Press release
Minister Stanton launches 2020 Communities Integration Fund
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Published on
Last updated on
Applications are now open to community groups nationwide who wish to apply for grant funding under the Department of Justice and Equality Communities Integration Fund.
Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton TD, today announced funding of €500,000 for community integration projects to be carried out in 2020.
The Communities Integration Fund will provide grant funding for local community projects that support the integration of migrants. Applications can now be made online to the Funds Administration Unit at the Department of Justice and Equality.
Launching this year’s call for applications, Minister Stanton said:
"What happens at the local level is critical to successful integration, and I believe strongly in the power of communities when it comes to bringing about lasting change.
"In 2017, I launched the first Communities Integration Fund, which supports local initiatives by migrant and non-migrant groups to promote inclusion and most importantly, allow people to get to know each other. 124 organisations received funding in 2019 and projects are being funded which are explicitly intended to challenge racism at grass roots level.
"The 2020 call for applications for this fund is now live, and I would encourage groups around the country who are working to promote inclusion in their locality to contact the department and make an application."
The application period runs from 9am Friday 19 June (today) until 1pm, Thursday 16 July 2020.
Applications must be submitted electronically, and Community Groups can access a guidance document and complete an online application form at ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CIF2020.
ENDS
Last year, every county in Ireland was allocated funding for locally run projects to support the integration of migrants. The projects granted funding are local community based projects, with a maximum grant amount of €5,000 and a minimum grant amount of €1,000 allocated to any single project. 282 applications were received in 2019 with 124 projects successfully granted funding.
The Communities Integration Fund was first established in 2017 to implement the commitment under Action 51 of the Migrant Integration Strategy to support actions by local communities throughout Ireland to promote the integration of migrants and refugees.
This call is open to local community based groups carrying out projects or activities under the following themes:
Combating Racism and Xenophobia – A project aimed at preventing racism and xenophobia among local communities.
Intercultural Awareness – A project that brings host communities and migrant communities together to celebrate each other’s cultures and customs.
Sport & Community Games – A project to facilitate local migrant integration by encouraging migrants to get involved in sport.
Arts – A project to encourage social interaction between migrants and members of their local communities, through arts and crafts, music, dance, theatre and literature. Projects considered may be in the form of visual art, crafts, dance, film, literature, music, opera and theatre; including contemporary art practices such as performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art and so on
Other Community Events – A project to adapt existing community activities or events to make them more inclusive of migrants.
Capacity Building – A project with a social inclusion focus that seeks to help particularly vulnerable groups of migrants overcome specific difficulties (for example English conversation classes for young migrant parents not active in the labour market).
Employment – A project offering employment advice and/or opportunities, for example through sponsorship by local businesses for training, skills assessment, placements, and so on.
Integration Research – A project to identify knowledge gaps and carry out local needs assessments so that local community integration resources can be used to maximum benefit.
Food/Cuisine – A project to promote inter-culturalism and integration through the sharing of different cuisines and cooking methods.
Education – A project focused on the educational needs of migrants through provision of additional supports to help migrant children to maximise the benefit of their school attendance (for example homework clubs) and older migrants to develop their language skills and better orient themselves to Irish society.
As this Fund is intended to support the integration of migrant and host communities, all applications must demonstrate how they will involve both migrant and host communities in the activities proposed and projects may not be directed solely to any one particular group or nationality.
Project activities must be additional to the usual business of the applicant organisation and should complement but not replace mainstream structures at local level.
Projects must commence before 31 December 2020 and must be completed no later than 30 June 2021. Projects failing to observe these dates will be deemed ineligible, and funding returned.
2019 projects have been allowed carry funding forward until 30 June 2021 due to COVID-19.