rethink Ireland in collaboration with the Z Zurich Foundation and the HSE. Rethink Ireland invites applications from projects and organisations that have an innovative approach to effecting positive mental health, with a proven track record of impact and a vision to scale.

All young people can benefit from better mental health and The HeadStart Fund recognises that you don’t need to be at a ‘crisis point’ to access mental health support. Therefore, the projects/organisations who apply for the HeadStart Fund will be working across the full spectrum of mental health initiatives including early interventions, well-being and resilience programmes, confidence-building supports, initiatives for fighting depression/social anxiety/loneliness/stress, etc.

The HeadStart Fund will support organisations working with young people aged 15-24 in the Republic of Ireland and will focus on innovative solutions to help groups such as young people, women, and those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage through cash grants and non-financial support.

The deadline for application is 3 March 2023. Learn more here.

Community Foundation Ireland’s Grantee Survey 2022 Needs Your Input!

You are invited to take part in Community Foundation Ireland’s (CFI) Grantee Survey 2022.

This survey is completely anonymous and will ask you for feedback on CFI’s grants processes in 2022. The survey will take between 5 – 10 minutes and will help CFI improve all aspects of its grantmaking.

You can access the survey here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/8X53ZXM

There are questions about the size of an organisation and areas you find difficult to fund, questions about the application process, and questions around our reporting process, among others.  There is also space to write your own anonymous comments and suggestions.

The survey will close on Tuesday, 28 February at 4pm.

ONLINE TRAINING FROM THE WHEEL

Browse Our 2023 Training Calendar:
www.wheel.ie/training

JOBS

Positions Closing Soon

Partnerships Executive (Respond Housing Association)
Deadline: 24 Feb 2023. Full details.

Commercial & Fundraising Executive (GCN)
Deadline: 24 Feb 2023. Full details.

Service Manager (Positive Futures)
Deadline: 24 Feb 2023. Full details.

LAES Caseworker (South Dublin County Partnership)
Deadline: 24 Feb 2023. Full details.

Director of Services (Ruhama)
Deadline: 24 Feb 2023. Full details.

Fundraising Administrator (Depaul Ireland)
Deadline: 24 Feb 2023. Full details.

Visit www.wheel.ie/jobs now for more employment opportunities.

FUNDING

European Solidarity Corps – Volunteering Projects

Volunteering projects offer opportunities for young people to take part in solidarity activities contributing to the daily work of participating organisations, to the ultimate benefit of the communities within which the activities are carried out. Volunteering is a full-time unpaid activity that has a duration of up to 12 months. This type of solidarity activity is undertaken through participating organisations that offer young people the opportunity to carry out a wide variety of activities, in a structured way.

The scope of volunteering projects is broad, covering a wide range of areas, such as environmental protection, climate change mitigation or greater social inclusion. Volunteering may take place in a country other than the country of residence of the participant (cross-border) or in the country of residence of the participant (in-country).

Deadline: 23 Feb 2023. Full details here.
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The Arts Council – Commissions Award

The purpose of the Commissions Award is to enable the commissioning of new work from freelance artists. The Commissions Award is open to organisations and individuals to apply to commission an artist or artists.

In general, the finished work may be in a form capable of being presented, exhibited, published, performed and/or disseminated in its entirety at the point of completion, or it may be capable of being presented as a work-in-progress, either live or online.

Deadline: 23 Feb 2023. Full details here.
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Shared Island Civic Society Fund

The Shared Island Civic Society Fund will promote practical North South cooperation and engagement, across a range of sectors and themes, consistent with the objectives and commitments of the Good Friday Agreement. It will encourage and support civic society and community organisations to further strengthen existing partnerships and/or to develop new cross-border links, to build connectivity on issues of concern for the island of Ireland.

The scheme, which has been developed as part of the Government’s Shared Island initiative and supported through the Shared Island Fund, will provide €500,000 to cross-border projects in the first year of operation. It is expected that increased funding will be made available in future years.

Deadline: 27 Feb 2023. Full details here.
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Rise Community Fund

The RISE Community Fund supported by NBI is aimed at addressing the rural digital divide and will award 5 monthly grants of €1,000 each to empower local businesses, community groups, farms and social enterprises to enhance their digital strategy. The Fund offers an immediate financial injection into your local community, boosting the digital ecosystem.

Deadline: 28 Feb 2023 (Galway). Full details here.