News | 2into3 - Part 13

Sports Capital Programme Allocations 2022

26th April 2022

Some months have now passed since the Sports Capital Programme, capital grant allocations were announced, and the appeals process is underway, it’s time to reflect on whether the grant allocations really did achieve what it set out to do.

In total, €144 million was allocated in February to almost 1,900 applications with €6 million kept in reserve for the appeals process. This represents the largest investment in local sport through the programme and far surpasses the previous allocations in 2019 of approximately €55 million for regional and local capital projects.

At the time of the announcement, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said: “The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities in every county. There is a huge variety of different sports covered and I was particularly pleased that the scoring system placed an even greater emphasis on female participation”

So, what was the county split for the allocations this time compared to previous years?

It easy to look at this graphic and see that Dublin, Cork and Galway were the big recipients but that’s how the programme is designed in order to address population density of the big cities and therefore sport participants.

What is more interesting is to look at the counties who have had the largest increase in allocations.

Top 5 County for increases	% increase in allocation from 2018
Laois	312%
Carlow	259%
Tipperary	258%
Monaghan	243 %
Westmeath	242%

We can also look at the provincial split for allocations and this does reflect the dominance of Dublin and its hinterland with the population stats for the country.

Allocations by Sport

The allocation by sport also shows some interesting statistics. The majority of the top 10 sport almost doubled their allocation but this does not show the government’s commitment to multisport centres which fared well also, with a 165% increase in allocations.

This can also be looked at in terms of sports and which sports had the largest increases in grant allocation also.

The GAA family includes LGFA and Camogie and they were extremely successful. The biggest turnaround this year was for the LGFA with a 1224% increase in their allocation and this can be attributed to the objective of the Ministers to increase female participation.

Emerging Sports

However, there are several new sporting interests successfully attracting funds this time round. There is also an increase in the number of allocations to non-sport clubs who are also focused on the promotion of sport and increasing participation in sport.

The type of applicant represents the diverse activists in local sports across Ireland and the rich fabric of sport in the Irish community.

The investment in grass roots and regionals sporting interests is extremely strong now and reflects the Governments objectives of increasing sport participation at all levels and abilities and it is hoped that this will continue in the upcoming round of the SCP and the much-anticipated Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund which can assist ambitious plans across the country.

How can your club secure a Capital Grant in the next round of allocations? Here is a check list:

✓ Prepare early – be proactive
✓ Ensure correct title of property is in place or secure a lease for a minimum of 15years
✓ Agree what you are seeking a grant for and get a quote for the cost
✓ Do you share the land with other clubs/schools and how do you include others?
✓ Do you need planning permission?

2into3 Grants Advisory Service provide support to clubs, NGBS and LSPs in the development of Sports Capital and Equipment projects and in this grant- round were successful in attracting over €2million for 14 sports organisations across Ireland with a 97% success rate. Should you require any further information please contact Patricia Keenan.

Note: All Data in this document is based on data available from Department of Tourism, Culture,
Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

How to create a Strategic Fundraising Plan

1st April 2022

What is Strategic Fundraising?

A strategic approach to fundraising is about taking a longer term view of your organisation’s fundraising activities. Closely aligned with your overall organisation’s strategic objectives, a strategic fundraising plan helps steer a long term course for fundraising beyond the day-to-day demands of ‘firefighting’ to plug short term budget gaps.

Steps involved to create a Strategic Fundraising Plan

Create your Fundraising Objectives:

These need to align with your organisation’s overall strategic direction and be ambitious enough to fund the programmes set out in your strategic plan. The objectives must be achievable, measurable and time-bound.

Explore Fundraising Methods:

What is your budget for fundraising? What has and hasn’t worked for you in the past? What methods are your peers and organisations of a similar size using and how successful have they been? (one place to find out more about your peers’ fundraising performance is to subscribe to the Irish Giving Index. Where do your key fundraising strengths lie? Can you convert once-off and sporadic donations to regular giving? Can you strengthen your relationships with your top donors? Why consider relationship based fundraising?

Ask if fundraising methods new to your organisation might improve your fundraising performance.

This could be a regular or major gifts programme, a new focus on legacy giving or even a consideration of trending cryptocurrency fundraising methods (being an early innovator can deliver great results, but beware the inherent risks!).

