This fund is open to previous Rethink Ireland awardees.  

Eligibility & Criteria 

Organisations must meet both Rethink Ireland’s criteria and the specific criteria for the Growth Fund, as set out below:
 

Rethink Ireland Core Criteria  

• The project must address a critical social or environmental issue  

• The project must be innovative in an Irish context 

• The project must be based on the island of Ireland and must make its main impact in the Republic of Ireland 

• The project must have potential and a desire to scale or replicate in Ireland (it may also have potential internationally, but this is not a requirement) 

• The project must provide evidence that it is up and running.

• Applicants must come from an entity that has a not-for-profit legal form, e.g. a company limited by guarantee, a co-operative, trust, charity. 

Rethink Ireland defines a not-for-profit as any organisation whose constitution indicates it has public benefit purposes and is neither privately owned nor controlled by the State.  

Growth Fund Criteria  

• Demonstrate evidence of positive outcomes for the communities they serve, aligned with at least one of our investment areas (Education, Health, Equality and Green transition)

• Demonstrate growth readiness, including a clear plan for scaling  

• Demonstrate fundraising capacity consistent with Growth Fund expectations, including: 
  • Evidence of the ability to secure multi-year funding beyond Rethink Ireland 
  • A credible plan to grow and diversify income during the Growth Fund period
    
• Have graduated from a Rethink Ireland programme or be in the final year of a Rethink Ireland programme 
• Have received a single Rethink Ireland cash grant of at least €50,000  
• Aim to secure philanthropic funding commitments for the Growth Fund totalling minimum €450,000 (€150,000 per annum x 3 years) to maximum €750,000 (€250,000 per annum x 3 years) in 2026. 

Advantageous criteria  

In addition to meeting the criteria above, it is advantageous if the organisation:  

• Equality: Is strengthening the equality landscape in Ireland through their activities/interventions, empowering/supporting marginalised communities and building civic power in Ireland   

• Green Transition: Is having a positive effect on Ireland’s Green Transition through their activities/interventions  

• Works across education and wellbeing in an integrated way (for example school community models, family support approaches, or prevention models linked to learning participation)  

• Has a strong evidence base and can show outcomes clearly, with a learning approach that supports scaling  

• Has partnerships that strengthen referral pathways, access, and sustained engagement (for example schools, community services, health providers, employers).

Which projects cannot apply? 

• Projects where research is the primary activity 

• Projects seeking funding for capital assets (such as buildings, vans or equipment) 

• Projects promoting or aligned with a political party 

• Projects that only accept participants of a particular faith or religious denomination 

• Projects focused on animal welfare 

• Projects based outside the Republic of Ireland 

• Projects led by people under 18 years of age 

• Projects that are an idea (only) and that have not yet started

Which applicants cannot apply? 

• Applicants under 18 years of age 

• Commercial companies, sole traders and individuals 

• Any staff member from Rethink Ireland and their family members. Family members include siblings, parents, spouses or civil partners or children. 

• Individuals 

• Statutory or public bodies, companies limited by shares and organisations that are state bodies or agencies that are not registered charities 

• Any consultant currently working with Rethink Ireland

If my organisation has previously been in receipt of an award from Rethink Ireland, can I still apply? 

Yes. The Growth Fund has been set up to support previous Rethink Ireland awardees to scale proven social innovations to achieve widespread impact and transformative change in Ireland. 

If my organisation/project is currently in receipt of an award from Rethink Ireland, can I still apply?
Rethink Ireland awardees who are in the final year of a Rethink Ireland programme are eligible to apply. 

Is this just for large-scale, national organisations?
No, it is not. However, organisations must meet the key criteria for the fund, which requires a certain level of scale.

Can I apply for this funding even though I am still at the ideation stage?  

Unfortunately no, this fund has been set up to scale proven social innovations to achieve widespread impact and transformative change in Ireland.

Can organisations make multiple applications?  

No, organisations should submit one application.

