Heritage Organisations Support Fund

Who can apply

The scheme is open to not-for-profit non-governmental heritage-focused organisations with demonstrated national and or regional relevance.

Organisations that fit the following criteria are eligible to apply:

Company Type: Your not-for-profit organisation must be established as a Company limited by guarantee (CLG) and must not be controlled either directly or indirectly by any state or other body.

Constitution requirements: The constitution of the organisation must prohibit the payment of remuneration to the directors.

Purpose of the organisation: The purpose must relate to one of the aspects of heritage mentioned in the  Heritage Acts 1995, 2018, or organisations engaged in the protection of intangible cultural heritage as part of Ireland’s commitments to the  2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Demonstrated national and or regional relevance: The organisation must carry out work that has application at a national and or regional scale or, its work is being used to inform policies at a national and or regional scale.

Organisational work plan: The organisation must be undertaking innovative small to medium scale actions that provide clear outcomes that assist in the delivery of one or more of the following - the Heritage Council’s strategic plan; the National Biodiversity Action Plan; Heritage Ireland 2030; Places for People- National Policy on Architecture and the Built & Archaeological Heritage Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan.

Ineligible Organisations

Private companies, individuals, public bodies or organisations controlled either directly or indirectly by any state or other body are not eligible to apply for funding under this scheme.

Please note Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2024- will open in February
A separate Community Heritage Grant Scheme will be advertised in February 2024 for community/voluntary and not-for-profit organisations to apply for funding for heritage projects. Further details will be available in the New Year. Such projects should NOT be applied for under the Heritage Organisations Support Fund.

Objective of the Fund

The Heritage Organisations Support Fund aims to build the capacity of non-governmental organisations working in the heritage sector in Ireland by providing funding towards their core costs. This funding would provide support to:

• develop and strengthen the skills, processes, and resources that heritage organisations need to survive, adapt, and thrive in the uncertainty of recent times.
• heritage organisations who play a key role in the heritage infrastructure of Ireland and to help achieve national policy and plans.

Funding available

The maximum amount available per organisation is €60,000. We envisage the average offers to be in the €30,000 - €60,000 range and that about 30 to 40 organisations will be supported by this scheme. Funding will be allocated on a competitive basis. This will be in line with the assessment criteria set out on Page 10.

Information booklet

Download the information booklet for the scheme in pdf below or keep reading on this page. 

Grants Information Webinar

A zoom information webinar about the scheme took place on Thursday 23 November 2023. Watch it back below. 

How and when to apply

You must apply through the Heritage Council’s online grants system located on our website Online Grants System - Heritage Council. We only accept forms submitted online. We do not provide or accept paper forms.

To consider your application, we must receive your online application along with supporting documents by 15 January 2024 at 5pm. Applications, or additional information will not be accepted after this time. We will let you know, in writing, whether your application is successful or not in early March 2024.

Please Note: Only one application can be made per organisation.

What we can fund

• Core costs to support essential organisational and administrative spending. These are the key expenses required to keep your organisation running.
• Funding towards your organisation’s core costs. Core costs include existing staff salaries, rent, rates, statutory and/or legal responsibilities etc.
• Costs to help your organisation be more resilient in the future, for example, adapting business plans, corporate governance improvements, risk management reviews and piloting new ways of working.
• For professional institutions – funding of bursaries for professional training or for specific personnel to deliver accredited CPD courses on heritage.
• Training and skills development costs.
• Hiring of new or contract staff. A clear job description for the post must be provided with your application.

National Living Wage: The Heritage Council supports organisations in receipt of Heritage Council funding paying employees the real living wage.

Supporting information

You must submit the following supporting documents with your application:

Constitution

1. The Constitution of your organisation

Accounts

2. Most recent audited or accountant verified accounts.

Background information

3. Background information on your organisation such as your most recent Annual Report, Strategic Plan, partnership agreements, and so on.

Costed Work Plan

4. (a) The costed work plan should include the 2024 budget. We need information that allows us to assess budgets, the feasibility of what you are proposing, and who you are working with. The budget should provide details of expenditure areas and other sources of income.

(b) Actions and initiatives clearly linked to the following:

• The Heritage Council’s strategic plan
• The National Biodiversity Action Plan; 
• Heritage Ireland 2030;
• Places for People- National Policy on Architecture and 
• Built & Archaeological Heritage Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan.

