Roscommon community groups can benefit from a €110 million investment aimed at supporting not-for-profit organisations across Ireland. This funding, provided by Community Finance Ireland (CFI), was highlighted during the FEBEA conference held at Croke Park on September 27th.
CFI’s CEO Dónal Traynor shared that the funds, invested since 2001, have supported various community initiatives, including faith-based organisations and sports clubs, as traditional lenders often struggle to meet the unique needs of the community sector. With a remarkably low default rate of below 0.5% on loans since 2008, CFI focuses on building strong relationships with the groups it supports.
Finance Minister Jack Chambers emphasised the importance of ethical financing as a tool for fostering community impact and expressed optimism about learning from European ethical finance practices. This marks the first time FEBEA has held its annual meeting in Ireland, highlighting the growing emphasis on ethical investing in the region.
Speaking to the Roscommon People, Mary Nohilly (CFI Client Relationship Manager for Roscommon) said her role includes helping “facilitate social finance solutions to those in the area, who have a project that supports social impact and needs finance”.
Mary continued: “Community involvement is a key consideration to success and to sustainability of any idea. In our experience success is almost always guaranteed when the project has community ‘buy-in’.
“Community or sports groups who approach us have a far greater chance of loan approval when we can see the commitment of the village or town behind the loan purpose. Often community involvement can be demonstrated by previous fundraising activity which is a clear indicator of community engagement”.
CFI offer bridge loans, which help a group attain the finance they need in order to avail of grant funding, as well as term loans for bigger projects.
Mary continued: “We are with the group for the duration of the loan. There is always a local contact point nearby and that seasoned navigator is very much invested in understanding what the long-term ambitions of the project are and who the people behind it are.
“What will be of key interest to sports clubs in the region is our support for the recently successful Sports Capital Grant awardees. Approximately €5 million has been awarded to applicants in Roscommon. With 51% of our client portfolio in the sports sector, we deliver fair and fast finance that immediately helps the retrospective nature of these grants. This is done by supporting the awardee with a bridging loan that helps them keep momentum and move from award to actual execution”.
If any local sports clubs or groups would like to avail of the recently announced Sports Capital Funding, you can begin the process by sending an enquiry on the CFI website: https://communityfinanceireland.com/
