€140,000 funding and 50 programme places available for social entrepreneurs

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) is encouraging people from Westmeath who have innovative ideas to solve a particular social problems to ‘be the change you seek’ by applying for a place on its Ideas Academy.

That is aimed at those with early-stage ideas to solve a social problem – there is also the Impact Programme, which is aimed at high-potential social entrepreneurs looking to grow the impact of their organisations.

SEI’s vision is an Ireland where people solve every social problem, and its mission is to find people with solutions to these problems and support them on every step of their journeys.

Since its foundation in 2004, SEI has supported more than 500 social entrepreneurs around Ireland who have directly affected the lives of millions of people and contributed to creating employment opportunities.

The CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Tim Griffiths, said: “Every day, in every community across Ireland, we see people stepping up with solutions to solve social problems, taking action and being the change they wish to see. We call these people social entrepreneurs, and at SEI, we’re looking to find and support even more of them in Westmeath.

“We’re encouraging anyone with even the seed of an idea to create positive change, or anyone who needs help to take their solution to the next level, to apply to SEI for support on their journey.”

SEI’s Ideas Academy has up to 45 places available for people with innovative early-stage ideas to solve social problems.

The three-month programme will be delivered online in 2022 and will provide participants with the support and direction they need as they take the first steps from idea to action, sparking a new generation of social entrepreneurs.

Participants will be supported to clearly articulate, refine and progress their solution, to build skills and accelerate learning in core areas of importance to social entrepreneurs, and to move from idea to action.

Participants also have the opportunity to pitch for a portion of a €40,000 seed fund at the end of the programme to pilot their idea,

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s prestigious Impact Programme has up to five places and €100,000 in unrestricted funding available in 2022.

Awardees will join a nine-month accelerator programme, where they will receive mentorship, training, and consultancy in areas such as leadership development, fundraising, governance, strategic planning, and communications.

Awardees each receive €20,000 in direct funding, pro-bono support from partner organisations and access to a network of fellow social entrepreneurs and business experts.

One recent graduate of SEI’s Ideas Academy is Seed Scholars, a nature-based experiential education initiative that seeks to re-root young people and their networks in relationships of curiosity and care with the outdoor environment, founded by Collinstown-based social entrepreneur Eliya Lavine.

Ms Lavine said: “I was fortunate to find SEI close to the start of my process developing the social enterprise, and the SEI team has thoughtfully provided tools and guidance that have helped me across the board, from marketing, to storytelling, to business structure, to connecting people for possible collaborations and customized support.

“If you’re starting out, if you’ve been sitting with or emerging in implementing the ripe seed of an idea – the soil of the SEI Ideas Academy is fertile ground for trying out what’s next for your project.”

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland will host an informative Spark Session event for potential applicants on Monday 7 March at 1pm. The event will outline the supports available through the two programmes.

On the eve of International Women’s Day, attendees will hear from two SEI alumni – Madeleine Murray, co-founder of Change by Degrees, and Sinead Ryan, founder of Little Fitness.

Registration for the Spark Session is available HERE.

SEI staff and alumni will be on hand to answer questions about the application process over the course of 90 minutes.

DCC plc, the international sales, marketing and support services group, is the flagship supporter of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s national call for applications.

The chief executive of DCC plc, Donal Murphy, said: “At DCC, our purpose is to enable people and businesses to grow and progress. As proud supporters of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland for more than a decade, we passionately believe in the creativity and courage of social entrepreneurs and have seen first-hand the incredible supports provided through SEI’s Ideas Academy and the Impact Programme and the difference SEI alumni make across Ireland. We would encourage all budding and ambitious change-makers to apply to SEI today.”

Applications for the Ideas Academy and Impact Programme are open until midnight on Tuesday 5 April.

Interested candidates can apply or find out more at www.socialentrepreneurs.ie.