If my organisation is funded by a Government/state agency (HSE, TULSA etc) are we eligible?  

Yes, you can apply if you are in receipt of funding from a government or state agency. However, if more than 50% of your board is nominated by the Government, your organisation is ineligible for funding.

• Up to 3 awards of up to €1.15 million 

• The non-financial supports will include: 
  • a place on Rethink Ireland’s Accelerator Programme 
  • bespoke business and capacity building supports designed in consultation with the successful projects on topics such as strategic planning, maximising your impact, communications, storytelling and fundraising. 
  • access to Rethink Ireland’s networks.

What can cash grants be spent on?  

The cash grant must be spent on the scaling plans that won the award and must be ring-fenced for work you are undertaking. The specific use of the cash grant will be agreed between Rethink Ireland and the Awardee. 

The funding may be used to cover operations/staff costs but you must be able to demonstrate in your application how this is facilitating you to grow. Cash grants may not be used to pay off debts or for capital items such as renovations, or for vehicles, land, buildings or large equipment.

What non-financial supports will be provided to successful applicants? 

Rethink Ireland’s non-financial supports have been called our ‘secret sauce’ that help projects to really develop their capacity and sustainability, in addition to the benefit of the cash supports. Non-financial supports will depend on previous non-financial supports received by awardees during their Rethink Ireland programmes and what makes sense in the context of their growth plans. Supports will be agreed with successful awardees.

What is expected of Awardees? 

The project lead will be expected to engage regularly and effectively with their assigned Rethink Ireland contact and any third party supports as agreed. The project lead will be responsible for overseeing delivery of growth plans and reporting on performance to Rethink Ireland.

 Awardees need to secure philanthropic funding commitments for the Growth Fund totalling minimum €450,000 (€150,000 per annum x 3 years) to maximum €750,000 (€250,000 per annum x 3 years) in 2026. Awardees will receive up to a 50% uplift on funds secured. Note the Rethink Ireland board makes the final decision of how much money is granted to each organisation. 

For example: If an applicant raises €450,000 in philanthropic funds, Rethink Ireland will provide an uplift of €225,000 in total. The total funding will be calculated as €675,000 (philanthropic funds plus uplift). 

Awardees can submit their application in April 2026 and, if successful in early June 2026, they will have until October 2026 to secure their philanthropic funding commitments and provide a ‘Donor Letter of Commitment’ (or multiple donor letters of commitment) as per timeline below. Please download the template letter for editing. 

If successful as a Growth Fund nominee, the Rethink Ireland Business Development Team will support you on your fundraising journey by opening up doors to our existing donors and helping to identify any potential prospects. For all aspects of fundraising – the Growth Fund nominee will lead with Rethink Ireland in support.

How the funding process works:  

• The philanthropic funds are transferred to Rethink Ireland and then returned to the awardee within 30 days.*  

• Rethink Ireland provides evidence of committed donor funds to Government. 

• Government releases funding to Rethink Ireland.  

• Rethink Ireland provides an uplift of 50% on the donor funds and makes uplift payments to the awardee and provides non-financial supports. 

*The philanthropic funding can be received and transferred in instalments but uplift funding will only be available once philanthropic funding has been received and transferred. All funding should be transferred to Rethink Ireland by 30 June 2029 latest.

What does philanthropic funding include? 

Rethink Ireland defines philanthropy as coming from private sources e.g., individuals, companies, trust and foundations and cannot include statutory funding or funding from a public body. Eligible philanthropy for this fund is defined as newly secured private donations as a result of the fund. This can include new donors or renewal of current/past donors.    

Can the philanthropic funding come from multiple sources/donors? 

Yes, the funding can come from multiple sources.

Does the philanthropic funding need to be received by the applicant before the application deadline? 

No. The commitment of philanthropic funding needs to be in place by the end of October 2026 (a donor letter of commitment is required at this stage). However, the philanthropic funding does not need to be all received by then – the actual funding can be received in 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029.  

What is involved in completing the application form? 

