The Noah Donohoe Youth Sports Fund

About the Fund:

Noah Donohoe (14) went missing from his home in South Belfast on Sunday 21st June 2020. He was a boy with many academic, sporting and artistic talents, alongside a huge generosity of spirit. His Mum Fiona has set up the Noah Foundation in his memory; a foundation to support children from all communities across Northern Ireland in as many diverse ways as possible. There is no limit to what any child can achieve given the right opportunity. Noah’s passion for life and learning will live on through this foundation.

The Noah Donohoe Youth Sports Fund aims to support young people, aged 11-18, in developing their sporting abilities and opportunities.

The Fund will support:

• Equipment & kit costs
• Coaching costs
• Venue hire
• Travel costs

How much is available:

Grants of up to £2,000 are available to support eligible costs.

Grants must be spent within 12 months of award.

Who is eligible to apply?

Constituted sports clubs, with charitable purposes, who cater for young people aged 11-18

NB: In the event that the fund is heavily oversubscribed, clubs with limited income levels will be prioritised.

You will need to demonstrate the following within your application:

• Why this funding is needed;
• How the award will make a difference to your club and enhance the sporting opportunities of the young people you support.

The Fund will not support the following:

The Community 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 there are some general things that our grant aid cannot be used for:  

• The advancement of religion. This includes organisations whose purposes include the 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
• CIC Companies 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 unrelated
• Costs that can be considered a statutory remit
• Individuals
• Retrospective costs
• Trips outside of Northern Ireland
• Capital projects
• Holiday schemes
• Parties and shopping trips

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.

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.

The fund will close on Thursday 14th May 2026 at 1:00pm.

Please note that incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.

For further information, please contact the grants team on 028 9024 5927 or email applications@communityfoundationni.org.