Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund FAQs
Here's what you need to know about the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund.
What is The Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund?
Now in its 13th year, the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund was set up in 2011 to mark the 125th anniversary of the company.
Over the years, the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund has supported projects including education and employability, community inclusion and environmental leadership aimed at young people aged 16–25-year-olds. To date €1,365,000 has been awarded to over 135 non-profit organisations across the island of Ireland.
This year The Coca‑Cola Company and its partner Coca‑Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland are joining forces to double the size and impact of the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund making €200,000 of grants available for projects across the island of Ireland that empower young people to drive positive change in their local communities through learning, inclusion and sustainable development.
In addition to the increased funding being made available The Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund will be managed this year by official partner to the Fund, the Irish Youth Foundation in the Republic of Ireland, and with supporting partner YouthAction NI in Northern Ireland. Both organisations will play a pivotal role in helping to oversee the due diligence and credibility of the Fund and ensure that awareness of the funding being made available reaches the target sectors in communities throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland.
What is this year’s theme?
In 2023, the Fund will focus on one overall theme: Empowering Young People Through Learning, Inclusion & Sustainable Development.
Under this theme, the Fund is seeking applications from community-based projects and programmes across Ireland and Northern Ireland that are focused on empowering young people aged 16-25 by engaging in models of innovative and inclusive practise under the following three focus areas:
1. Empowering Learning – Help us understand how your work is empowering young people who may otherwise be at risk of early school leaving or low education attainment to access supportive interventions that will empower and equip them to successfully transition into skills-based opportunities, mentorship opportunities, further learning opportunities and employment opportunities.
2. Empowering Sustainable Development – Help us understand how your work is empowering young people to address the theme of sustainability in their lives. We are looking to support projects and programmes that are focused on education, action and awareness building around areas including, but not limited to, biodiversity, circularity of economy and packaging, sustainable diets and food waste.
3. Empowering Inclusion – Help us understand how your work is empowering young people to engage in models of innovative social practise and bringing people together. We want to support projects and programmes that are focused on breaking down barriers and building friendships.
How will the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund be allocated in 2023?
In 2023, Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund grants totalling €200,000 will be awarded to registered not-for-profit and charitable youth-focused organisations working with young people across Ireland and Northern Ireland aged between 15 – 25 years, driving positive change in their local communities through learning, inclusion and sustainable development
Awards of up to €5,000 and €10,000 will be available.
The Fund’s application form facilitates entrants in selecting which funding amount is most suitable for their project.
The judges will take this preference on board in their consultations but in some cases the funding awarded may be higher or lower than that requested.
How are the winning organisations selected?
All applications will be accepted online through our website which links to an application form hosted on the Irish Youth Foundations grants platform. Please read our Terms and Conditions to check if your organisation and project is eligible for the Fund. We also have top tips for completing the online application form.
Organisations applying for funding will have to show how their proposed project will show impact in one of the following three areas:
1. Empowering young people at risk of low education attainment to access pathways to meaningful opportunities for the future, ensuring no one is left behind
2. Empowering young people to challenge how they are currently engaging with the theme of sustainability in their lives through education, action and/or awareness building
3. Empowering young people to engage in and promote inclusive practise in their community
Irish Youth Foundation will assess all applications received using a scoring sheet to determine their suitability against the fund criteria.
A longlist of applications that meet all the criteria listed in the Terms and Conditions, will be prepared by the Irish Youth Foundation and presented to the Coca‑Cola’s CSR committee for review, evaluation and selection.
Who will make up the judging panel?
Following the judging process, successful 2023 Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund recipients will be awarded funding in amounts determined by the Coca‑Cola CSR committee panel (€5,000 and €10,000) and will be announced no later than July 2023.
The successful recipients will be notified personally and published on our website: https://www.coca-cola.com/ie/en/social/thank-you-fund.
What role is the Irish Youth Foundation playing as official partner to the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund this year?
As partner to the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund, the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) will be managing the application process this year, helping to oversee the due diligence and credibility of the Fund. The IYF team will be ensuring all applicants have the information required to complete and submit applications and will also support the panel of judges across the review process.