Irish foundation announces new environmental funding
Howard Lake | 11 March 2019 | News
The Community Foundation for Ireland has ring-fenced €250,000 to start a fund for the Environment and Nature in 2019 and is committed to doing the same in 2020.
Announced at the National Biodiversity Conference in Dublin Castle, the commitment from the Foundation will focus 25% of its own discretionary resources on the environment and nature.
The Foundation is also asking other funders, organisations, individuals and families to partner and contribute to the fund to meet the expected demand and achieve greater impact and scope.
Tina Roche, CEO, explained: “It is especially important for communities to engage with biodiversity conservation at the local level, and this is what The Community Foundation for Ireland wants to support and encourage others to support by contributing to the Environment and Nature Fund.”
She added that the number of plants, insects, mammals and birds that are threatened or endangered is growing year-on-year.
Responding to the challenge of biodiversity loss and reversing these trends is a critical challenge for all sectors of society and one that must be met in our lifetimes, she added.
The Foundation states that traditionally there has been minimal philanthropic funding prioritised for environmental issues. According to the Environmental Funders Network, UK trusts and foundations direct between 0.93 per cent and 2.2 per cent of their giving to address climate change. In comparison to the funding other social issues receive, environmental funding is lacking and does not begin to meet the demand for capital.
Past environmental funding
The announcement of the Environment and Nature fund follows on from the success of previous funding from the Foundation where they distributed grants of up to €10,000 to 10 organisations to tackle local biodiversity issues.
The Foundation will announce details of how it will distribute its new environmental funding over the coming months.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.