Guinness to offer grants totalling €1m to charities in Dublin

Ottoline Spearman

Local charities and community groups in Dublin 8 are to receive a total of €1 million from Guinness.

Diageo Ireland, which owns Guinness, is partnering with Community Foundation Ireland to offer grants that support projects in education, community development, and climate change.

The Diageo Ireland Dublin 8 Community Fund aims to support charities, non-profits and local community and voluntary groups based in Dublin 8 that improve the lives of local Dublin 8 communities.

Applications are already open, and close on November 17th. The grants criteria is available here.

Community Foundation Ireland will be hosting a webinar on October 21st at 11am to run through the criteria and share tips and advice on how to apply for funding.

They recommend signing up to the webinar before applying.

Grants will be awarded across three strands, based on the size of organisational income. Strand 1 will offer grants to organisations with an income of under €20,000; strand 2 between €20,000 and €200,000 and strand 3 between €200,000 and €1 million.

Those that apply to multiple strands will not be eligible for funding.

Speaking on Newstalk, Shane Kelly from Diageo Ireland said: "Dublin 8 has always been our home and we're really proud to launch the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund, a €1 million investment over five years to support local projects with €500,000 available in the first year."

Diageo Ireland has a long history within Irish business, including the founding of the Guinness brewery in 1759 and the creation of Baileys in 1974.

Diageo Ireland has invested in local initiatives and working with community groups for many years.

In November 2024, Diageo Ireland launched its first Community Impact Report. This report highlighted that between July 2023 and June 2024, Diageo Ireland invested a total of €1.7 million in community initiatives.