Information on the launch of a new Community Foundation fund for women’s causes in Ireland

Published: Friday, May 07, 2010

The Fund, which is dedicated solely to supporting women's causes, is the first of its kind in Ireland.

The Symposium "Realising the Power and potential of Women in Philanthropy" was held in The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in Dublin and included a special address by President Mary McAleese. The event, which was co-hosted by The Community Foundation for Ireland and Philanthropy Ireland with support from Ulster Bank, set out to highlight the role and involvement of women in philanthropy in Ireland, to showcase some leading Irish women and their approach to philanthropy and to identify how the potential of women's philanthropy can be realised in Ireland.

The newly formed Women's Fund will tackle the problems facing women and girls in Ireland today, addressing critical issues such as poverty, violence, and improving access to healthcare and education. It will also target areas such as trafficking and prostitution, integration of new communities, women in the arts, literacy, and support for carers. It will support these issues by giving small grants to enable positive change at the grassroots level to tackle women's inequality at its source.

The key note speaker at the Symposium, renowned US philanthropist Ellen Remmer, President and CEO of Boston-based The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc., spoke about the special power that can be harnessed by women in making a real difference in the lives of less fortunate women in society.

This is the basis on which the new Irish Women's Fund has been established: a fund developed by women to support women.

Here in Ireland,

• 1 in 5 women experience domestic violence in their lifetimes
• 85% of lone parents are female
• 84% of cases reported to the Rape Crisis Centre are female
• Only 14% of TD's in Dáil Éireann are female (EU average is 24%)

However,

• Women are one and half times more likely than men to include a donation to charity in their wills, and
• Recent research shows that women in the U.S. give an average of 3.5% of their wealth to charity, while men give an average of 1.8% and may be more likely to fund harder causes

The Community Foundation for Ireland has pledged €100,000 as a challenge grant towards the fund. For every €1000 raised for endowment by an individual, family, business or organisation, a matching amount of €500 will be provided by The Community Foundation. The Fund is being supported by Irish Tatler magazine, who have nominated it as their charity of the year for 2010. The first grants from The Women's Fund for Ireland will be made on International Women's Day in 2011.

Speaking at the Symposium, Jackie Harrison, Chief Executive of Philanthropy Ireland said: "Today's symposium on Women in Philanthropy, is an important to mapping out the future role of philanthropy in Ireland. Focusing on the role of women and understanding the distinct contribution they make is part of building up the picture of the important contribution philanthropy and planned giving can make in the more sober and challenging, post-Celtic Tiger Ireland of today."

Speaking at the Symposium, Tina Roche CEO of the Community Foundation for Ireland said "Women are playing, and will play, a crucial role in the development of philanthropy in Ireland over the coming years for a number of reasons. Women are becoming more independently wealthy than ever before, are living longer than men and many women now have the capacity to help make real social change in Ireland through their wealth, skills and energy. This is why we think the time is right to establish Ireland's first ever Women's Fund and we look forward to seeing this develop and grow over the coming years."