Build a team and allocate tasks, responsibilities and resources:

A well briefed, co-ordinated and motivated team needs to work together to deliver the plan.

What role would a capital project play in your strategic fundraising plan?

While initially it may be something well out on your horizon, it is better to include it now as an aspiration so potential major donors are aware of your long term ambitions.

Why do you need and merit support?

Developing a compelling case for support will be the key driver in the success of your fundraising plan. Communicate, communicate, communicate with all your stakeholders: for example, public bodies, donors, media, service users. Different messages will be required and at certain times, specialists may have to employed to ensure the right messages are delivered to the right people at the right time.

Donors will need to be updated with how you are progressing and how their donations are making a difference.

Building a donor communications objective into your strategic fundraising plan is critical for relationship based fundraising. Success in achieving objectives will instil trust with donors and encourage continued involvement.

How a clear Mission, Vision and Values will help form your Strategic Fundraising plan

Explore fundraising opportunities that support your mission. Beware of mission drift: a common pitfall experienced by organisations seeking piecemeal funding is to develop programmes to fit available funding. This may ultimately lead your organisation down a path that distracts from its reason for existence. When exploring funding grants, get into the habit of asking ‘how would that support us in delivering on our mission?’. If you are unable to answer this when considering a funding application, this likely isn’t the right fund for you. There are donors and grants out there that match your organisation’s vision and values.

If your organisation starts to struggle with funding, it is important not to lose sight of your organisation’s long-term vision. Your ability to demonstrate future plans is vital to appealing to donors and philanthropic funders. Strategic fundraising, after all, is more than just keeping the lights on. It demands a clear, long-term action plan with an actionable implementation plan.

Taking the first step

If you are considering developing a new fundraising strategy for your organisation or wish to review your existing strategy, reach out to Rob Foley, 2into3’s Head of Fundraising Advisory Practice, to discuss further: rob.foley@2into3.com +353 86 032 7935

Changes to 2into3 Management Team

1st March 2022

Sports Capital Grant Allocations 2022

11th February 2022

We are delighted to announce that 50% of our clients have secured 100% their sports capital grant in the 2021 Sports Capital Grant Applications. We successfully assisted clubs and NGBs to apply for €2million of funding for sports across Ireland for capital and equipment projects. There were 5 regional applications and 10 local applications. Clients included League of Ireland clubs, hockey clubs, golf clubs, GAA clubs, local schools, multi sports centre, local rugby, snooker and canoeing.

There was a record- level of €150 million provided for the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme. €144 million has been allocated to almost 1,900 applications with €6 million kept in reserve for successful appeals lodged by unsuccessful applicants.

Why 2into3?

Oftentimes, many clubs are not aware of the variety of grants available. At 2into3, we assist your organisation in your application process. We work with your club directly, ensuring that you’re aware of the range of grants available to apply for and your application is at the best standard possible. We have helped clubs secure over €3.3m in Sports Capital Grants since 2014.

Previous successes, in 2021, our clients secured over €2m in Sports Capital Grants. Our expertise in completing grant applications to a high standard has helped many clubs and NGB’s in Ireland.

From our experience, the successful applications that achieve their goals are the ones that are strategic and allow time to adequately prepare their application. If you’re interested in preparing the best Sports Capital application for 2022 and require our assistance, visit our Sports Capital Grant page for more information or contact Patricia Keenan on 086 065 7347 or +44 77 4326 7665.

Q4 Nonprofit Talent Trends & Annual Overview

1st February 2022

In our latest snapshot of the nonprofit recruitment market for senior roles, we saw a continued rise in both the number of roles being advertised (271, up from 227 in 2020) and in the number of organisations actively recruiting at this level (197, up from 168 the year before).

This rise of 19% and 17% respectively is not as large a jump as we would have seen in earlier quarters, probably showing that the pandemic rebound has been working its way through the market throughout 2021. While COVID has not gone away, organisations have realised they cannot wait forever to fill their talent gaps and have moved accordingly.

The numbers are way up on Q4 2019, the last full quarter before COVID became a word we utter several times a day; 144 roles from 115 organisations were advertised between October and December 2019.

