The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission’s 2025-26 Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme is now open and accepting applications until 3pm, Wednesday 4 June 2025.

The purpose of the grants scheme is to support projects by civil society and trade unions that promote human rights and equality.  A total of €350,000 is available for projects.

Grants Scheme Strands

The 2025-26 Grants Scheme’s themes are informed by the Commission’s strategic priorities set out in its Strategy Statement 2025-27.

This year the Grants Scheme will support projects under the following strands:

• Strand A: Applying the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty in combating disinformation, misinformation and hate, and building community solidarity and belonging.

• Strand B:  Applying the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty in challenging the structural causes of poverty, its impact on people and communities and the effectiveness of the State’s responses.

• Strand C: Applying the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty to ensure a human rights and equality approach to climate and environmental justice and a just transition.

Please see Guidance on Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty.

Funding Streams

Funding is available for small and general grants:

• Small Grants up to: €7,000
• General Grants up to: €22,000 

Guidance and Application Form

• Guidance 
• Application Form

 Eligible Organisations

The Grants Scheme is open to civil society organisations working to promote human rights and equality and trade unions in Ireland. Civil society organisations include: local and national community and voluntary organisations, non-governmental organisations, rights-holder-led groups, groups representing area based communities or communities of interest protected under the nine grounds of the Equality legislation, well as groups experiencing poverty, socio-economic discrimination or exclusion, including international protection applicants and migrant communities.

To be eligible, civil society organisations must be not-for-profit and registered with the Company Registration Office (CRO) and/or as a Charity.

Are You Interested in Applying? Register for a Grant Scheme Information Session to find out more!

The Grants Information Sessions will provide details about the Grants Scheme including its themes, criteria and the application process. The Information Sessions will be on:

• 10.00 to 12.00 on 6 May 2025 on the Zoom Platform (with ISL Interpretation)
• 14.30 to 16.30 on 8 May 2025 on the Zoom Platform

Register to attend by emailing rsvp@ihrec.ie with the date of the session that you would like to attend in the subject line.

When registering please let us know if you have any special requirements. This will help us in our preparations for the sessions.  ISL interpretation is provided at the Information Session on 6 May 2025. 

Email address for Queries: grants@ihrec.ie

Source: https://www.ihrec.ie/our-work/human-rights-and-equality-grants-scheme/