# N Ireland philanthropist launches care fund

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/04/28/n-ireland-philanthropist-launches-care-fund/
- Published: 2020-04-28T22:52:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**A new fund to help older people in the County Antrim area of Northern Ireland 
has been launched following a donation from a local philanthropist.**

**The McCall Social Care Fund** established by the McCall Foundation, in partnership
with the [Community Foundation (CFNI)](http://www.communityfoundationni.org) and
Department for Communities has been established to support social care in Northern
Ireland, with a particular focus on older people. Grants up to £10,000 available
for groups in the County Antrim area.

The McCall Foundation was set up by Northern Ireland businessman Mervyn McCall and
his wife Wilma who were Inspired by philanthropists such as Chuck Feeney and Warren
Buffett.

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The fund aims to make a small number of awards to those organisations working in
the community and voluntary sector. The focus will be on those who are delivering
innovative and new projects offering additional value in social care, in areas where
statutory support is falling short of need, is limited, or in some places at the
moment non-existent, as the public sector focuses on emergencies.

The fund will be distributed in two phases, initially with a pot of £50,000, primarily
focusing on social care in Northern Ireland, and the challenges in a regime of isolation
linked to covid 19. This phase will offer 5 grants of £10,000. Later in the year
the fund will reopen with further pot of funding.

Mervyn McCall, founder of the McCall Foundation said: “I have been working closely
with the Community Foundation to connect with and community issues and causes of
interest to me, particularly social care. Coronavirus has presented many challenges
across society and my hope is that my fund can support innovative projects and new
ways of working within social care in the Antrim area.”

Siofra Healy, Director of Philanthropy at CFNI said the McCall Foundation is the
first of five philanthropic funds investing in the voluntary, community and social
enterprise sector which will roll out this year.

“Philanthropic funding secured by the Community Foundation from individuals, families
and charitable trusts is being matched by DfC to support innovative and sustainable
projects within a broad range of themes across NI,” she said.

The applications will be invited through an online application on the CFNI’s website
and will follow two stages:

 * **Stage One**: Initial online application via the Community Foundation’s website
   by 1:00pm on 1st June 2020.
 * **Stage Two**: Shortlisted applications will be invited to present their project
   to the McCall Foundation panel representatives, and other sector leaders, late
   June, early July 2020. This will consist of a ten minute presentation, followed
   by approximately ten minutes of discussion and questions from the fund panel 
   representatives.

## WATCH: Mervyn McCall on Start A Fund

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