Q4 Nonprofit Talent Trends Breakdown by Role

Two role types saw a fall in activity year-on-year (HR and Finance) albeit from a small base, while all other functions tracked showed increased activity. CEO level roles jumped by 70%, Fundraising & Business Development by 52% and Admin, Strategy & Governance doubled, but again this was from a small base.

Breakdown by Subsector

Breaking activity down by nonprofit subsector, the changes were mixed. Three subsectors saw a drop in senior recruitment activity we recorded: Local Development & Housing (-9%), Education & Research (-63%), Religion (-50%), Recreation & Sport (-33%).

By contrast, all other sectors saw a rise, with three in particular showing big increases in role numbers: International (240%), Professional & Vocational (433%), Environment (100%)

Where income details were available for those organisations that were active in the recruitment market, there was an almost even split between those organisations with income below €1M (47%) and those above the number (53%).

2021 Senior Recruitment Overview

Looking at the year as a whole, it is still difficult to make any comparison between 2020 and 2021 without the pandemic being attached as a health warning to the data.

The number of roles advertised rose from 558 to 948 according to our tracking. While this is an increase of just under 70%, it must be noted that the 2020 figures include a time when activity went off a cliff. That said, activity is still up by an almost similar number versus 2019, likely a result of recruitment campaigns being delayed.

Unsurprisingly, such uplifts were not confined to any particular role types, with all specialisms seeing a rise, although some were more active that others in that respect (Communications & Marketing (up 120%), HR (up 72%) and Service Delivery & Operations (up 85%)

Interestingly enough, despite this strong sector-wide bounce back, there were actually two subsectors that saw a decline in recruitment activity for the full year. Both Education & Research (-25%) and Recreation & Sport (-30%) saw a decline in roles advertised. All other subsectors saw increases in roles advertised.

What do these figures show?

Leaving aside the residual impact of the pandemic, what the figures here show us is that there is a renewed level of activity in nonprofit recruitment at the senior level, one that seems be sustained throughout year, and one that certain lappers to show no signs of abating in the first weeks of 2022.

What the figures do not show is the other side of this equation, namely the availability of talent to meet this demand. Active jobseekers are still a somewhat rare breed, with COVID uncertainty still not fully overcome, although signs of increased activity have been seen since Christmas.

It remains a challenging proposition for organisations to source (and then retain) the talent they need to provide their services, and 2into3 remain extremely active in the market on behalf of a wide range of organisations. Our hope is that while the market remains this active, the increase we have witnessed in jobseeker activity will continue to a point where supply and demand converge in 2022, giving all parties what they need, and the sector the supports it deserves.

For more information on our recruitment services, visit our website or contact Fergal O’Sullivan.

Why consider Relationship based Fundraising?

19th January 2022

During our recent Giving Ireland fundraising webinars, some interesting common themes emerged across the various nonprofit sectors. This included relationship based fundraising, how to diversify income and how to use data better to improve fundraising returns. We have seen the recent successes that relationship based fundraising has delivered to many nonprofits in Ireland.

What is Relationship based Fundraising?

Relationship based fundraising incorporates many fundraising methods including Major Gifts, Trusts & Foundations, Legacies and Corporate Donations. Developing a long term relationship with a donor or company takes time. It’s not a fundraising income stream that can be activated instantly but the rewards to your organisation will far outweigh the required inputs if executed properly.

Why use Relationship based Fundraising?

Successful fundraising performance relies more and more on relationship based fundraising methods. They can untap a stream of income that can secure the future growth of your organisation and help it weather any unpredictable future events. It can evolve into a mutually beneficial relationship for both funder and nonprofit, based on clear expectations, continuous communication, mission alignment, respect and ultimately trust.

How to cultivate a meaningful relationship with donors?

Consider how your organisation will develop its donor-based relationships with the following:

Who will you target and at what level?

Begin by looking inside your organisation. Identify current and past donors as well as those of high-net worth known to key stakeholders. Research on trusts/foundations is also vital as some will support specific projects and causes which may rule out your organisation.

Do you have the organisational culture and the right person to make the ask?

Major gift fundraising involves a high-level skill-set and dedication. A full time major gift fundraiser can manage a maximum of 100 relationships, 50 might be a more realistic number in more advanced stages of cultivation. Executive and Board engagement in donor cultivation and making the ‘ask’ is often required.

