Funding options

On the purely “asking” end of the spectrum are donations. This is a huge category that includes all types of fundraising from the public, corporates, and philanthropists. It covers everything from small bucket collections to large-scale crowdfunding campaigns and everything in between.

Donations allow organisations to pinpoint the areas where they need support and raise funds accordingly. This is often harder to do with grants or contracts, where the funder’s objectives take priority. Donations can also enable organisations to respond quickly to urgent needs. For example, after a natural disaster, humanitarian charities often launch targeted appeals to meet immediate challenges.

While fundraising comes with the responsibility to remain transparent and accountable to donors, it also provides a uniquely flexible and responsive source of income to help meet the needs of your community. 

A step beyond “asking” is grants. While still a form of asking, grants are more transactional. You are applying for funding from an agency (such as a government programme, the EU, or a foundation) in exchange for carrying out specific activities and delivering agreed outcomes. Grants can be a valuable source of income, but they are usually one-off investments.

While some may fund capital costs, such as buildings or equipment, this is increasingly rare. More commonly, grants support the creation or pilot of new programmes, campaigns, or resources. There may sometimes be opportunities to apply for further grants to expand successful innovations, but this is never guaranteed. In general, grants provide a one-time injection of funding to fast-track a particular objective or to test new ideas.

Helpful hint: Keeping track of grant opportunities can be a challenge. To mitigate this, The Wheel offers a subscription to its Fundingpoint newsletter, which will keep you informed of all grants available to charities, community groups and social enterprises in Ireland.

Moving closer to the “earning” side are contracts. These typically involve payment for delivering a service or programme, often outsourced by the State to community organisations.

Contracts tend to run longer term, frequently on a multi-annual basis, though they may require periodic re-application. Unlike grants, which focus on innovation and short-term projects, contracts are often about the ongoing delivery of services. This can include everything from a charity being contracted to deliver largescale homelessness supports to a community café winning a contract to provide all catering to a local council. 

At the far end of the spectrum is trading, which means earning income through the sale of goods or services. This is often associated with social enterprises, which are businesses that aim primarily to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact. 

However, many charities and nonprofits also generate income, even if they do not identify as social enterprises. For example, The Wheel is first and foremost a charity, but we earn income through training fees and membership charges. Many other organisations do the same, whether through charity shops, ticket sales, or other activities.