RTÉ Toy Show Appeal 2026 – Creativity and Play Grants

About the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal was established in 2020 to raise funds for Irish children’s charities through the televised Late Late Toy Show. Since then, more than €30 million has been raised to support charities across the Island of Ireland.

In today’s world, children and young people are facing increasingly complex and interconnected challenges that they can’t face alone. Children’s charities provide vital services that provide support, build skills, and foster resilience to empower children and young people to tackle these issues. However, factors such as socio-economic circumstances or discrimination create barriers for children and young people to access the support they need.

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal responds to these issues:

Inspired by children, we work to bring the magic of the Late Late Toy Show to every child in Ireland. By funding essential support, health, wellbeing, play and creativity we aim to change children’s lives for good.

Last year €4.9 million was raised and distributed in 169 grants to support more than 1 million children and their family members all across the island. Thanks to the continued generosity of the Irish public, this year the Appeal raised over €4,700,000 which will be distributed through the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal Grant Rounds in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal will ensure that children and young people across the Island of Ireland who need help, can access high-quality services when they need them. With a focus on those that are most vulnerable and marginalised, these services will support, empower and build resilience so children and young people can tackle the challenges they face now and in the future.

The grant round will centre around three themes:

• Addressing Essential Needs
• Improving Wellbeing
• Creativity and Play

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal grant round will open on Wednesday 11th February.

Children and young people charities will be able to apply for funding until 1pm on Friday 13th March 2026. Applicants should ensure that their organisation’s governance information is up to date before submitting their application.

Creativity and Play Round

The Creativity and Play Strand will ensure that children and young people have access to creative, recreational and play-based programmes and spaces to help them thrive.

Expected Outcomes

All applications to the Creativity and Play Strand should align with one of the three outcomes below. Any applications that do not address one of these outcomes specifically, will not be eligible for funding.

Vulnerable or marginalised children and young people have increased access to:

• Creative, cultural, and recreational opportunities and spaces for children across Ireland.
• Opportunities for social inclusion and building confidence among children through arts, sport, and play.
• Playful learning opportunities for infants.

For this grant round, “vulnerable or marginalised” is defined as:

• Children and young people who are at risk of poverty and facing consistent poverty.
• Children and young people who are facing discrimination.
• Children and young people with disabilities, life-limiting conditions and additional needs.
• Children and young people facing and/or recovering from trauma, abuse or exploitation.

Examples of Projects

Charities should apply for projects that will be impactful and valuable. Whilst the list below is not exhaustive, it provides some ideas for the kinds of projects that might align with the Creativity and Play outcomes.

• Drama, literary or art programmes for marginalised children and young people.
  Small scale renovations of recreational spaces for young people.
• Creative programmes that bring children of different backgrounds together.
• Enriching play for 0-4s that build sensory and motor skills.
• Play-based parent and toddler programmes

Additional Notes

• Projects may be to continue/scale up a current programme, or to start a new one.
• Proposals to this fund can include the proportion of staff salaries specifically related to the project. This also includes new staff salaries required to increase service provision.
• Applications can include equipment or furniture that is relevant to the project or programme.
• The small-scale development of buildings or outside spaces is eligible, but large-scale development, constructing a new building, or buying a building or land is not eligible.
• Charities are encouraged to collaborate with other organisations as part of their work.
• There will be one lead applicant for this application who must be eligible, but this charity may collaborate with organisations who are not eligible or who may also put in their own application.
• For the Impact Round applications:
  • Proposals are encouraged to include evaluation as a part of the project and budget.

Priorities for this Strand

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal is a very competitive grant round, so strong applications that meet one or more of the priorities below will be prioritised for funding.

• Authentic child and youth voice
  • Children have a legal and moral right to be heard in matters that affect them. This principle is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that children should have a say in decisions impacting their lives.
  • Applications that strongly integrate child and youth voice into the design and development of their programmes will meet this priority.
• Enriching play and playful pedagogies
  • Utilising play as a vehicle for services is key to ensuring the success of that service, particularly for younger children. It allows for holistic development for the children, build critical thinking, communication, teamwork, social and emotional growth.
  • Applications that utilise enriching play or playful pedagogies to enhance their programmes will meet this priority.
• Agency in nature
  • Research shows the huge value in green spaces and children being able to access and enjoy them regularly. Green spaces such as parks and playgrounds improve physical health, where children have free agency allows for social and cognitive development, fosters teamwork and conflict resolution. Access to green spaces at a younger age, sets healthy habits for later in life.
  • Applications that integrate outdoor spaces and nature in their programmes or services will meet this priority.

Who can apply for funding?

Children and young people charities working at local, regional and national level can apply for a grant in the Creativity and Play strand. Children’s charities should be able to demonstrate that they work regularly with children and young people.  Charities must demonstrate that working with children and young people is a core purpose of the organisation as outlined in the governing document.

Community Grants

Organisations that have an annual income of £20,000 – £500,000 must apply for a Community Grant and grants up to £10,000 will be awarded.

Impact Grants

Organisations that have an annual income of more than £500,000 must apply for an Impact Grant and grants up to £35,000 will be awarded.

