TR ANS FO R M ING CO R K
Shaping Our Future Sustainable Cork Fund receives 66 applications from across Cork Cork Chamber’s Sustainable Cork Fund was launched earlier this year, in partnership with Social Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI). An astounding 66 applications were received from across Cork, and the SIFI team are now in the process of reviewing the applications, in what will be a very competitive process, to select between 3-5 awardees. The environmental, social and economic approach embedded in the Sustainable Cork Fund is in line with Cork Chamber’s mission to create a strong and supportive ecosystem for business in Cork. Central to this mission is a vision for a more sustainable Cork in which to invest and live. Of the organisations that applied for the Fund, 96% identified a key focus on social inclusion, and over 60% of the applicants stated that their projects were targeted at more than one of the key themes identified in the application criteria, which included ‘environment’ and ‘economic empowerment’ as well as ‘social inclusion’. With the ‘new Cork’ that we are living in, this fund will be beneficial in helping these organisations on the road to recovery post-Covid 19.
Cork City supporting Social Enterprise Cork City Council sees strategic value in social enterprises and since 2017 has been involved in the Atlantic Social Lab project which works to support social enterprises. The Atlantic Social Lab project (funded by the EU’s Interreg Atlantic Area Programme) has built on this potential and enabled the council to identify and address issues being faced by social enterprises, and the team has been working with experts and key social enterprise activists to provide networking and training to social enterprises through the organisation of workshops on topics such as funding, finance, governance, storytelling, measuring social impact and procurement.
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Churchfield Community Trust (CCT) ‘Compass Crafts’ carpentry team, design and produce garden furniture, playpark items and creche furniture.