How to build relationships with funders? Do you have a strong case for support?

Major donors and trusts/foundations want to make a demonstrable impact to an organisation. Building a compelling case for support educates prospective donors and motivates them to support your organisation’s ambitions.

Can you invest the time?

Developing relationships takes time. Securing a major gift can take up to 3 years and typically involves multiple meetings. Building a connection and network of trusts/foundations and applying to each with a tailored submission is key. It all takes time but after an initial lag a flow of income should begin to emerge from all the hard work!

Taking the Next step:

Is your organisation ready to engage in these fundraising methods? Feel free to contact Rob Foley at rob.foley@2into3.com or +353 21 237 9882

Thanks for attending Irish Giving Index webinar

16th December 2021

Thanks to everyone who attended our, ‘Data-driven Fundraising Trends | Findings from Irish Giving Index 2021′ webinar yesterday. We ended our final 2021 Irish Giving Index webinar with fantastic insights from Carol Casey, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Merchants Quay Ireland. We would like to thank Carol for sharing her valuable insights and fundraising experience.

About the Irish Giving Index

The Irish Giving Index is the only Irish nonprofit sector tool which tracks and analyses the fundraising landscape. This enables organisations to benchmark fundraising performance against relevant subsectors.

As a subscriber, you will understand the driving factors behind changes in fundraising. One benefit of subscribing is that the index can help you make decisions at senior level and can also enable sector-wide solutions for fundraising in the nonprofit sector.

Dennis O’Connor and Rebecca Droop explained the increase in fundraised income and the insights within each subsector- including health, social services and international.

Carol Casey, Head of Fundraising & Communications at Merchants Quay Ireland

A huge thanks to Carol Casey, Head of Fundraising & Communications at Merchants Quay Ireland, who joined the webinar to discuss how their fundraising team uses the Irish Giving Index to support strategic fundraising strategies. Carol highlighted how their team has benefited from having a benchmark to compare their fundraising on an annual basis.

Merchants Quay Ireland believes in a just society where no-one has to face homelessness or addiction alone, and where everyone has the support they need to reduce the harm caused by homelessness and addiction and to build a better life; an inclusive society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Subscribe to the Irish Giving Index

If you are interested in subscribing to our Irish Giving Index, please contact Dennis O’Connor or Rebecca Droop. If you would like to find out more about the Irish Giving Index, please visit our website.

Data-driven fundraising decisions | Findings from Irish Giving Index 2021

7th December 2021

Join our Irish Giving Index Webinar

Interested in learning more about fundraising in the nonprofit sector? Join us on Wednesday 15^th December at 10am to delve into our Irish Giving Index findings from 2021. Carol Casey, Head of Fundraising & Communications at Merchants Quay Ireland, will be joining us to explain how they use the Irish Giving Index to support fundraising decisions.

Merchants Quay Ireland is an Irish homeless charity who provide vital services to people who are homeless, hungry and in addiction. Their mission is to offer people dealing with homelessness and addiction in Ireland, accessible, high quality and effective services, which meet their complex needs in a non-judgemental and compassionate way.

In this webinar, we will share a selection of the subscribers’ only based findings from Irish Giving Index. See how your organisation’s fundraising measured up to its peers this year, and how you can use your data to join in the movement to improve transparency, dialogue and collaboration in the nonprofit sector. This webinar will cover data-driven findings extracted from the full Irish Giving Index report, which looks at data on fundraising from January up to September 2021. During our recent fundraising webinars, some interesting common themes emerged across most sectors. These included how to diversify income, relationship based fundraising and how to make data work better to improve fundraising returns.

Irish Giving Index

The Irish Giving Index is the only Irish nonprofit sector tool which tracks and analyses the fundraising landscape. This enables you to benchmark your fundraising performance against your relevant subsector and against organisations of the same fundraised income. The Irish Giving Index provides reliable and evidence-based updates on trends across a variety of fundraising metrics, with the objective of helping your organisation make well-informed decisions. Understanding the drivers of these trends enables fundraising teams to develop longer-term effective fundraising plans.

Register to our webinar on Wed 15^th December at 10am.

For more information on the Irish Giving Index, visit our website or contact Rebecca.droop@2into3.com.

