The Arthur Guinness Fund for Social Entrepreneurs

This week Guinness announced the setting up of the Arthur Guinness Fund (AGF) as a part of the celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Guinness lease at St. James’s Gate (you may have seen some of the ads on TV over the last couple of days). The fund builds on the philanthropic legacy of the Guinness family and aims to raise up to €2.5m over the coming months. The exciting news from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s perspective is that the fund will be specifically targeted at social entrepreneurs, and aims to support 25 social entrepreneurs throughout the island of Ireland over the next two years. This is huge boost for social entrepreneurship, both in terms of additional funding for the sector and in terms of increased profile for social entrepreneurs.

 

In setting up the fund Guinness were conscious of the need to ensure that the entry criteria, selection process and support programme were targeted, effective, efficient and impactful. They therefore approached Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, as one of the experts in the sector, to help them design and run the selection and support programme for the fund. Sean Coughlan, CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland said, "We were delighted to support Guinness believing, as we do, that this initiative could have a very significant impact for social entrepreneurs and the communities they support and have agreed to be their partner in the development of the fund."

 

Further information on the fund can be found on the Guinness website. Full details of the entry criteria and application process will be made available within the coming months.