Community Foundation for Northern Ireland welcomes engagements from Northern Ireland’s LGBTQIA+ Sector

14 Aug 2024

The Community Foundation has convened an engagement with LGBTQIA+ organisations across Northern Ireland to better understand the needs of this community and the organisations that support them. The roundtable event included representatives from LGBTQIA+ sector organisations as well as a range of funders from across Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Funders Forum.

Speaking about the roundtable event, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland’s Director of Grants, Orla Black, said: “As Northern Ireland’s largest independent funder, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland are committed to engaging and supporting communities. We want to deliver our grant making in a way that reflects the realities facing charities now and for the foreseeable future, and at the heart of that approach is community engagement.”

“We want to provide an opportunity for a strong and robust voice from our applicants and grantees – and welcome the important evidence and feedback provided during this event. The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland are committed to driving equity, diversity and inclusion and are proud funders of Northern Ireland’s LGBTQIA+ sector.

Director of HEReNI, Cara McCann, a grantee of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland said: “We would like to thank the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland for organising this important opportunity to engage with funders operating in Northern Ireland and to have the opportunity to  reflect on the needs of our community. Having strong relationships with funders is key to ensuring that the needs of communities can be understood and that resources are targeted at challenging the often complex and intersectional issues that impact on communities.”

“There is no doubt that a power imbalance between charities and those who fund them exist and events like this are an important opportunity to level the playing field and provide an opportunity for honest feedback on the barriers that charities experience, especially those representing minority communities. We would like to thank the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland for their ongoing support and their commitment to driving equity, diversity and inclusion.”