The application form asks you for information about your organisation and your growth plans. The application form is intentionally short, and we ask you to upload documents as part of your application as follows: 

• Latest strategic/business plan 

• Scaling plan for the Growth Fund (2026-2029) 

• Any evaluations or impact data verifications available 

• All applicants must outline how they intend to use the grant if successful and upload a proposed budget. A spreadsheet template is provided. 

• Most recent audited/full accounts for your organisation  

• Management accounts for 2025

What financial information do we need to submit with our application? 

All applicants should provide their latest available audited/full accounts for their organisation and their management accounts for 2025. All applicants must outline how they intend to use the cash grant if successful and upload a proposed budget. A spreadsheet template is provided above.

How do we upload our budget (planned income and expenditure)? 

You have been provided with a link to a budget template in excel on this webpage. Please click on the link provided and DOWNLOAD this document to your computer. Then fill in your financial information and save the document with your organisation’s name and then upload it in the relevant section of the application form. 

What happens after we submit our application? 

1. Applications will go through a rigorous selection process (for more information see below). 
2. Interviews will take place online in May 2026 (if you are invited to an interview you will be informed in May 2026). 
3. Successful applicants will be informed in June 2026. They will then have until October 2026 to secure philanthropic funding and provide donor letters of commitment. Final approval will be given by the Rethink Ireland board in October 2026 – final approval is subject to awardees securing the intended philanthropic funding and providing donor letter(s) of commitment.  
4. The cash grants will be delivered in instalments over the course of 3 years and are tied to agreed performance milestones.  
5. The Accelerator supports will be designed in consultation with the awardees and reflect organisational/project needs.  
6. The Fund will close in December 2029.

How does the selection process work? 

The selection process is very rigorous and consists of a number of stages: 

• Stage 1 – Open call for applications (12th March – 20th April) 

• Stage 2 – Internal and external reviews of all applications (May 2026) 

• Stage 3 – Interviews for shortlisted applicants (May 2026) 

• Stage 4 – Due Diligence/Governance checks on short-listed applicants (May 2026) 

• Stage 5 – Initial decision by Rethink Ireland board (early June 2026) 

• Stage 6 – Fundraising by successful applicants until October 2026. Final approval by Rethink Ireland board (October/November 2026).

Who will decide who wins the awards? 

All applications will be reviewed thoroughly through a rigorous process. The Board of Rethink Ireland will make the final decision on successful applicants and the number and value of the final awards given.

How do applicants find out where they are in the selection process? 

We will contact all applicants by email to let them know whether or not they have been shortlisted and invited to interview.  Interviews will be conducted via online video link. When final decisions have been made on the successful applicants, we will contact all shortlisted applicants by phone or email to let them know whether they have been successful.  

By applying for the Fund, you agree to the following terms and conditions. 

• You are 18 years of age or older. 

• You have given full and truthful information, both verbal and written, at all stages of the application and selection process. 

• You are eligible to apply. This means that your organisation meets the criteria for Rethink Ireland as described. 

• You have the right to apply. This means that you hold the necessary rights to carry out the project. 

• By sending in your application, you accept these terms and conditions and our Privacy Statement. If you do not comply with these terms and conditions, you may be disqualified and may have to return any award granted. 

• Rethink Ireland will hold the personal details which you submitted with your application form. We will only share this information with the third parties administering the application and selection process unless we agree otherwise with you. Please see our Privacy Statement for full details. 

• The Awardees must take part in publicity about the grant. Rethink Ireland reserves the right to publish the names of organisations that are successful in their applications. 

• If you decline an award or if the award is taken back because you did not comply with the terms and conditions, the Directors may select an alternative Awardee. 

• Rethink Ireland reserves the right to disqualify any entrant, to change the terms and conditions without notice, or to cancel the application process at any stage. 

• Rethink Ireland staff (excluding board members) and Donor/s, their family members and consultants currently working with Rethink Ireland are not eligible to apply. Family members include siblings, parents, spouses or civil partners or children.