Galway Community Circus awarded funding from Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund and selected for Fundraising Fellowship Ireland with Business to Arts
We're thrilled to share this good funding news and what it means for Galway Community Circus in 2024!
Bank of Ireland Begin Together Fund in partnership with Business to Arts
Galway Community Circus is 1 of the 8 organisations selected to receive funding from the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund in partnership with Business to Arts.
This funding will be used for our community partnership programme called Big Top to Big Dreams where we will use circus to support the physical and mental wellbeing of refugee youth and young people living in Direct Provision.
The fund has provided eight grants of €12,500, totalling €100,000, to organisations across the island, with six recipients in ROI and two in Northern Ireland. For this round of the Begin Together Arts Fund, the projects supported aimed to inspire and uplift local communities by helping arts organisations working with marginalised and vulnerable groups.
The grants support programmes across arts and health, music, theatre, circus and visual arts that increase inclusion and break down barriers to arts participation.
Thank you to Bank of Ireland and Business to Arts for your support that enables us to continue to use circus to build confidence, improve leadership skills and provide increased wellbeing and social connections for young people.
Fundraising Fellowship Ireland with Business to Arts in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Galway Community Circus is 1 of 2 organisations selected to take part in the Fundraising Fellowship Ireland with Business to Arts in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
The Fundraising Fellowship, Ireland offers both organisations 50% matched funding to hire a full-time fundraising or marketing and fundraising professional for two years. The two recruited Fellows will participate in a structured training and mentorship programme in 2024-2026 developed by Business to Arts, with the aim to equip the recruited fellows and their organisations with skills and supports to build fundraising and development capacity.
We will commence recruitment for a Fundraising Fellow in the next month, with the training and development programme commencing in early summer. Keep an eye out for our job posting, coming soon!
“Congratulations to Fundraising Fellowship recipients, Sample-Studios Cork and Galway Community Circus. I am thrilled the Department has been supporting the Fundraising Fellowship, Ireland since 2016. It continues to act as a critical resource to cultural organisations in developing the kind of fundraising capacity and expertise necessary for the growth and success of these organisations and the delivery of their missions.” Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD
Over €2.1 million has been raised by Fellows during their time participating in the programme. These include Sing Ireland, Graffiti Theatre Company, Druid Theatre, Cork International Film Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival, Helium Arts, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Fishamble: The New Play Company, The Lime Tree Theatre, and Music Network. The Fundraising Fellowship, Ireland seeks to address the lack of human resources dedicated to fundraising facing the cultural sector and to build on previous investment by cultural organisations in their strategic planning and fundraising.
“We are thrilled to have been selected for the Fundraising Fellowship, Ireland 2024-2026 programme, which will provide us with the necessary tools, networks and knowledge needed to amplify our impact, expand our reach and secure the essential resources needed to achieve our mission. This programme comes at a pivotal moment for us as we continue to scale up our operations across multiple venues, increase our impact, and work towards our vision of making circus education accessible to every child in Ireland.” Executive Director of Galway Community Circus, Lynn Carroll
Thank you Business to Arts, the Department and Catherine Martin, T.D. for this support.