Grants and Projects

The Irish Youth Foundation has awarded grants of over £6 million to welfare organisations and community groups, supporting disadvantaged young Irish people in the UK.

Grants

The Irish Youth Foundation invites applications for grants each year from organisations working with young people of Irish heritage and their families in England, Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland.

 

About

The IYF (UK) grants are an annual programme from application to awarding;

  • Each Spring we make our application forms available.

  • There are separate application forms for Great Britain and Northern Ireland to reflect the local needs of applicant organisations - please ensure you submit the relevant form.

  • All submissions are then independently reviewed.

  • The funding period for all grants is one year.

Please note that we do not accept applications that are;

  • Submitted beyond the deadline

  • Other unsolicited requests for funding outside of the annual programme.

  • Multiple applications from a single organisation

 
 

Criteria

  • Homelessness

  • Educational, cultural & social activities

  • Cross-community initiatives

  • Travellers

  • Disability

We provide funding for the following range of projects;

  • Training/counselling

  • Mental & physical health and wellbeing

  • Substance & alcohol abuse rehabilitation

  • Advice/advocacy

  • Youth work

  • Family support

Please do not apply if the organisation or project funding is for;

  • Replacing loss of statutory funding

  • Individuals (except for university students applying under the Lawlor Education Grants Programme)

  • Capital bids

  • Overseas travel

  • The over 25’s in Northern Ireland

  • The over 30’s in England, Scotland and Wales

  • General appeals, large/national charities

  • Academic research

  • Alleviating deficits already incurred

 

Applying

The deadline for the 2023 grant applications has now passed.

To keep up to date with all our grant opportunities and news please sign up via our grants mailing list form.

Organisations in England, Scotland and Wales

There are two categories:

  • Small Grants up to £2,500

  • Standard Grants for over £2,500 and up to £10,000

Grants for organisations in Northern Ireland

Organisations based in Northern Ireland should use the Northern Ireland Grant Application form. Applications can be made up to £10,000, however grants awarded are usually in the region of £5,000.

The Irish Youth Foundation (Ireland) contributes to the fund, jointly established in 2001, to support welfare organisations and community groups based in Northern Ireland.

The Lawlor Foundation

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In 2005 the Irish Youth Foundation incorporated The Lawlor Foundation and has continued its work towards the advancement of education in Northern Ireland through a programme of grants supporting disadvantaged pupils from all community backgrounds.

The Lawlor Foundation was established in 1988 by Edward and Virginia Lawlor in memory of their son, Peter.   

It distributed over £2.2 million in grants to organisations working with troubled adolescents and projects underpinning the peace process in Ireland, the relief of poverty and the advancement of education in Northern Ireland.

In 2005 the Foundation merged with the Irish Youth Foundation which has continued supporting disadvantaged pupils from all community backgrounds in Northern Ireland through the Lawlor Education Grants Programme.

Grants are also awarded to individual Irish students studying at universities and colleges in the UK. Individual undergraduate students starting in Higher Education and wishing to apply for funding for the next academic year should contact Linda Tanner for an application form, from end of June.

The maximum grant available is £500 per annum and applicants will be asked to write a personal statement giving the reasons why they qualify for financial support.