£80 million fund for Northern Ireland
Howard Lake | 9 November 2012 | News
The new Social Investment Fund (SIF) in Northern Ireland, which will provide £80 million over the next three years, has begun detailed negotiations on how the money will be spent in local communities.
The Fund is being delivered in partnership with communities across nine social investment zones. Each zone has a steering group with up to 14 members from the business, political, statutory and voluntary and community sectors and they will develop and manage plans for each of the social investment zones.
SIF is focused on supporting communities to:
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increase employment opportunities by addressing things such as educational underachievement, lack of skills, access to jobs and making it appealing for businesses to start up in areas which have suffered deprivation
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tackle issues such as mental and physical health, use of drugs and alcohol, becoming young mothers, young people’s involvement in anti-social behaviour and the ability of communities to work together which can be associated with deprivation
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increase services in the community by improving existing facilities, making the environment better and providing additional facilities where needed and possible
- address dereliction in order to make areas more appealing for investment and for those living there
The Steering Groups will co-ordinate the development of the strategic area plan for each zone in consultation with the wider community. Over the next four months, all interested parties are encouraged to get involved in the process within their zone.
The steering groups for each zone will identify areas which are eligible to seek funding to take forward projects related to poverty, unemployment, increasing services and dereliction.
www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/social-investment-fund
- Up to £30,000 available for local community projects in N Ireland (12 December 2012)
- £300,000 grant package announced for Belfast community events (17 January 2013)
- More EU funding for Northern Ireland likely (1 February 2013)
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.