Community Recognition Fund 2024
Overview
On 15th March 2024, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, together with her colleague Minister Joe O’Brien TD, announced additional funding to support communities that have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries. The Community Recognition Fund 2024 is specifically targeted at projects that are located in cities, towns and villages that are hosting the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants including towns identified for the rapid build homes programme and where there is a clear need for investment identified. Local authorities, in collaboration with communities, will be funded to develop projects that deliver long term benefits to those living in areas selected and that will be used by all members of the community.
The Fund aims to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community. It is separate in its objectives and scope to any other public funding streams which aim to support the development of public service needs arising from the significant number of arrivals from Ukraine and other countries. Projects to be funded will be capital in nature, deliver medium-long term benefits for the communities in which they are located, and be capable of being delivered over the course of 2025 and 2026. While the 2023 Community Recognition Grant provided funding for small scale investment in clubs and communities (e.g. for small scale equipment), the focus of the 2024 scheme is on projects of greater scale and impact. Therefore, the minimum level of funding for an individual project is €50,000 up to a maximum of €500,000. Proposals for projects greater than €200,000 must be accompanied by a Business Case. Smaller projects cannot be artificially combined to meet the minimum threshold of €50,000.
Types of projects eligible for funding include:
- Development, enhancement or refurbishment of community or cultural facilities inc. play areas, walkways, parks, community/sensory gardens, allotments and recreational areas;
- Development, enhancement or refurbishment of local club and sports facilities including facilities such as community swimming pools, changing rooms, toilets, digital aids such as score / information boards;
- Enhancement to school/parish facilities which are open to use by all of the community after school hours;
- Purchase of equipment for local clubs, festivals, community events and organisations e.g. music ,arts or sports equipment;
- Transport infrastructure such as the purchase of community vehicles, bus shelters and attendant information boards; (any vehicle funded must be less than 5 years old),
- Projects that help address dereliction and/or wiser local economic and community development objectives;
- Purchase and refurbishment of vacant or derelict buildings for community use where a clear need is identified;
- Purchase of land and associated works for the development of community facilities such as play areas/MUGA’s or town parks/community gardens, recreational areas etc. (purchase to be administered by the local authority).
Projects situated in areas that do not have high levels of new arrivals will not be deemed eligible. Proposals which spread projects throughout a municipal area or city area without clearly linking the funding to the specific location of new arrivals and their level of need will not be approved. In addition, proposals which do not display adequate levels of community engagement and targeting of supports will not be approved.
Consultation events for Community Groups – It is proposed to schedule a series for drop-in consultation events in the coming weeks. Locations, dates and times will be published here and posted across Sligo County Council social media platforms in the coming days.
Expressions of Interest:
Interested groups should carefully consider the requirements of the project/proposal, possible costs involved and prepare their application carefully. Projects should be specific, time bound, show clear costings and planning throughout, and be achievable within the timeframes involved. Any planning issues should be clearly identified. The funding allocation will be a competitive process and Expressions of Interest will be short-listed based on the details submitted, in order to identify the projects to go forward to the Department of Rural and Community Development as an overall Funding Proposal for County Sligo.
Important things to note when submitting your Expression of Interest:
- Only those areas/communities that are hosting high levels of the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection or International Protection Applicants are eligible for this funding.
- Projects should be capital in nature.
- All applications should include as much information as possible including details of any organisation or community group which you represent.
- All submissions are subject to the Data Protection Act (as amended) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (as amended).
Completed applications should be submitted by 4.00 p.m. on Friday 17th January 2025.
Any queries regarding the Fund should be sent to crf@sligococo.ie
In addition, the Department of Rural and Community Development has published the full details of the scheme (including funding allocations): Minister Humphreys and Minister Joe O’Brien launch 2024 Community Recognition Fund
