Four social enterprises in Dublin have received grants ranging from €8,000 to €15,000 in a scheme organised by Dublin City Council.

The Social Enterprise Grant Scheme was established to raise awareness, promote and reward the important work being done by Social Entrepreneurs. The Inner City Enterprise formed a partnership with the Local Enterprise Office Dublin City, the Irish Social Enterprise Network, the Carmichael Centre and Dublin City University to promote practical business supports to social enterprises in Dublin city

“It is vitally important that we showcase the significant contribution made by social enterprise. Social enterprise can play an essential part in any future economic recovery. The award will allow the enterprises to develop their plans which in turn will bring benefits to the local community,” said Councillor Daithí Doolan

The four winners were selected as by the ICE Evaluation Committee.

Dome Grown
Dome Grown, a new social enterprise working with local communities to operate intensive greenhouses, or grow domes, and locating them in community gardens or on currently derelict land. Employing many cutting edge ecological practices –including off-grid hydroponics and solar electrical generation – they produce food, energy and jobs sustainably as well as facilitate community groups with a place to hold classes, homework clubs, men’s shed meetings, theatre, music and arts events etc. all under one roof.

In Association with

Eco Mattress Recycling
Eco Mattress, a social enterprise set up with the objectives of offering hands on work experience for people on back to work programme, creating sustainable employment and creating a viable alternative to landfill for mattress waste.

Walkinstown Green Social Enterprises
Walkinstown Green Social Enterprises, which includes The Green Kitchen Café and The Green Garden Centre, aims to provide employment and training opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities and for other people not in employment, education or training who are living in Walkinstown and the surrounding area.

Thriftify
Thriftify helps charity shops to make more money by supplying them with a simple software solution to sell their second hand books online. They have been running a test-trading trial in partnership with NCBI each week to collect approximately 200 books that were destined to be shredded and they put them up for sale on line. To date 1,366 books have been processed with a gross sale value of €2,154 which is far above the value they would have achieved as recycled paper.