Small voluntary groups in Northern Ireland will get help developing projects and applying for funding under a grant of up to £1 million announced by the Northern Ireland Office on 9 November 2026. The department awarded the three-year grant to Co-operation Ireland, which will deliver the programme with Rural Action and NICVA. The award turns a competition launched in May into a programme with named delivery partners, a mentoring cohort and a wider training offer.

Key facts

  • The Community Partnership Fund provides one grant of up to £1 million over three years to support grassroots groups across Northern Ireland.
  • The delivery partners plan intensive mentoring for 30 organisations and training on how to access funding for up to 500 groups.
  • The Northern Ireland Office’s separate Connect Fund takes project applications until 18 December 2026 and supports partnerships between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

What can smaller groups expect?

The programme, called On the Radar: Pathways to Stronger Communities, will offer workshops to help groups develop initial ideas. It will also provide more intensive mentoring to a group of 30 organisations. Training on how to access funding is designed for a wider group of up to 500.

The award pays for a support programme run by the three partners. The figures describe different kinds of help that community organisations may receive. They do not describe a set of individual cash grants or a sum available to each group. That distinction matters for a small organisation that needs help turning an idea into a proposal before it can approach a funder.

When the Northern Ireland Office opened the competition in May, it asked established organisations to work together and explain what gap in existing support their proposal would fill. The department singled out groups in rural areas, while the new award announcement describes a programme open in scope to grassroots organisations across Northern Ireland. The June deadline applied to organisations bidding to run the programme. The November award names the group that will deliver it.

How is this different from the Connect Fund?

The same department’s Connect Fund supports projects that build links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. In its announcement of the third round, the department said it had already awarded more than £1 million across 46 projects. It listed bids of £300 to £50,000 in the third round and a delivery period running from April 2027 through March 2028. Those figures concern the separate project fund. On the Radar is focused on building the skills and networks that grassroots organisations need to develop projects and pursue funding.

That difference gives local organisations two distinct routes. Groups with a proposal involving partners elsewhere in the UK can consider the Connect Fund’s published application round. Groups that still need to develop an idea or learn how to apply for funding are the intended audience for the new support programme. The Northern Ireland Office described a launch event at Co-operation Ireland’s Belfast headquarters. The award announcement gave no date for grassroots groups to register for workshops, training or mentoring.