Northern Ireland Office awards £1m Community Partnership Fund grant to three charities
Co-operation Ireland, Rural Action and NICVA will run On the Radar, a three-year programme of mentoring and funding training aimed at small grassroots groups, particularly in rural areas.
By Daily Oracles News Team1 min read
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has awarded up to £1 million from its Community Partnership Fund to three established voluntary sector bodies, Co-operation Ireland, Rural Action and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). The money, spread over three years, will pay for a programme called On the Radar: Pathways to Stronger Communities.
The programme is meant to reach hundreds of small grassroots groups across Northern Ireland. It starts with workshops to help groups develop ideas, followed by intensive mentoring for 30 core organisations and training on accessing funding for up to 500 groups.
Baroness Ruth Anderson, a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the NIO, launched the scheme at Co-operation Ireland's headquarters in Belfast. She said the three organisations would act as a single front door for the voluntary and community sector, passing on their experience in rural community development and cross-community peacebuilding to smaller groups.
NICVA said it would bring its knowledge of organisational development, governance, funding and sustainability. Rural Action welcomed the programme's focus on rural community groups, which it said can be overlooked or face barriers when seeking funding and development support.
How the fund was set up
The NIO launched the Community Partnership Fund on 1 May 2026 as a single competitive grant of up to £1 million, to go to a forum of established sector leaders who would guide smaller community groups. It was aimed in particular at organisations in rural areas and those lacking the confidence to deal with established institutions and networks. Applications closed at 5pm on Friday 19 June.
