Impact Programme
Supporting social entrepreneurs to take their organisation to the next stage
Are you one of Ireland’s highest-potential social entrepreneurs? Do you have what it takes to make real change across the country?
Overview
Our Impact Programme is a nine-month accelerator programme that will provide you with specialised support to help you to bring your project or organisation to the next level, with a view to becoming a highly impactful, effective, scalable, and sustainable organisation.
Five social entrepreneurs led organisations will be selected to participate in the Impact Programme. As an Impact Programme Awardee your organisation will receive support in key business areas and direct funding worth over €20,000. You will join Ireland’s largest network of social entrepreneurs working across the country to solve Ireland’s social problems quickly and effectively.
Training & Support
Throughout the nine months, you will work with the Programme Manager to support you in key areas of need. We provide one-to-one support, coaching and consultancy as well as group training, in areas such as leadership development, communications, governance, strategic planning, fundraising, and resilience.
Community
Impact Programme Awardees receive support and mentorship from a large number of extremely experienced social entrepreneurs currently driving social change across the country, along with Ireland’s leading business experts. Awardees also become members of the SEI Community where you can continue to avail of support after the Impact Programme ends.
Funding Available
Impact Awardees receive unrestricted funding of €20,000 to support them to build strong foundations for their organisations and grow their impact, in addition to all non-financial supports mentioned above.
Important Information & Announcements
- Applications to the Impact Programme open once per year
- We will open for applications for our 2023 programme on the 18th of April.
More information about the Impact Programme can be found in the Application Guide, including eligibility criteria, key dates, and FAQs.
Who is eligible?
- You are aged 18 years or over at the time of applying for the programme.
- You are the person (or people in the case of a partnership) leading the organisation – the main driver(s) and decision maker(s).
- The primary focus of your project is to benefit people in Ireland and your organisation is based on the island of Ireland.
- You have identified a social or environmental issue and developed a clear solution to tackle it.
- Your solution is new or better than others in existence already in Ireland, and is benefiting people in Ireland.
- Your project has moved beyond the initial idea stage, with activities up and running that directly tackle the problem you are addressing.
- You have strong indicators of impact on your target beneficiaries/customers.
- You have the desire and ambition to grow your project beyond its current level.
- You are open and keen to engage with the learning and development opportunities provided through our Impact Programme. The Programme will run from September 2023 – June 2024. This involves a time commitment of on average 2 to 4 days per month.
- You are available to attend the mandatory Selection Process events: in person Judging Panel on 5th/6th July 2023 and an in-person final interview on 26th July 2023.
- You are willing and able to develop your project on at least a part-time basis for the duration of the programme.
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)
