The “What Works In Communities Fund“ is a call for funding under the What Works prevention and early intervention initiative, which is funded through the Dormant Accounts Fund.

The 2026 What Works In Communities Fund seeks to empower communities by supporting C&V organisations that deliver prevention and early intervention initiatives for children and young people, including those with disabilities, those that are marginalised, and those at risk of social exclusion.

The Fund specifically aims to support not-for-profit, non-statutory organisations based in the Ireland that are community-led and providing services, supports or advocacy for community benefit. They must operate outside of formal state-run systems such as education or health service delivery.

Projects must apply one of the following approaches:

• Piloting and testing innovative prevention and early intervention approaches.

• Scaling up existing prevention and early intervention approaches where there is an opportunity to better understand how and in what contexts these approaches are effective.

• Evaluating an existing prevention and early intervention project so it can contribute to the national evidence base and potentially be upscaled and/or applicated elsewhere.

The 2026 What Works In Communities Fund seeks to empower communities by supporting community and voluntary organisations that deliver prevention and early intervention initiatives for children and young people. In line with the What Works strands, all projects funded will need to demonstrate how their work will generate practical and actionable insights, and how this learning will contribute to the prevention and early intervention sector.

The total value of the fund is €400,000, and organisations may apply for funding between €10,000 and €40,000.

Applicants are advised to thoroughly read through the Guidance Note and the Terms and Conditions document prior to completing and submitting an application. These documents are linked below:

• Guidance Note
• Terms and Conditions
• Application Form

The deadline for applications is 5pm, Friday 31st July 2026. Applications must be submitted (ideally in Word document format) by email to WhatWorks@dcde.gov.ie. The email must be sent from (or CC) the signatory to the application. Hard copies delivered via post will not be accepted.

Applicants should submit any questions about the fund or the application process to WhatWorks@dcde.gov.ie. Anonymised versions of these questions and the DCDE responses will be published on the following dedicated page:

2026 What Works In Communities Fund – Q&A Page