The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation is launching three new funding initiatives worth a combined £19 million.
The independent grant-making organisation will introduce initiatives based on food, voluntary sector work in Northern Ireland, and finance, to complement their existing Main Grants and Funding Strands programmes.
The Foundation is already welcoming applications to their Food Strand -worth £3 million over the next three years – for projects that will promote the importance of having a balanced diet and enable as many people in the UK to have access to nutritious food.
A second strand will provide £1 million for a 12-month pilot programme aiming to support the development of a strong and resilient voluntary sector in Northern Ireland. The strand is being run in partnership with the Henry Smith Charity, and will look to road-test around five separate projects before a decision is made as to whether the programme will be extended.
Finally, the Foundation is creating a Finance Fund worth up to £15 million that will offer a range of support to projects and organisations that can demonstrate the need for investment and the ability to manage the demands of non-grant funding. Support from the Fund, which at this stage will not be open to general applications, will include a mixture of loans, guarantees, and equity finance.
Dawn Austwick, chief executive of Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, said:
“We are delighted to announce these three new areas of funding. Our food strand broadens out from our previous work supporting sustainable food networks, whilst the Northern Ireland pilot has developed out of a series of discussions with the third sector organisations there.
"Our Finance Fund is a new development for the Foundation following a successful nine month pilot to explore the opportunities for alternatives to grant finance and builds on our previous loans programme.”
