18/01/2023 - Community Heritage Grant Scheme opens

The Heritage Council is inviting on-line applications from community groups in County Donegal under its Community Heritage Grant Scheme until 5 p.m. on Monday, February 20.  Applications are sought for projects aimed at improving access and inclusion to heritage sites and that apply good heritage practice to the management of places, collections, buildings or objects.  The scheme also supports training events for traditional building skills, biodiversity and archaeology as well as the purchase of specialised equipment.

“The Community Heritage Grants Scheme is an important source of funding for community heritage projects in the county” said Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer.  “About €1.5 million is available nationally for natural, built and cultural heritage projects.  Grants of between €2,000 and €25,000 per project can be awarded.  The funding can cover up to 80% of the cost of the project and the match funding of 20% can be made up of voluntary contributions or benefit in kind.  Although this countrywide scheme is very competitive, Donegal-based heritage groups secured over €218,000 in funding for sixteen heritage initiatives in County Donegal representing 13% of the funding available nationally last year.  The community heritage initiatives funded under this scheme highlights the importance of our heritage and will help to stem the loss of aspects of the natural, built and cultural heritage in our county.” 

Eligible projects include access audits, improving physical or virtual access to heritage buildings or sites, purchase of equipment, traditional building skills training events or workshops, on-line exhibitions, the development of heritage databases or websites, conservation reports or plans, biodiversity action plans, historic building surveys, heritage audits, graveyard surveys, oral history projects, control of invasive species, work on habitats and natural sites, essential small-scale repairs to publicly-owned buildings, work to archaeological monuments, objects or collections and archival projects.  The Community Heritage Grant Scheme does not support projects to carry out a public sector body’s statutory or core responsibilities, undergraduate or postgraduate projects, archaeological excavations, DNA analysis, signage, publications, leaflets, conferences, seminars, memorials, amenity landscaping works or primary schools projects.  

The Heritage Council will host a grants information webinar at 11 a.m. next Wednesday, January 25 to provide general application advice to applicants followed by a questions-and-answers session.  The event will be recorded and available afterwards on the Heritage Council website (www.heritagecouncil.ie/funding).  Advice is also available from the County Donegal Heritage Office of Donegal County Council on (074) 917 2576 or by e-mail at [email protected]