Our partners at The Federation of Irish Sport is delighted to announce that Michael McGrath TD, Minister for Finance will deliver the keynote address at the upcoming Irish Sport Industry Awards at the College Green Hotel on Tuesday 28^th May. This announcement reaffirms the positive working relationship between the Federation across Government departments.

 

Federation of Irish Sport CEO Mary O’Connor commented “We are particularly delighted to welcome Minister McGrath to be our keynote speaker at the upcoming awards. The Sport Industry Awards spotlight the people and partners that drive the business of Irish sports forward. The sector makes a significant economic contribution to GDP, so it’s imperative we recognise the growing diversity and innovation of the sector and the contribution it makes to Ireland’s economy. From Best Sports Business of the year and the Best New Sports Business, to celebrating commercial partnerships and use of communications, and recognising our own members successes, the Irish Sport Industry Awards reflect the varied make up of Ireland’s sports industry and the power of sport and business working together”.

The value of sport to the Irish economy is estimated to be around €3.3 billion annually, with the sector supporting over 64,000 jobs. The Federation continues to work closely with the Department of Finance promoting the value of sport to the economy and Ireland inc. and welcomes the Minister’s support of the work the Federation does on behalf of its members.

 

About the Irish Sport Industry Awards

The 7^th annual Irish Sport Industry Awards recognise and reward excellence in the business of sport and entrepreneurship. The categories celebrated highlight several meaningful themes in sport such as inclusivity, women in sport and business, and the excellent work being done in sport by the National Governing Bodies and the national network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships. In addition, there the two closed categories celebrating the Jimmy Magee FIS/ASJI Award and the Outstanding Contribution to Irish Sport Award.

 

For more on the Irish Sport Industry awards, contact: Clare Louise O’Donoghue, Head of Commercial and Marketing on 086 0437887 or at clarelouise.odonoghue@irishsport.ie.

2into3 proudly announce a transformative 3-year strategic partnership with the Federation of Irish Sport (FIS), commencing January 2024. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in 2into3 and The Federation of Irish Sport’s (FIS) shared commitment in enhancing the social impact of sports, recreation, and physical activity across Ireland. This partnership will allow both organisations to combine their expertise, resources, and passion to drive positive change and sustainable growth within the Irish sporting community.

With a shared commitment to good governance, strategic growth for NGBs and sport for all, the partnership will focus on key areas such as strategic planning, organisational development, philanthropic fundraising strategies, grants & economic services, and capacity building. By working together, we seek to ensure strong foundations are in place for Irish Sport.

Speaking about the partnership, Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, expressed delight about the collaboration, stating: “We are delighted to begin this new chapter with 2into3, who have a strong reputation and passion for delivering tailored solutions and driving meaningful change in the not-for-profit sector. Together, we have a tremendous opportunity to empower Irish sporting organisations, equipping them with the tools and strategies the need to thrive in ever-demanding landscape.”

Dennis O’Connor, CEO 2into3 echoed this sentiment adding: “The Federation is the voice of Irish Sport, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with them to help sporting organisations realise their ambitions which have such an impact on Irelands social capital, health, confidence and resilience.”

 

About The Federation of Irish Sport (FIS)

Founded in April 2002, The Federation of Irish Sport was established by Ireland’s national sporting organisations to provide leadership, co-ordination, support, and direction on key issues and to represent their interests to government and its relevant agencies.

FIS is the representative organisation for 110 National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) from every corner of the country, comprising over 12,000 sports clubs. The Federation of Irish Sport’s purpose is to provide a dynamic and effective voice for Irish sport, “to support and advocate collectively for our members, empowering them to maximise the impact of sport, recreation, and physical activity for society.”

For media enquiries or further information, please contact: Clare Louise O’Donoghue, Commercial & Communications Manager, Federation of Irish Sport m: 086 043 7887, e: clarelouise.odonoghue@irishsport.ie

 

2into3: Building Sports Capacity

2into3’s mission is to build the capacity of organisations to have a transformative social impact. We focus on helping nonprofits, philanthropists, social enterprises, NGBs and other social impact organisations by providing talent management, advisory and funding services.

