Social impact of 5 Irish charities supported with over €55,000 from Caritable Insurer

Photo by Leon Farrell, Photocall Ireland: IMMA, Luck Durack, Head of Audience and Development, Music Network, Sharon Rollston, Chief Executive, Children’s Books Ireland, Madeleine Keane, Chair, Enable Ireland, Donal Kitt, National Fundraising Manager, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Deborah Kelleher, Director and Ecclesiastical Insurance, Scott Hayes, Head of Relationship Management

Driving the impact of good causes by donating all available profits is central to the purpose of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical and parent company Benefact Group. Today, they are announcing their latest round of large grants as part of the Movement for Good initiative. Through these grants, over half a million euros have been awarded this year to transformative projects in Ireland and the UK.

This year’s recipients include five Irish charities: the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Music Network, the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Enable Ireland and Children’s Books Ireland. The funding will help these charities increase their social impact for communities across the country and expand their work in the arts, education, social inclusion, disability services and music. Flexible funding can be used within three years and for a mix of capital and running costs for their projects.

David Lane, Managing Director of Ecclesiastical Insurancewhich is proudly part of the Benefact Group, stated: “We are an insurer with a difference and are delighted to support such a diverse range of projects through our large grants. Every year, we see a number of initiatives from organizations that are driving significant change, whether by conserving cultural heritage, addressing the challenges of climate change, encouraging inclusion or improving education. Our mission to reinvest profits into the communities we serve is central to who we are, and today we’re proud to support even more organizations doing amazing work.

Congratulations to this year’s five Irish winners – the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Music Network, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Enable Ireland and Children’s Books Ireland – whose projects are having a profound impact on arts, education and community development across the country. Some of these organizations have been previous recipients of our awards and we are proud to continue to support their important work while also supporting new and innovative initiatives.

These Irish charities are leaders in their fields, whether it’s preserving Ireland’s cultural heritage, promoting inclusion through music, improving the lives of disabled children or inspiring a love of reading. We are proud to support them as they continue to build a more inclusive, creative and compassionate society.”

In the Republic, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Music Network, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Enable Ireland and Children’s Books Ireland are among the charities selected to receive grants. These funds will support long-term projects aimed at enriching heritage, the arts, community development and education across Ireland.

Irish Museum of Modern Art is the home of Ireland’s national collection of modern and contemporary art, where art and life connect, and will receive a grant of over €15,000 for its project Remembering the Future – Technologies of Peace: Recording Historywhich aims to preserve the independent films created by pioneering artist-filmmakers during the conflict years in Northern Ireland. In collaboration with the Public Record Office Northern Ireland (PRONI) and the Ulster Museum, they will conduct interviews, present public discussions and host screenings to document and preserve these seminal works.

the national touring and music development organization of Ireland, music network, they will receive over 10,000 euro grant for them Lullaby Residency program. This cross-cultural music project will bring together young children and families, including asylum seekers and refugees from rural County Clare, to exchange lullabies from different cultures. Through music and play, the project aims to promote social and cultural inclusion for migrant communities in Ireland.

Ireland’s oldest conservatory, Royal Irish Academy of Musiche received over 10,000 euros for this Co-creative music composition design. This initiative brings together musicians of all abilities to co-create professional-standard musical compositions, challenging traditional ideas of creative expression and empowering differently-abled musicians across Ireland.

Activate Ireland, a charity which provides services for more than 13,000 disabled children and adults and their families across 14 counties, will receive more than €10,000 to expand Its teams’ iPad hubs for children with disabilities design. This initiative aims to improve access to assistive technologies for children with disabilities by expanding iPad hubs across Ireland, providing timely access to devices that improve communication and inclusion.

Children’s Books Irelandthe national arts and charity which supports every child’s right to develop a love of reading, will receive over €10,000 for Free To Be Me Little Libraries program. This project will provide diverse and inclusive books to three disadvantaged primary schools, giving pupils the opportunity to engage in reading for pleasure through a library of books that reflect the diversity of modern Ireland.

Overall, in Ireland and the UK, Movement for Good larger grants support 30 organisations.

The larger grants from Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good provide charities with flexible funding that can be used within three years and for a mix of capital and running costs for their projects. The awards are designed to help charities make a real difference to their communities. Charities applied for a range of projects including promoting education, rural and community development, heritage, arts and culture, and climate change and the environment. The winning projects were selected based on impact, sustainability, innovation and compassion.