Northern Ireland Office Opens Community Partnership Fund for Voluntary Sector

£1 million grant aims to strengthen support for grassroots groups across Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office has opened its Community Partnership Fund, offering a single grant of £1 million to support work with local community organisations, with a particular focus on rural areas.

The award will be made to one delivery organisation acting as Head Recipient for a forum of organisations. The Head Recipient will be responsible for financial accountability and must be based in Northern Ireland. Other participating organisations may be based in Great Britain.

The grant is available for activity delivered between 2026 and 2029. Applications are open to the voluntary and community sector, civic society and national representative bodies in Northern Ireland. Applicants must be formally established for public benefit and be not-for-profit organisations.

Proposals must address key areas of support, including identifying and assisting smaller grassroots community groups that are below the radar of traditional support, creating networking opportunities to help organisations form new contacts, supporting groups to develop ambitious ideas and pursue larger-scale projects and helping groups navigate financial support from initial idea development through to project delivery while building resilience for long-term sustainability.

Programme management and direct delivery costs are eligible for funding.