RTE Comic Relief Fund Now Open
In response to the significant need of community and voluntary groups across Ireland, many of whom are working to support people affected by Covid-19, RTÉ and Kite Entertainment came together to host RTÉ does Comic Relief. The night of entertainment raised over €5.5million for the Community and Voluntary sector which will be distributed through a process of application and assessment.
The funds raised through RTÉ does Comic Relief will focus on the recovery and rebuilding of Ireland. The fund will focus on supporting non-profit organisations that provide key services and supports to vulnerable individuals who have been affected by Covid-19 across the whole of the Republic of Ireland.
Organisations can apply to one or both of the following strands:
Demand for Digital
In a sector where the face to face or a ‘direct delivery’ model has historically been key to providing impactful support, organisations are now faced with a significant challenge – how to support vulnerable and at risk individuals in a time where 1-1 contact is increasingly difficult.
The RTÉ Does Comic Relief: ‘Demand for Digital’ strand seeks to address this challenge, providing support to organisations across Ireland to adapt their existing programmes, or develop new ones, by using digital tools or online technology.
Adapt and Respond
Due to the changing nature of Covid-19 there is a significant need for organisations to adapt and respond to a variety of challenges, both internal and external.
By investing in organisations and improving their capacity to deliver key services we aim to create the best possible impact, helping non-profit organisations to continue to support thousands of vulnerable people throughout Ireland who have been and continue to be affected by Covid-19.
RTÉ Does Comic Relief: Adapt and Respond aims to support organisations to increase their internal capacity to deliver existing or new services in response to Covid-19.
Collaboration
Within The RTÉ Does Comic Relief: Adapt and Respond Strand, collaborative projects are welcome and encouraged. Such projects will be given priority during assessment and may be awarded a higher level of funding.
For a project to be considered within this category it must by truly collaborative i.e. a coming together of two or more organisations that will lead to an increased or ‘outsized’ social impact.
If you are working in collaboration with other organisations in response to Covid-19 and would like to find out more about how you can apply as a collaborative project, please email covidresponse@foundation.ie.
RTE does Comic Relief Criteria
We recommend that you read through the criteria for both strands in full before beginning your application:
RTÉ Does Comic Relief: Demand for Digital Criteria
RTÉ Does Comic Relief: Adapt and Respond Criteria
How to apply
- Read both criteria documents to check that your project is suitable, and your organisation is eligible to apply.
- Read through our FAQs and have a look at our Grants Hub for any additional information you might need.
- Apply through our online application forms:
- Your online application can be saved as a draft if you want to come back to it at a later date.
- The closing date is 4.30pm Wednesday 30th September. We recommend you submit your application well before this deadline in case of any unexpected issues.
When submitting your application, you will be required to submit the following documents:
- Your organisation’s constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- Your organisation’s bank or credit union statement header
- Your organisation’s most recent annual accounts
- The organisation’s safeguarding policies for children and vulnerable adults (where your organisation deals directly with children/young people or vulnerable adults.)
Timeline
- Opening Date for applications: Tuesday 4th August 2020
- Closing Date for applications: Wednesday 30th September 2020
- Grants will be made by: December 2020
- Work should begin: January 2021
- Interim Report due for Adapt and Respond: June 2021
- Final Outcome Report due: December 2021
Further information
We will hold a RTÉ Does Comic Relief: How to Apply webinar at 11am on 4th August 2020. This will go through the different strands within the RTÉ Does Comic Relief Fund and we will have a Q&A at the end. Please sign up here. The webinar will be published online following the event.
Have a look at our Grants Hub for more information on applying to The Community Foundation for Ireland. If you have any further questions that have not been answered in the FAQs, please send your query to covidresponse@foundation.ie. We expect a high level of queries, but we will respond as soon as we can.
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