Civil Society Fund 2025 Round
The Civil Society Fund accepts applications annually from Irish and invited international civil society organisations for grants for overseas development projects.
For successful applications, the Department will fund up to 100% of annual project costs up to the maximum grant limit. In 2025, the maximum available grant is €800,000 per annum (previously €400,000 per annum) and the timeframe to carry out projects is up to five years in duration (previously up to three years in duration).
Income received from the Department, either directly or indirectly, must not exceed 55% of the overall organisational income of the applicant. This should be calculated based on an average of published audited accounts over the last three years and excludes in-kind income.
Interventions for long-term humanitarian crises will be eligible for support under the Civil Society Fund. However, response to sudden-onset acute emergencies is not eligible for support.
Key documents
Process
Organisations based in Ireland that consider they meet the criteria set out in the 2025 Call for Applications and who wish to apply for funding can request an Eligibility Form by emailing the Civil Society Fund team at the email address provided in the 2025 Call for Applications.
Completed Eligibility Forms should be submitted to the Civil Society Fund mailbox, no later than 5pm on Friday 6 September 2024. Please also include a Tax Clearance Certificate or equivalent, accounts for the last three years and any safeguarding policies.
A limited number of international civil society organisations may be invited to the Civil Society Fund each year, based on policy priorities and only those specifically invited are eligible to apply.
Organisations that submit a completed Eligibility Form will be notified of their eligibility in late September 2024. The application form will then be emailed to eligible organisations.
The application form must be submitted to the Civil Society Fund Team by 5pm on Friday, 8 November 2024. Please note that forms received after the relevant deadlines will not be considered.
Please subsequently submit a hard copy of the application form, signed by the legal representative of your organisation to:
Civil Society Fund
Civil Society Unit
Development Cooperation and Africa Division
Department of Foreign Affairs
Riverstone House
23-27 Henry Street
Limerick
V94 R7YE
It is intended that appraisal of applications will take place in December 2024/January 2025 and notification of funding decisions will issue in March/April 2025.
Questions or queries should be addressed directly to the email address provided in the 2025 Call for Applications and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be posted on the website.
Please note that individual meetings cannot be held with representatives of applicant organisations in connection with the application form once the Call for Applications issues until the date of communication of funding decisions. Any attempt to influence the outcome of the decision-making process in relation to grant applications will result in disqualification.