Social enterprise come in many forms, and there are plenty of them. The Social Enterprise Development Fund, organised by Rethink Ireland and funded by IPB Insurance and the Dormant Accounts Fund, is on track to distribute €3.1m to c.110 social enterprises over the programme period of 2018 to 2022.
In 2022, a separate Rethink Ireland fund announced six awardees who will share €600,000.
The Rural Recovery Fund was established in October 2021 with a €430,000 grant from the philanthropic arm of Google.
The fund awardees were Peter McVerry Trust, Anna Liffey Drug Project, Camphill Initiatives for Social Ecology, Kantoher Development Group, Grow Remote, and Ludgate Operations.
The Ludgate enterprise supports women in West Cork who wish to return to work through an 11-week tailored training, coaching and mentoring programme followed by a three-month work placement.
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A Rethink grant helped James O’Neill on his way a few years ago. A former development officer with Muintir na Tíre, O’Neill hit upon the idea of engraving an Eircode onto items that attract the attention of thieves, such as bikes and farm equipment.
O'Neill's Property Marking crime prevention machine can emboss an Eircode onto almost any surface other than glass or ceramic. “The mark made on your property is a physical mark, etched into the item and is very difficult to remove,” O’Neill explains.
O’Neill’s business model is to encourage organisations to buy in a marking machine when is then shared with community groups. The idea is to involve neighbourhoods in organising property marking events, and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre purchased a marking machine for gardai to share with community groups.
“We’ve gone well past pilot schemes and we’re in the phase of measurable impact now,” O’Neill adds. “Twenty three local authorities are involved and over 800,000 items have been marked. Stolen goods are recovered all the time but very few are traced back to the owner.”
The attraction for donors of working with Rethink Ireland is that donations leverage matched state funding, so there’s more bang for the charitable buck.
The organisation’s 2020 accounts disclose philanthropy income of €7.5m and state funding of €9.5m.
One big business donor of note is law firm Mason Hayes & Curran, which funds the Engage & Educate Fund. This is distributing €1.2m over the period 2021-2024 to finance educational opportunities for marginalised communities.
Rethink Ireland also fundrasies for its Freedom From Fear Fund.
According to the National Women’s Council, violence against women is an epidemic in Ireland, and the fund will aim to be “a catalyst in creating a zero-tolerance culture towards misogyny and sexism that permeates Irish society and creates the context in which gender-based violence occurs”.
Photo: James O'Neill, founder of Property Marking
