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?
The Coca‑Cola Company and its bottling partner Coca‑Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland are once again coming together this year through the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund (“The Fund”), which will be operated by The Irish Youth Foundation, in partnership with Youth Action Northern Ireland, making €200,000 / £171,000 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time) of grants available for projects that empower young people through learning and sustainable development.
Now in its 14th 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, and environmental leadership aimed at young people aged between 16–25-years-old. To date €1,565,000 has been awarded to 164 non-profit organisations across the island of Ireland.
A fund of €200,000 / £171,000 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time) will be available to support community-based projects and programmes across Ireland and Northern Ireland that are focused on cultivating inclusive communities by empowering young people aged 16-25 to become skilled and engaged citizens under the pillars of learning and sustainable development.
The Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund will once again be managed 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 2024, the Fund will focus on one overall theme: Empowering Young People Through Learning and 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 either:
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, through inclusive practices. Show us how you are engaging these young people to access supportive interventions that will empower and equip them to become active members of their communities by successfully transitioning into skills based opportunities, engaging in mentorship opportunities or further learning and employment opportunities.
Specific emphasis will be placed on supporting one of the following three areas:
- Education support – e.g projects working with young people, from communities experiencing levels of disadvantage, to access additional education opportunities such as grinds, internships, mentoring and soft skills such as interview preparation, CV development and management of your online profile.*
- Upskilling opportunities – e.g programmes offering targeted skills training for young people.*
- Personal development opportunities – e.g programmes designed to build resilience and help participants develop positive coping strategies to overcome challenges in their lives.*
2. Empowering Sustainable Development Help us understand how your work is creating inclusive communities through projects designed to empower 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 / or awareness building, with specific emphasis on the following three areas:
- Climate Action e.g Projects equipping individuals, SMEs or communities with knowledge and skills to develop solutions to the environmental and climate crises. This can encompass nature restoration and water stewardship.
- Supporting the journey towards a Circular Economy e.g projects focused on designs or concepts that move away from take-make-waste models. These can be focused on eliminating pollution or waste, recycling or reuse of products or materials, or regenerating nature. This can include education and awareness initiatives around the new Deposit Return Scheme.
- Food insecurity e.g projects in the community that are designed to support reduction of food waste, combating the issue of food insecurity and hunger and education around such initiatives.
*Applications are not limited to the examples listed above. These are included to offer an idea of the types of projects we aim to support through this year’s Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund.
How will the Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund be allocated in 2024?
In 2024, Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund grants totalling €200,000/ £171,000 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time) will be awarded to registered not-for-profit and charitable youth-focused organisations working with young people across Ireland and Northern Ireland aged between 16 – 25 years, driving positive change in their local communities through learning and sustainable development.
Awards of between €8,000 - €15,000 / £6,500 - £12,500 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time) will be available.
Organisations applying for funding will be asked to submit a detailed budget breakdown of expenditure for the total funds being requested.
The final allocation of awards will be determined after all applications have been reviewed.
How can projects apply for the funding?
All applications should be made online via the Irish Youth Foundation grants platform, which will be linked from the Coca‑Cola Ireland website.
The application forms will be live online from Monday 22nd April 2024 at 10am. Closing date is Friday 24th May at 5pm.
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 two areas:
1. Empowering Learning Projects designed to create more inclusive communities that empower young people at risk of low education attainment to access learning pathways to meaningful opportunities for the future, by either:
- Gaining a new technical skill
- Increasing employment knowledge base and enhancing personal development
OR
2. Empowering Sustainable Development Projects designed to create more inclusive communities that empower young people to challenge how they are currently engaging with the theme of sustainability in their lives through one of the following lenses;
- Climate Action
- Packaging & Circularity
- Food insecurity
The 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 2024 Coca‑Cola Thank You Fund recipients will be awarded funding in amounts determined by the Coca‑Cola Social Impact committee which will include representatives from the Coca‑Cola Company, Coca‑Cola BC Ireland and Northern Ireland, Irish Youth Foundation and Youth Action Northern Ireland, (amounts of €8,000 - €15,000/ £6,500 - £12,500 (sterling figure based on conversion rates at the time)) and will be announced no later than July 2024.
The successful recipients will be notified personally and published on our website.