Since 2006, we have worked with over 450 clients from a variety of nonprofit sectors, including sports, health, education, arts & culture, and social services. Within the sports sector, our consultants have previously occupied senior positions in sporting organisations, whilst others bring over two decades of experience in voluntary and professional roles. To date, 2into3 have worked with over 140 sporting organisations to help define, fund and achieve their ambitions.

 

Get in Touch

For information on our experience with sports organisations, visit our webpage, or contact our CEO, Dennis O’Connor: dennis@2into3.com.

We are delighted to announce that we are celebrating our 350^th client. Our team has worked with a range of fantastic organisations over the past 16 years and we are thrilled to have reached another milestone in our client base.

Our 350^th client is Aiséirí, who provide community and residential services to help young people, adults and families overcome addiction and lead meaningful lives in recovery. Aiséirí was seeking a ‘Communications and Engagement Officer’ to support their Development, Communications and Marketing team. We referred them to our sister brand, the For Purpose Graduate Programme, which connects graduates with nonprofit organisations.

“In terms of recruitment, the For Purpose process was excellent. Rhonda provided us with so much support and expertise. We are so delighted to have our new Communications and Engagement Officer on board, she is already part of the team and is settling in brilliantly.”

– Philomena Furlong, Development, Learning & Engagement Manager, Aiséirí.

 

For Purpose Graduate Programme

The For Purpose Graduate Programme is our sister brand which connects eager graduates to nonprofit organisations. For Purpose assists nonprofit organisations attract, mentor and develop the future leaders of the nonprofit sector. The programme covers a wide range of career paths in a number of different sectors, ranging from marketing & communications, fundraising, social services, human resources, housing officers and more.

Why invest in a graduate through For Purpose?

• Shape the future leaders of the nonprofit sector
• Fresh ideas for your organisation
• Technical skills / social media savy
• Values driven candidates who are keen to develop within nonprofit organisations

 Click here for more information on the Value of Graduates in Nonprofit Sector.

Get in Touch

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients, partners, and those who have supported 2into3 over the past 16 years. For more information on our services, visit here or contact Dennis O’Connor. If you’re considering recruiting a graduate to develop your nonprofit, contact Rhonda Wynne directly.

About Aiséirí

Aiséirí provides residential and community based addiction treatment service for adults and young people. Their services include detox, primary and secondary residential treatment and a continuum of care programme. Their specialist and caring staff create an environment that is therapeutic in all aspects, where each person feels valued, safe and supported as they make their journey towards recovery and new life changes.

 

2into3 attended The Wheel’s 2022 Summit on Wednesday 1^st June. We caught up with colleagues in the nonprofit sector, learned from their insights and listened to informative discussion panels. This was a fantastic networking opportunity for Irish nonprofits to share information and learn from each other. Our CEO, Dennis O’Connor spoke about ‘Reflections on Leadership Challenges Facing the Sector: Can Managers Cope?’ Our Head of Practice Areas, Rob Foley, Head of Fundraising and Patricia Keenan, Head of Grants Advisory Practice, spoke during ‘Future Funding: The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead’. Hereafter, Luna Atkins, Head of Strategy Advisory Practice, attended the panel during ‘Boards Behaving Badly and Domineering CEOs’. An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, attended the event to address all of the nonprofits organisations during the event.

Dennis O’Connor, CEO, ‘Reflections on Leadership Challenges Facing the Sector: Can Managers Cope?’

Dennis reflected on the changes in the workplace throughout the years. Organisations in the private sector are required to adapt to external changes regularly, but oftentimes, the nonprofit sector are slower to adapt. At 2into3, we aim to connect strategies from the private sector into the nonprofit sector. Furthermore, Dennis discussed the shift in the role of managers today. There has been a shift in managerial power, from a hierarchical structure, to a team focused one. There has been a shift in skills, from task overseer to performance coach. Finally, there has been a shift to a more fluid workplace, with the implementation of working from home since 2020.

With these changes, it is extremely important for CEO’s to consider how they are supporting their managers by asking the following questions.

