FundingPoint – Funding for community and voluntary / non profits
(December – January edition)

Kildare LCDC have engaged The Wheel to provide a bimonthly
publication for Kildare which will include EU, national,
philanthropic and local funding information for community and
voluntary groups in Kildare. 

This grant will open for applications on Wednesday 14 January 2026. The grant funds one-off projects and services that improve the health and social care needs of communities. Examples include funding to:

A fund of up to €800,000 is being made available to support community-led projects as part of the Peatlands and Natura Community Engagement Scheme 2026.

The Scheme aims to encourage communities, local organisations and other interested parties to become involved in the enhancement of their natural surrounding areas and to raise awareness.

Applications are welcomed across a diverse range of initiatives with community benefit from events, education programmes, promotions, publications, exhibitions, development of conservation management plans, public amenity and recreational measures, maintenance measures that support  conservation measures, monitoring or surveying work to inform of restoration/conservation projects, invasive species and fire control measures, anti-littering initiatives to local environmental improvements in the area of the designated sites and other peatland areas.

The scheme provides multi-annual funding for core costs of organizations that support disadvantaged groups, demonstrate good governance, and focus on issues like poverty, social exclusion, and equality. The SSNO 2026 – 2029 will provide funding towards the core costs of national community and voluntary organisations in Ireland who:

The Collaboration and Innovation Fund fund projects and activities that support adults with unmet literacy, numeracy, digital and financial literacy needs.

The funding will be divided into three strands as follows:  

€700,000 for local and national projects that provide innovative and collaborative ways to: 
– support adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs, and 
– create a more literacy friendly and equal society.  

€200,000 for local and national projects that support innovative and collaborative ways to: 
– improve financial literacy skills for adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs, and 
– create a more literacy friendly approach to accessing financial services.  

€100,000 for projects that;
– engage parents with unmet literacy, numeracy or digital literacy needs in family literacy projects in the community
– support parents to support their child’s literacy skills in the home.

County Kildare LEADER Partnership are currently running the 2025 Targeted Call for LEADER funding.

They’re looking specifically to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades for private businesses and social enterprises.

The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is extended to Friday 19th December at 2pm.

Any questions about the call should be directed to leader@countykildarelp.ie

Community Climate Action Programme 

2026 Community Water Development Fund

Historic Structures Fund 2026 

Our Shared Plate, a community food growing upskilling programme by Neighbourhood Network, are offering free workshops for community groups located in Laois, Kildare, Longford or Offaly who already have access to and permission to use green space. 

On offer is a programme that includes four food growing and cooking workshops with trained expert facilitators, a kick-off community facilitation workshop (to decide vision, outcomes for the 10 months) alongside an optional funded visit to another community garden, and a Street Feast to wrap it all up. 

The programme starts in December 2025 and runs until September 2026 so if interested, please send an email to oursharedplate@neighbourhoodnetwork.ie with your name, garden/group, location, and specific workshops interest, if any. 

Who is the programme for?

What do men and women get from doing the programme?

For more information, email: emailed to wellbeing@countykildarelp.ie 

We are seeking nominations for a Youth representative and Kildare – Newbridge MD representative to join the Kildare Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP).

This is your chance to represent your community and help shape a safer, more inclusive Kildare. The two seats available are:

Deadline for nominations: 4:00pm, Tuesday, 9 December 2025

Dear Community Partners,

Severe storms and flooding can leave communities without essential services such as power, water, or communications. Recent emergencies have shown the need for safe, local spaces where people can access basic welfare and reliable information when there are major service outages following these events.  

Kildare County Council is inviting community-based volunteer groups to submit an Expression of Interest to have their premises designated as a Community Support Centre (CSC). CSCs are local spaces—such as community halls, GAA clubs, sports facilities, libraries, or community centres—that can be rapidly activated during emergencies to provide essential welfare services. There will be a limited number of CSCs designated in each Municipal District.

When activated, a CSC offers:

CSCs are volunteer-led hubs, supported by the local authority, that strengthen community resilience. We are now inviting community groups to submit an Expression of Interest to have their location designated as a Community Support Centre. A designated volunteer from your group will act as the point of contact with the Local Authority or the Local Coordination Group.

Community groups with premises that are safe, accessible, equipped with basic facilities (heating, toilets, kitchen, showers, parking), suitable for people with mobility difficulties, and have an active volunteer team to manage activation are eligible to apply.

There are two potential streams of funding available for designated Community Support Centres:

To submit an Expression of Interest to have your community space designated as a CSC please click on the following link by 5pm 5th December

For queries, please email communitysupportcentre@kildarecoco.ie

Help shape your community space—tell us what you think!

Kildare County Council is preparing a masterplan for the open space at Lakeside Park/Dara Park, Newbridge. As part of this process, we invite local residents and park users to share their views and suggestions.

This survey is part of our initial consultation and will help shape the future of Lakeside Park and Dara Park.  

Your feedback is important to us.

The survey will open on 5th December 12:00 and will close at 4.00 pm on Friday, 16 January 2026.

Woodlands of Ireland is seeking your input in the creation of a Native Woodland Strategy for 2026 – 2030.

This will be a 5-year vision for our native woodlands in Ireland, developed by Woodlands of Ireland in partnership with other native woodland stakeholders.

The closing date is Friday, 16th January 2026, followed by webinars in February and a March in person meetup.

More Public Consultations:

Community and Culture, Level 7, Áras Chill Dara, Naas, Co. Kildare

To unsubscribe, please email adm