Openreach Community Fund

The Openreach Community Fund was established with capital from BT, management and unions.  It exists to support small, locally based grassroots community projects.

Who can apply:

Constituted grass roots community and voluntary groups

Criteria:

Priority will be given to applications from small groups, typically with an annual income of less than £200,000, as evidenced in most recent set of accounts

Projects must aim to directly support one of the following specific groups:

• Young people
• Older people
• People with disabilities

The Fund will not support projects targeting all ages.

Priority will be given to projects that will benefit groups dealing with disadvantage (e.g. rural isolation, low income, social exclusion, reduced access to services), and projects that involve the beneficiaries in their development and delivery.

In the event of oversubscription, priority will be given to lower income organisations

Examples of types of projects that may be supported within Fund themes:

• Community education and training opportunities
• Communication and leadership skills
• Local initiatives to improve resources and community facilities
• Creativity and self-expression through drama, music or a range of arts activities
• Inclusion and involvement of disadvantaged communities
• Out of school projects for young people

We will not fund:

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 Openreach Community 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
• Promotion of religious or political activity, including any flags and emblems that may deem to be associated with such
• Community Interest Companies (CICs) Limited by Shares, or CICs without an asset lock clause.  Eligible CICs must have at least three unrelated committee members, and/or the majority of the committee must be unrelated
• Individuals
• Salary costs and ongoing running costs
• Capital projects and large equipment (generally over £1,000)
• Trips outside Northern Ireland, holidays away and one-off residentials are ineligible, however, trips may be eligible within Northern Ireland at the panel’s discretion as long as they are essential to a longer term project
• Sports activities
• Funding for projects that are already taking place and looking for retrospective funding
• Replacement for statutory funding
• Portable IT equipment (except in exceptional circumstances and at panel’s discretion, for example IT equipment for disabled beneficiaries which is specialised and necessary for their development)

Guidance for Applicants

Openreach is interested in supporting groups that are funded by the Openreach Community Fund by offering potential volunteering help from their staff.  Please tick the box below if you are interested in availing of the volunteering support and confirm that you are happy for us to share your contact details with Openreach.

Please read the following text before beginning your application. 

• You are a locally based not-for-profit, voluntary or community group working in Northern Ireland to improve the quality of life for local people
• You have an active management committee, with no two related cheque signatories
• You have a governing document, i.e. Constitution in the name of the applicant organisation
• You have a current bank account in the name of your organisation
• You have up to date annual accounts
• You have complied with the conditions of previous grants including submission of monitoring returns

In 2024 the success rate for applications to this fund was 36%. 

If you have any queries regarding this fund, then please contact the Grants Team via e-mail applications@communityfoundationni.org.