Impact Fund 2025
Supporting innovative, community-led responses to some of the most significant challenges affecting communities in Munster and Wexford.
This two-year €1.1 million fund supports non-profit organisations delivering innovative projects that foster equity, cultural cohesion, community wellbeing and inclusive participation in sustainable development in communities across Munster and Wexford.
This fund was created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with the Parkes Family, Limerick; the Estate of Mary Coffey c/o Pat Toomey, Tipperary; the Hospital Saturday Fund; The Luan Fund; Ed Murphy, Wexford; Turas Nua; The Ireland Funds; and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht via the Dormant Accounts Fund.
Read about our nine awardees below.
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Awardees
Burrenbeo Trust
Burrenbeo Trust is a longstanding community organisation dedicated to connecting people with the heritage, landscape and culture of their places. Heritage Keepers is their flagship learning and community stewardship programme, working with schools and community groups across the country. The programme supported by the Impact Fund 2025 empowers participants specifically from the Munster and Wexford regions to delve into their built, cultural and natural heritage. It then supports them through tailored guidance, mentoring, and seed funding to take meaningful and achievable action that promotes, protects, or enhances their local heritage and environment.
ADHD Ireland
ADHD Ireland is the national charity supporting people with ADHD and their families through information, advocacy, peer support and education. The Impact Fund 2025 will enable ADHD Ireland to embed its innovative “Action Hub” programme across three key sectors in Munster: higher education, corporate workplaces and the public sector. Action Hub uses structured body doubling to improve organisation, accountability and everyday functioning while creating a sustainable model for wider expansion.
The Circular Square
The Circular Square is Clonmel’s community Hub for the Circular Economy; they promote a repair and reuse mindset through simple steps and practical ways, hosting a repair café and hands-on repair and creative workshops, as well as a vibrant toy library and regular clothes swaps. They aim to embrace the diverse and changing demographics of Clonmel by engaging people from all walks of life to connect, learn and engage creatively and socially with the circular economy and climate action.
Dóchas Midwest Autism Support
Dóchas Midwest Autism Support provides employment, skills development and work experience opportunities for autistic adults through its community-based Áthas Screenprint Studio social enterprise. With support from the Impact Fund 2025, Dóchas Midwest will expand the studio into 3D-printed sensory products designed by and for autistic people, creating new paid employment opportunities while developing affordable, locally produced sensory supports.
Cork Deaf Association
Embedding Deaf Awareness is a capacity-building project designed, led and facilitated by Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Supporting the community & voluntary sector, the project upskills organisations with the knowledge and awareness to better support Deaf and Hard of Hearing service users. The training workshops are tailored to the organisation’s needs and are supported by an online learning hub. By building Deaf awareness and inclusive practices, the project promotes greater participation, accessibility and inclusion across communities.
Limerick Civic Trust
Limerick Civic Trust is dedicated to protecting and improving Limerick’s historic environment. Partnering with Irish Natural Stone (INStone), their “Carving the Future in Stone” project addresses social exclusion through a dual strategy: providing marginalised adults with vital vocational skills while actively preserving local built heritage. The services include hands-on workshops in traditional stone masonry, lime plastering, and conservation, alongside certification and employment readiness supports.
The Shona Project
The Shona Project provides school-based support for children and young people, allowing them to speak honestly about growing up today, without performance, pressure, or prescription. It uses calm, age-appropriate discussion to help students reflect on the pressures they face, including peer expectations and online influence and to recognise that they have choices in how they respond.
Wexford Volunteer Centre
Wexford Volunteer Centre is Co Wexford’s volunteer development organisation, supporting over 4,500 registered volunteers and 450 community and voluntary organisation. Through volunteer recruitment, training, capacity building and community engagement initiatives, the Centre works to strengthen communities across County Wexford. With the support of the Impact Fund 2025, it will expand this work by hiring a dedicated Inclusion & Leadership Project Officer, supporting people from new communities into volunteering, and working with community organisations to embed more inclusive volunteering practices.
MooreHaven Centre
This project aims to develop the MooreHaven Community Markets initiative, a community platform where service users develop their own niche businesses, collaborate with local producers and entrepreneurs, participate in catering and hospitality activities during market events, and build relationships with participating businesses that could lead to work experience and employment opportunities. With the support of the Impact Fund 2025, MooreHaven will receive capacity-building support to strengthen the project’s strategy, develop its business model, and build the evidence base needed to support its future development.