1. What is your workplace like? Does it suit today’s way of working, or was it designed for a different era?
2. How much are you investing in retraining your managers?
3. How many of your managers are coaches?
4. Have your systems caught up with today’s world?
5. Are your structures a fit for your strategy?

Reflecting on these questions are crucial for CEO’s to consider. The workplace has changed drastically in the past two years, and it is important to support our managers throughout these changes.

Panel Discussions: ‘Future Funding: The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead’

In the afternoon, panel discussions took place with our Head of Grants Advisory Practice, Patricia Keenan and Head of Fundraising, Rob Foley. They shared their insights during ‘Future Funding: The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead’.

This panel discussion focused on the future funding landscape and how you might best orient your efforts. They highlighted how organisations can capitalise on future opportunities and navigate the pitfalls that might lie ahead, discussing where that future funding may be found.

Patricia outlined the availability of funds for Irish nonprofits. There are grants available for a range of organisations and it is in the best interest of nonprofits to find out which ones are suitable to their needs. Therefore, nonprofits can base their fundraising plans off these grants. Rob discussed how the average cost of fundraising has decreased in recent years, with 2into3’s fundraising tracker, the Irish Giving Index.

Panel Discussions: ‘Boards Behaving Badly’

Our final contribution was from Head of Strategic Planning, Luna Atkins, during the ‘Boards Behaving Badly’ panel discussion. This session was part of an ongoing series that discussed what happens when Boards behave badly and CEOs are domineering. Luna, alongside her panellists, explored and discussed the impact this can have on organisations. There is a delicate balancing act of ‘power’ between boards and the CEO and how to proceed when things so wrong. Luna, alongside her panellists, have many years’ experience dealing with these difficult situations. They have seen real trauma resulting from what can only be called an abuse of power.  This can happen on both sides of the board/CEO boundary. The panellists discussed ways to manage this through clarity and the mutual understanding of roles, authorities and the availability and regular use of channels for both communications and feedback. This helps to build trust and constructive relationships.

Address from An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, delivered a special address to the nonprofit attendees. He discussed the impact the nonprofit sector has on Irish society, particularly over the past two years. He celebrated the sector’s impact by thanking everyone for their contributions in providing ongoing support to Irish citizens throughout these tough times.

Deirdre Garvey, CEO, The Wheel

In the final plenary, the panel reflected on what they’re learnt over the past two years and launched their five year plan. Deirdre Garvey, CEO, The Wheel, closed the final session with a congratulations to everyone in the sector and positive plans for the future.

On Tuesday 17th May, we announced a partnership with HR Duo, a full-service HR solutions provider, to offer nonprofits a full Talent Management solution. With our joint collaboration, we will increase the capacity of our clients’ organisations.

Many nonprofits services are currently stretched. With the impact of the pandemic and demand for talent, together with HR Duo, we seek to assist Irish nonprofits with talent management and HR admin. Therefore, organisations can focus on adding capacity to their current services. 

 

About HR Duo 

Combining technology and HR expertise, HR Duo’s delivers know how and practical support which enables organisations of all sizes to manage their HR requirements.    

HR Duo aims to make HR easy for businesses. They help hundreds of businesses to introduce best practices, improve team performance and to make better decisions. HR Duo automates all the day-to-day HR practices and places data in the hands of managers so that they can concentrate on what matters. 

 

Nonprofit Talent Management 

Talent Management is more important than ever in the current employment market and recruiting the right person is a costly and time-consuming process. Furthermore, retaining talent is an ongoing challenge for many nonprofits and requires attention if the organisation aims to grow. However, most nonprofits do not have the capacity to do so within their own resources. With the support of 2into3 and HR Duo, nonprofits can access the expertise they require to assist their growth. 

  

 “We are delighted to announce our partnership with HR Duo. Our clients can focus on service delivery and other strategic projects, while we along with HR Duo can look after their Talent Management & HR admin,” said Dennis O’Connor, CEO, 2into3.  

  

“This is an exciting partnership and the combined power of 2into3 and HR Duo will add value to clients freeing up resources and deliver added impetus to the nonprofit organisations’ mission,” said Jerome Forde, CEO, HR Duo.  

 

For more information on the services we provide, click here or contact Dennis O’Connor directly.