I believe that the following 2 open calls are relevant to rural and town communities and I am happy to share the information, though I recommend you visit the funders' websites for further details and updates.
Rethink Ireland's Rural Recovery Fund is open until Friday 19th November at 5 pm.
This one year fund was created with support from Google.org and The Department of Rural and Community Development under the Dormant Accounts Fund.
The Fund focuses on:
Re-skilling/upskilling/diversifying the labour force,
Economic and social inclusion of marginalised communities,
Job creation in rural areas (including supporting social enterprises to grow their operations)
Equal access to education for rural communities,
Digital inclusion for all, (closing the digital divide).
Up to 5 awardees will receive a package of supports worth a maximum of €90,000 each in total. This will include:
Cash grants of up to a maximum of €80,000
A place on a 6-month Rethink Ireland Accelerator Programme:
Non-financial supports worth €10,000 tailored to the specific needs of each project
Another very interesting one in terms of biodiversity conservation is the Community Foundation for Ireland's invite to community groups to apply for grant funding to engage an ecologist and develop a Community Biodiversity Plan (CBP) for their local area. Within the scheme, three levels of grant funding will be offered:
Strand 1: Grants of up to €5,000 for community groups to work with an ecologist to classify their local habitats, assess their condition and extent, map them, and define a suite of actions to enhance biodiversity
Strand 2: Grants of up to €7,500 for community groups who carry out the work outlined in Strand 1 in collaboration with one or two land managers/owners to classify habitats at landscape scale with a focus on field boundaries (hedgerows, treelines and stone walls), assess their condition and extent, map them and define a suite of actions to enhance biodiversity
Strand 3: Grants of up to €10,000 for community groups who carry out the work outlined in Strand 1 in collaboration with three to five land managers/owners to classify habitats at landscape scale with a focus on field boundaries (hedgerows, treelines and stone walls), assess their condition and extent, map them and define a suite of actions to enhance biodiversity
Closing Date for applications 12 November 2021
I send my warm wishes to all applicants and remind you that myself and my team are happy to support your application where we can.
Pippa.