Groups working with children and families are being invited to apply for support from money raised during the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal.

Community Foundation Ireland, which is distributing the funds raised from the generosity of viewers,

Children and family charities working at local, regional and national level can apply for a grant under one of the following thematic strands: 

• Addressing Essential Needs
• Improving Health and Wellbeing
• Creativity and Play

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal is open for applications until Friday, 13th March, 2026.

Applicants will need to identify which of the three thematic strands they align with, and within the strand, which specific outcome their project will meet.

Children and family charities with an annual income of €20,000 to €500,000 may apply to the Community Grants Round. Children and family charities with an annual income of more than €500,000 may apply to the Impacts Grants Round.

The Toy Show Appeal will also award a small number of Transformative Grants. The Transformative Grants are an opportunity for applicants to significantly upscale their proposal, and to build capacity within their organisation.

There are criteria documents for each of these Grant Rounds that outline eligibility, outcomes that should be met, and priority areas for funding. Any applications that fall outside of the criteria will not be eligible.

Find out more about the criteria here.  

Watch a recorded webinar here on the application process:  RTÉ Toy Show Appeal ‘How-to-apply’ Webinar

Apply for this grant round through our new Grants Portal.

In the Funding Opportunities section, you will see a number of rounds that you could apply for. Please ensure you choose the correct round based on your project and organisation’s annual income.

Please note if you have never applied for  funding from the Foundation before, you will need to register on the Portal first and provide up to date governance information and documents for your organisation. Please do this as soon as possible so it does not delay the submission of your application.

Additional information and resources for our Grants Portal can be found here.

If you have any questions, please take a look at our FAQ document and if your question is not answered there, you can get in touch with us at info@foundation.ie.

Source: https://www.communityfoundation.ie/grants/the-rte-toy-show-appeal-2026/