Louth and Meath Educational and Training Board (LMETB) wishes to invite applications from Community Education Groups in the Louth/Meath area for the above funding stream.

The purpose of this fund is to support Community Education and to improve engagement by disadvantaged learners with education and training.

Grants are awarded to qualifying applications by LMETB and funded by SOLAS and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
  
Application forms and further details are available here.  
Alternatively, you should email reach@lmetb.ie for a copy of the form.  

Completed application forms must be received by 1.00pm on Friday 2nd September 2022 

The Reach Fund 2022

The aim of the Reach fund (formerly MAEDF) is to provide funding to support educationally disadvantaged learners in accessing and participating in community education. It aims to increase the participation of disadvantaged learners, particularly those who are undertaking literacy and skills programmes. The fund has a strong focus on building the digital infrastructure of community education providers, including providing devices and software, and increasing their capacity to deliver learning. The fund was specifically designed to tackle inequalities and support access to community education, and also intended to address specific actions in the Adult Literacy for Life (ALL) Strategy to target funding on access to technology and devices, expand community access to wi-fi and broadband resources and to directly address unmet literacy needs.

The purpose of the Reach fund is to assist ETBs to increase their capacity and that of community education providers to address the decline in participation of disadvantaged learners particularly those on literacy and basic skills programmes at NFQ levels 1 to 3. The fund places a strong focus on community education as a mechanism to continue to support and engage with disadvantaged learners. In addition, there is a focus on enabling the investment in building the digital infrastructure of providers and their capability to ensure that online learning/blended learning can be delivered in a way that meets the complex needs of learners. Proposed projects should have no adverse impact on existing services or provision funded through the ETB.

LMETB would welcome applications from the following two target cohort groupings:

List of priority/specific target cohorts:

• Long term unemployed
• Young people
• People with disabilities
• Members of the Traveller and Roma communities
• Migrants and Refugees
• Women wishing to return to the labour market
• Lone parents

List of ‘ALL strategy’ target cohorts:

• Older adults (55+)
• Members of the traveller community
• People with disabilities
• One-parent households
• Low paid workers
• Careers Long-term unemployed
• Migrants International protected applicants
• People with language needs
• Incarcerated persons and ex-offenders
• Persons recovering from addiction.

Categories Eligible for Funding Consideration are:

ETBs to manage the application process and should consider for funding, proposals that meet the funding categories as set out below

1. Innovative green projects.
2. Projects focused on increasing participation in learning with target cohorts.
3. Events/awareness campaigns that contribute to equality policy and legislation.
4. In line with the ALL strategy, specific actions that;
   • directly address those experiencing unmet literacy needs
   • target funding on access to technology and devices
   • expand community access to Wi-Fi and broadband resources
5. Community groups in pre-development phase to support the most marginalised and disadvantaged groups
6. Support for refugee groups to support education and training delivery and promote/ support cultural and social inclusion, including research and/or needs analysis.

Call for Applications

Community education providers are now being given the opportunity to apply for funding for eligible projects under the Reach Fund for 2022. Funding will be administered to community education groups who apply through the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across Ireland.

SOLAS and the network of ETBs are now inviting Community Education providers to apply for funding through the 2022 Reach Fund.

Application forms and further details are available here.  

Alternatively, you should email reach@lmetb.ie for a copy of the form.