Eligible projects

• Must meet the objectives of the Creativity and Play strand, outlined above.
• Must work with vulnerable or marginalised children and young people:Those at risk of poverty and facing consistent poverty.
  • Those facing discrimination.
  • Those with disabilities, life-limiting conditions and additional needs.
  • Those facing and recovering from trauma.
• Should employ models of best practice.
• Should empower the children and young people who are benefiting from the programme.
• Projects that create strong impact for the children who will benefit and the wider community.
• May be a current programme that will be developed or upscaled with the funding.
• May be to continue a project funded in last year’s RTÉ Toy Show grant round.
• Must start no earlier than June 2026 and run for 12 months.

For the impact round, eligible projects should also include:  

• Projects that demonstrate innovation.
• Proposals that have an impact on the organisation applying and there is potential for systemic change as a result of the project.
• Proposals that outline factors that ensure the success of the project.

Ineligible projects include

• Ongoing core costs such as insurance, rent, bills, etc.
• Advocacy or Lobbying.
• Large-scale building work or procurement.
• Purchasing vehicles.
• Religious or political activities.
• Projects that have already happened or any activities that will happen before the grants are awarded.
• Projects taking place outside of Northern Ireland.

Eligible organisations must:

• Submissions will only be considered from registered children’s charities where ‘children’ 0-18 years old form a key part and named in the organisation’s mission statement and organisational purpose/s. This includes:
  • Those at risk of poverty and facing consistent poverty.
  • Those facing discrimination.
  • Those with disabilities, life-limiting conditions and additional needs.
    Those facing and recovering from trauma.
• Be a registered charity
• Have an annual income of £20,000 – £500,000 to apply for a Community Grant and income of £500,000+ to apply for an Impact Grant.
• Have up to date and sufficient governing documents, annual accounts and child safeguarding policies.

Ineligible Organisations include:

• Charities who cannot demonstrate that working with children and young people is a core purpose of the organisation as outlined in the governing document.
• Charities with an annual income of less than £20,000
• Schools, childminding facilities, Universities or state bodies
• Sports organisations
• Profit-making companies
• Animal welfare organisations
• Proposals from individuals

Ineligible organisations and projects will not be successful, so please do not apply. 

Please note that the Foundation will not fund organisations or activities which promote causes that are contrary to our purposes. Causes and activities that are contrary to our purposes include, but may not be limited to, those outlined in our investment policy. We will not therefore fund organisations or activities which we determine are linked to the promotion of armaments, alcohol, human rights abuses, tobacco or pornography.

In addition, the Fund will not support:

• The advancement of religion. This includes organisations whose purposes include advancement of religion;
• The establishment of endowment of any school or institution providing further education within the meaning of the education and libraries (Northern Ireland) order 1972;
• The provision of assistance to any Housing Association within the meaning of the housing (Northern Ireland) order 1976
• Trips outside of Northern Ireland
• Individual applications
• Purchase of vehicles
• Running costs of large organisations
• Holiday schemes
• Parties and shopping trips
• Promotion of religious or political activity, including any flags and emblems associated
• Retrospective funding;
• Applications from statutory organisations

Timeline for Community Grants

Opening Date for applications: Wednesday 11th February 2026

Closing Date for applications: Friday 13th March 2026

Grants will be awarded: June 2026

Work should begin: June/July 2025

CFNI is hosting a how-to webinar on Thursday 19 February at 11am to support charities in their application. This covers information relevant to both the Impact and the Community awards including the criteria and the application form. Sign up to the webinar here.

We recommend that applicants attend this webinar to find out more about the criteria and how to apply. 

Governance Documents:

Before submitting your completed application please upload the following supporting documents.  All documents must be in the name of the applicant organisation.

• A copy of your most recent accounts or up to date income and expenditure.
  • Annual accounts should include unabridged financial statements for the year, or where relevant, a monthly profit and loss for the year.
  • All applicants must declare their organisation’s annual income on the application form, and this will be verified in your most recent annual accounts.

• A copy of a current account bank statement for your organisation’s bank account.
  • This must be in the same name as your constitution, dated within the past three months.  If the bank statement is overdrawn, please provide an explanation as to why the account is overdrawn.  The Foundation staff will then consider this explanation in line with our due diligence policies and procedures.

If you have NOT applied to the Community Foundation for NI in the last twelve months, please also upload the following supporting documents.  All documents must be in the name of the applicant organisation.  

• The Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association.
  • This must show the mission statement or main objects of the organisation, how any donations will be used.
  • This document must be signed.
  • For the purposes of this grant round, children and/or young people should core or central to the charitable objectives.

• A copy of your equality / equal opportunities policy. 
• A copy of your child safeguarding and adult safeguarding policies. 

If you do not submit the correct governance documents, your application will not be considered for funding.

Reporting requirements 

All grantees will be required to submit an interim and Final Report during the project. Interim reports will be due at the end of January 2027 and final reports will be due in July 2027.

Where a project or budget change is required, approval from CFNI must be sought ahead of time.

In 2025 the success rate for applications to this fund was 32%.

Please note: The Community Foundation now uses a new Fundseeker Portal for all applications and monitoring. If this is your first time applying, or your first time accessing the portal, we recommend reading the ‘How to Apply’ guide before starting your application.

For further information and to find out if your group or project is eligible, please contact the grants team on 028 9024 5927 or email applications@communityfoundationni.org.