Support letters

5. A minimum of two letters of support from key external stakeholders or other organisations you work closely with.

Outcomes of your work plan

In the table below, we list examples of outcomes that we would like to achieve as a result of this grant fund. Outcomes are changes, impacts, benefits, or any effects that happen as a result of your work. The number of outcomes you achieve will vary depending on the actions in your work plan and should be proportionate to the size of the grant you are requesting or the specific focus of your work plan.
We expect work plans to achieve some outcomes more strongly than others. Please focus on the outcomes that are strongest. If you are successful in your application, you will use them in your Final Report to the Heritage Council.

You must choose at least two outcomes from the list below and identify what actions:

Outcome

The funded organisation will be more resilient.

We want our funding to help your organisation strengthen its ability to respond to challenges and opportunities in order to secure its long‐term future and financial sustainability.

Possible Actions

The kinds of things that could help you do this include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Developing your governance to ensure that you have the right mix of skills to help your organisation thrive.
• Exploring new operating models
• Updating and developing business plans in relation to current conditions.
• Developing advocates and support for your organisation and its work
• Decreasing your costs
• Creating efficiencies in how you work
• Forging sustainable partnerships and mutually beneficial collaborations to share resources.

Outcome

The funded organisation will be more environmentally sustainable.

We want our funding to help you to take steps that will enable you to operate your organisation in a more
environmentally sustainable way and to achieve net zero targets. We are also keen to support you to raise
awareness and understanding of the climate and biodiversity emergency.

Possible Actions

The kinds of things that could help you to achieve these outcomes include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Improving carbon literacy amongst your staff and volunteers
• Reviewing your environmental impact and identifying improvements that you can make.
• Actions that will improve your energy efficiency and your contribution to biodiversity and reduce waste for your organisation.
• Events and activities that help communities to engage with the climate and biodiversity emergency.

Outcome

A wider range of people will be involved in Heritage.

We want our funding to help you make your organisation more inclusive through co‐creation and by removing barriers that have previously excluded certain groups and people.

Possible Actions

The kinds of things that could help you do this include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Work to understand your audience demographics and who is currently underrepresented in what you do.
• Work to understand and remove barriers to participation in your heritage activities.
• The development of co‐creation as your organisation’s way of operating
• Collaboration with community groups and agencies working with excluded groups.

Outcome

Heritage will be in better condition.

Possible Actions

The kinds of supported activity that could help you in this area include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The improvements will be recognised through standards used by professional and heritage specialists, and/or by people more generally, for example in surveys of visitors or residents.
• Improvements might also result from new work, for example increasing the size of an existing habitat to benefit priority species.

Outcome

The funded organisation will be more skilled, confident and diverse.

We want our funding to help you to develop and diversify your workforce (which includes both paid staff and
volunteers and board or trustee) so that you are better equipped to address the challenges and opportunities that your organisation encounters.

Possible Actions

The kinds of supported activity that could help you in this area include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The improvements will be recognised through standards used by professional and heritage specialists, and/or by people more generally, for example in surveys of visitors or residents.
• Improvements might also result from new work, for example increasing the size of an existing habitat to benefit priority species.
• Activity around succession planning and preservation of skills and knowledge within the museum
• Collaboration with other heritage and non‐sector organisations to share skills and knowledge.

Outcome

Enhance quality of life for people by improving wellbeing, supporting learning, and contributing to place‐making

Possible Actions

The kinds of things that could help you do this include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Partnerships and collaborations to address local or community specific needs and opportunity.
• Providing places and spaces where stories, traditions and objects that people consider to be part of their cultural heritage can be explored and celebrated.
• Providing opportunities for people to be more active for example, volunteering in a park, taking part in community archaeology and traditional skills training, sharing digital skills.
• Developing programmes that support health and wellbeing to help people experience heritage in new ways.
• Increasing and developing your provision of learning opportunities to support increased knowledge and understanding of heritage.

How we assess your application

Once your application is submitted, we will check it first to make sure your organisation meets the criteria for eligibility and that all supporting information has been provided. Applications that do not pass this stage will not be assessed further.

Applications that pass the initial checking stage proceed through the following stages:

a) An internal review and shortlisting.

b) An external review panel to assess all shortlisted applications using the scoring system below. Applications must score at least 10 marks under each heading to pass.

c) Heritage Council Board approval of recommended applications.

This is a competitive process and funding will be allocated to applications that score highest against the four Criteria listed in the table below.