Funding for social enterprises: grants, wage supports and loans, and what is open now

What counts as a social enterprise

The Government's definition is a business whose core objective is a social, societal or environmental impact. It trades in goods and services on an ongoing basis, and it reinvests its surpluses in that objective instead of maximising profit for its owners.

For funding, the legal form matters more than the label. The Community Services Programme only funds a company limited by guarantee or a co-operative. Rethink Ireland asks for a not-for-profit legal form and turns away commercial companies, companies limited by shares, sole traders and individuals.

So a privately owned business with a good cause cannot get this money, however worthy the cause.

The national policy is called Trading for Impact. It runs from 2024 to 2027.

State schemes paid from the Dormant Accounts Fund

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht pays for social enterprise schemes out of the Dormant Accounts Fund, and Pobal runs them. They open as one-off calls, not all year round. Both recent ones are closed.

The 2026 scheme worked in two steps. A social enterprise first answered an open call to confirm that it was eligible. Eligible applicants were then invited to make a full application.

No date for the next call was published when we checked. New calls are announced on Pobal's Dormant Accounts Fund page.

Community Services Programme: help with wages

The Community Services Programme pays part of the wages in community organisations that deliver local services through a social enterprise model. It supports 435 organisations in 2026 on a budget of €59.4 million, and the current programme runs to 31 December 2027.

Those are the rates from 1 January 2026. The level depends on a score: how deprived the area is (40%), how many staff come from the programme's target groups (20%) and how much the service can earn for itself (40%).

• The organisation must be a company limited by guarantee or a co-operative, with its registered office in the Republic.
• It must operate on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community, and its governing document must stop surpluses and assets going to directors or members.
• It must hold a tax clearance certificate.
• At least 70% of the supported employees, not counting managers, must come from the target groups, such as people getting a jobseeker's payment.

Private for-profit companies and private individuals are not eligible. Neither are childcare providers, advocacy and lobbying organisations, counselling and mediation services, or organisations that rent out enterprise space.

New organisations can only join through an open call. The first stage of the 2026 call closed on 8 May 2026.

Rethink Ireland and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland

Rethink Ireland is a charity that runs competitive funds, some of them part-funded from Dormant Accounts. It says it has invested €16.6 million in social enterprise since 2016, across 177 projects.

Its only open fund is the AI for Good Fund, a €1.75 million fund backed by Google.org and the Department. It offers a 12-month programme for up to 30 not-for-profits, with a cash grant of up to €15,000 each. Applications close on 9 November 2026. The organisation must already be up and running, and two people must take part, one of them from senior leadership or the chair of the board.

Its earlier social enterprise funds, such as the Social Enterprise Development Fund and the Step-Up Fund, have been awarded and are closed.

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland backs the founder as much as the organisation. Both of its main programmes took applications from 23 March to 20 April 2026.

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland does not publish the amount of cash funding on its programme pages.

In Dublin city, the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards give out about €60,000 a year in grants, with mentoring. Inner City Enterprise runs them for Dublin City Council. A social enterprise can also enter the business competitions with cash prizes that any start-up can try for.

Loans: social finance

The Government set up the Social Finance Foundation in 2007 because community organisations and social enterprises found it hard to borrow from mainstream lenders. It acts as a wholesaler and lends through two partners.

• Community Finance Ireland lends from €10,000 to €600,000. It is a social lender that asks charities and clubs for no personal guarantees, and it does not lend to private businesses or individuals.
• Clann Credo is the other partner. Its website was being rebuilt when we checked, so see our page on community loans from the Inchicore-based charity lender for its last published terms.

The Foundation's loans to social enterprises stood at €5.9 million at the end of 2025.

Social loans are often used as a bridge while a grant is waiting to be paid. Community Finance Ireland lists bridging for sports capital grants and for rural development money paid through LEADER.

Microfinance Ireland cannot lend to companies limited by guarantee. That makes it the State micro-lender that most social enterprises cannot use.

How to be ready for the next call

1. Check your legal form. The State schemes want a company limited by guarantee or a co-operative, with a clause that stops surpluses and assets going to members.
2. Get a tax clearance certificate and keep it current.
3. Keep accounts that show your traded income separately from grants. The 2026 Dormant Accounts scheme was built around growing traded income.
4. Gather evidence of what you achieve. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland asks for measurable impact, such as survey results, tonnes diverted or employment rates.
5. Sign up for updates from Pobal, Rethink Ireland and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. The calls we checked in 2026 were open for four to six weeks.

Common questions