Giving Ireland Subsector Webinars 2021

24th November 2021

Our Giving Ireland 2021 series has just concluded. The Giving Ireland report shares funding insights on the nonprofit sector. At a deeper subsector level, it further breakdowns and highlights other opportunities especially when compared to other subsectors.

Over the month of November, Giving Ireland hosted 9 deep dive webinars on funding of each in the various nonprofit subsectors.

Our speakers discussed many of the funding issues concerning their particular subsector today including fundraising in difficult times, governance, state supports and how to develop and maintain relationships with donors. How to resonate with Major Gifts donors and how to diversify income were also discussed.

Giving Ireland Subsector Webinars

Health, with Guest Speakers: Michael Nason, CEO – Cork University Hospital Charity and Caroline Gormley, Associate Director of Fundraising – Evelina London Hospital, UK

Social Services, with Guest Speaker: Sharon Fitzpatrick, Head of Development – COPE Galway

International Development, with Guest Speakers: Gaby Murphy, Director of Public Fundraising and Private Sector Engagement – Concern Worldwide and Audrey Jones, Head of Fundraising – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Education & Research, with Guest Speaker: Jim Miley, Director General – Irish Universities Association

Arts, Culture & Media, with Guest Speakers: Andrew Hetherington, CEO – Business to Arts and Alice Whitaker, Philanthropy – Royal Opera House, London

Sport & Recreation, with Guest Speakers: Sinead O’Keeffe, Commercial Director – Cork GAA & Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Gareth Maguire, CEO – Sport Changes Life and Kate Jacques, Head of Partnerships & Fundraising – Chance to Shine UK

Religion, with Guest Speakers: Céire Sadlier, Grants Officer – Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Anthony O’Connor, Director of Fundraising – Manchester Cathedral

Philanthropy, with Guest Speaker: Gráinne O’Hogan, Director of Development – Social Entrepreneurs Ireland

Environment, with Guest Speaker: Oisín Coghlan, Director – Friends of the Earth

You can watch any of these webinars here.

FYI: Zoom may ask you to register to watch it.

Thanks to our Guest Speakers who brought their valuable insights and learnings to the subsector webinars. Sharing these experiences enriches the knowledge base and develops a culture of sharing and openness within the sector. Learnings from our UK counterparts can also aid Irish based organisations’ activities when it comes to fundraising initiatives.

You can download the published Giving Ireland 2021 report.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, without who the Giving Ireland report would not be possible: The Community Foundation of Ireland, Salesforce.org, Quilter Cheviot and Ecclesiastical Insurance.

Giving Ireland is a collaboration between 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland. The Giving Ireland 2021 Report was launched in Oct 2021. It gives a detailed analysis and insights on Funding of the Nonprofit Sector in 2019.

Register now for your subsector’s webinar on funding – Giving Ireland 2021

1st November 2021

The Giving Ireland 2021 report launched last week, indicates several subsectors of the nonprofit sector saw an increase in fundraised income in 2019. Total Giving in Ireland was €1.78 billion, as a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), that equates to 0.5% GDP, for that period.

When compared to the UK, if the Irish nonprofit sector fulfilled its potential in attracting sources of philanthropic support to a similar level as the UK (their GDP rate is 0.84%), Irish overall Giving could increase to approx. €2.99 billion. How can we close this gap?

In these subsector specific webinars we will look in more detail at the funding of each subsector, its trends relative to other subsectors and discuss the impact of Covid (2019 is the last full year of pre-covid stats, so it’s the baseline for comparison when assessing Covid’s impact).

Register for your subsector webinar:

– Health – Tues 2nd Nov 10am

– Social Services – Wed 3rd Nov 10am

– International Development – Thurs 4th Nov 10am

– Education & Research – Tues 9th Nov 11am

– Arts, Culture & Media – Wed 10th Nov 10am

– Sport & Recreation – Thurs 11th Nov 10am

– Religion – Tues 16th Nov 11am

– Philanthropy – Wed 17th Nov 10am

– Environment – Thurs 18th Nov 10am

Kindly supported by The Community Foundation for Ireland, Salesforce.org, Quilter Cheviot, Ecclesiastical Insurance.

Giving Ireland is a joint collaboration between 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland. The Giving Ireland Report 2021 – Analysis and Insights on Funding of the Nonprofit Sector in 2019.

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