Are you one of Ireland’s highest-potential social entrepreneurs? Do you have what it takes to make real change across the country?
Impact Programme
Supporting social entrepreneurs to take their organisation to the next stage
Overview
Our Impact Programme is a nine-month programme of bespoke supports to help you to bring your solution and organisation to the next level, with a view to becoming even more impactful, effective, scalable and sustainable.
Five social entrepreneur led organisations will be selected to participate in the Impact Programme. As an Impact Programme Awardee your organisation will receive direct funding of €20,000 alongside supports designed around your individual needs and the goals you identify at the start of the programme. As an awardee you will also join Ireland’s largest community of social entrepreneurs working across the country to solve Ireland’s social and environmental problems.
Support
The Impact Programme has been designed around a number of key pillars:
- Group Learning: We bring together individuals at similar stages and with shared needs in structured group sessions, fostering learning from both experienced mentors and peers. These would typically take place once a month.
- Group Sharing: Conversations and connections with fellow social entrepreneurs are crucial. Normalising challenges and learning from one another significantly enhance a leader’s resilience.
- Individual Support: We offer monthly individual support sessions to ensure that each social entrepreneur’s needs are heard, allowing for bespoke interventions throughout the programme.
- Funding: We provide €20,000 in unrestricted funding, empowering entrepreneurs to invest in critical areas within their organisation.
- Community: SEI’s 20-year-strong community of supporters offers invaluable advice, support, mentoring, and connections from people who understand the challenges of this journey.
Community
Since Social Entrepreneurs Ireland opened its doors in 2004 we have been building an unmatched community of mentors, consultants, alumni and sector experts who are ready to support you.
From our 20 years of experience we know being a social entrepreneur can be lonely and we also know that no single organisation is going to solve any of the big problems that we face in Ireland today. We have therefore designed the Impact Programme to allow for conversations, connections and collaborations with others who share your challenges and ambitions.
Funding
Each Impact Awardee receives €20,000 in direct, unrestricted funding, reflecting our trust in your expertise. You are free to invest it in whichever part of your organisation you believe needs it most. We know you are the experts when it comes to your organisation, and we want to support you to build strong foundations and grow your impact.
Important Information & Announcements
- Applications to the Impact Programme open once per year
- We will be open for applications for this year’s programme in early 2025. More information coming soon
More information about the Impact Programme can be found in the Application Guide and on our FAQs page.
Who is eligible?
Eligibility Criteria:
- You (and your project/organisation partner(s)) must be aged 18 years or over at the time of applying for the programme.
- Your project/organisation is legally incorporated, registered with a recognised legal structure or as a sole trader.
- You must be the person (or people in the case of a partnership) leading on this idea – the main driver(s) and decision maker(s) such as founder, CEO, project lead or general manager.
- The primary activities of your project/organisation is in Ireland.
- You must have identified a social or environmental problem and have an effective solution to solve it.
- Your project/organisation is currently operational, having progressed beyond the initial pilot stage.
- You have concrete evidence demonstrating the measurable impact of your project/organisation on your target beneficiaries/audience.
- You are willing and able to commit to the following:
- working a minimum of 20 hours a week on your project/organisation for at least the duration of the programme.
- attending mandatory Selection Process events outlined in the programme guide.
- engaging with the programme for the equivalent of 2 to 4 days per month.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and we are committed to providing equal opportunities regardless of gender identity, marital status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or religion. (The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018)
