This fund is open to organisations that have a not-for-profit legal form, e.g. a company limited by guarantee, a co-operative, trust, charity, and other voluntary organisations that meet the following criteria:

Eligibility & Criteria

Projects must meet both Rethink Ireland’s criteria and the specific criteria for The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund – Strand 2: Youth Entrepreneurship Incubators 2025, as set out below:

Rethink Ireland Criteria 

• 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. Please note that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are eligible to apply. 

• The project proposed 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, or has been tested at least in a minimal way.

The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund – Strand 2: Youth Entrepreneurship Incubators 2025 Fund Specific Criteria 

• Previous experience running youth entrepreneurship incubators or evidence of the ability to do so based on a track record in a similar area
• Proven track record of distributing cash grants and have/will have the appropriate infrastructure in place to support this process

Which projects cannot apply?

Projects that are not eligible to apply are:

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

Which applicants cannot apply?

Applicants that are not eligible to apply are:

• Applicants under 18 years of age (incubator provider rather than participant)
• 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. If you have previously been funded by Rethink Ireland, you can still apply. Previous awardees must be able to demonstrate they have performed well on a previous programme and capture in the application form how the new funding being applied for is a logical continuation from the original investment, fitting the new Fund criteria in particular.

If my organisation/project is currently in receipt of an award from Rethink Ireland, can I still apply?

Projects on one of our Funds that have cash grant payments remaining before the commencement of the new fund programme are not eligible to apply. 

Organisations on one of our Funds that have cash grant payments remaining before the commencement of the new fund programme are still eligible to apply with a different project and different project lead.

Is this just for large-scale, national organisations?

No, it is not, and indeed we welcome applications from organisations of all sizes once it is a not-for-profit organisation with a legal form (see criteria above).

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

Unfortunately no, this fund needs to see proof that the project is up and running or at least has been tested and shown results in some way.

Can organisations make multiple applications? 

Yes, there is nothing stopping your organisation from making more than one application for separate projects. However, due to the competitive nature of this Fund and its selection process, it is very unlikely that we will fund more than one project from any organisation. We encourage organisations to submit one strong application rather than multiple applications.

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.

Is it possible for organisations to collaborate in an application (e.g. a community development organisation and an educational provider)?

They can but one organisation is required to take the lead. Please note that if your application is successful, that the lead applicant will be required to sign a contract and fulfill all legal obligations associated with the project’s performance. Please always refer to the eligibility criteria to ensure that your project is eligible for funding.

• Cash grants of up to €150,000* per year for two years will be awarded. 25% of the total value of cash grants awarded should go towards seed fund awards of €5,000 to €10,000 for incubator participants to support the launch of their enterprises
• Capacity Building Supports delivered in the form of bespoke business and one-to-one consultancy supports delivered by experts consultants and designed in consultation with the successful projects/organisations on topics such as scaling, financial sustainability, investment readiness, organisational resilience, and impact measurement.
• Access to Rethink Ireland’s networks

* The Rethink Ireland Board will decide how much money to award, which may be less than the amount requested. The final amount of the award will depend on how many organisations are selected.

What can cash grants be spent on? 

The cash grant must be spent on the project 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 run the project that you are applying for. 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 is expected of Awardees?

Project leads will be expected to spend a minimum of two days per week working on the awarded project and working towards agreed goals. This can be discussed as part of the contracting process. 

What is involved in completing the application form?

The application form asks you for information about:

• Your project and organisation
• Your experience developing and delivering entrepreneurship incubators for young people
• Your experience in the administration of cash grants as required as part of the award 
• How your project meets the fund conditions
• How you test or evaluate how well your project is doing 
• Details of referees
• It also asks you to send us financial documents (listed below) and a short video about your project (this is optional). 

What kind of video do we need to submit? (Optional)

You don’t need to produce a high quality or expensive video. You can use a smartphone or tablet. We just want to hear you giving an overview of your project in 2 – 3 mins max. Please tell us:  

• Who you are
• Why you are applying for the award
• Your track record in youth entrepreneurship and innovation
• The impact of your incubator on the young people taking part and on Irish society as a whole 

You can then upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo and password protect it if you wish. You can insert the URL link and the password in the application form.

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

1. The documents you need to complete depend on whether you are applying in relation to a project within an organisation or you are applying as an organisation as a whole:
   • If applying for a project within a larger organisation, the project’s management accounts and the organisation’s most recent audited/full accounts are needed.
   • If applying for an organisation as a whole, the most recent audited/full accounts are needed.
2. All applicants must outline how they intend to use the funds from Rethink Ireland if successful and upload a proposed budget. A spreadsheet template is provided in the relevant section of the application form.

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

In the relevant section of the application form you will be provided with a link to a budget template in excel. 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 project’s name and then upload it in the relevant section of the application form. 

Accessibility

We have tried to make the application process as accessible as possible but we understand that there may still be some difficulties for applicants. If you have access needs or are struggling with the application form, please contact entrepreneurship@rethinkireland.ie

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 March 2025 (if you are invited to an interview you will be informed in March 2025)
3. Successful applicants will be informed in May 2025
4. The cash grants will be delivered  as per an agreed schedule and are tied to agreed performance milestones 
5. The Fund will close in Spring 2027

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 December 20th  2024 – February 17th 2025.
• Stage 2 – Internal and external reviews of all applications February 2025
• Stage 3 – Interviews for shortlisted applicants March  2025
• Stage 4 – Due Diligence/Governance checks on short-listed applicants.
• Stage 5 – Final decision by Rethink Ireland board May 2025

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 are usually 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.