The ESB's Energy for Generations Fund disbursed through a quarterly fund to charities working in the areas of suicide prevention, homelessness and education access and support.

ESB has been supporting initiatives in the areas of suicide prevention and homelessness since 2005. The Energy for Generations Fund introduced a new focus on education in 2014, which recognises the need for educational supports at all levels to ensure that Ireland has the skills it needs to compete effectively.

The aim with the Energy for Generations Fund is to maximise the impact of investment by taking a more strategic approach to effect change. Funding is only part of the jigsaw – the fund also wants to leverage the skills and knowledge has within the company to bring about more sustainable and positive outcomes.

Priority Areas

• Suicide:
  • The program will fund services and projects working to promote positive mental health and to build capacity, skills and training to make effective suicide prevention interventions.
  • The program has a particular interest in funding programmes with a focus on youth suicide and positive mental health promotion for young people
• Homelessness:
  • The program will fund services and projects benefiting homeless people and those at risk of homelessness.
• Educational Access and Support:
  • Early years and early primary school projects focusing on literacy and numeracy;
  • Secondary level proposals promoting science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM);
  • Adult education return-to-education programmes aimed at those long-term out of work.

Funding Information

• Each year the Fund awards €1 million in direct funding through a quarterly fund to charities working in the priority areas.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply to ESB’S Energy for Generations Fund, projects must meet the following criteria:

• The project must operate in one of the priority areas
• The proposed projects should:
  • Be informed by evidence and focused on outcomes
  • Provide tangible and local benefits
  • Be sustainable after ESB funding ends
  • Leave a lasting legacy in local communities
• The project must be located within the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
• The ESB Energy for Generations Fund does not support:
  • Individuals and individual fundraisers
  • Administrative or operating costs
  • Salary expenses
  • Third party fundraising (e.g. fundraising events)
  • High risk ventures
  • Retrospective funding
  • Community counselling services
  • Single school applications and school completion projects
  • Overseas work

For more information, visit Energy for Generations Fund.