What is the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund?

Vhi aims to support their customers to live longer, stronger, and healthier lives. In partnership with the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF), Vhi is launching a fund of €85,000 to support young people’s health and wellbeing.

The fund will support projects that seek to strengthen resilience in young people and help them manage anxiety, with the emphasis on early intervention and prevention. Projects may work directly with young people or with the adults that surround them.

Treatment programmes or 1-1 counselling will not be eligible for funding.

The fund is looking to support projects in the six locations where Vhi have offices;
Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

To be eligible the applying organisation must;

1. Work with young people aged between 12-25 years old
2. Be a registered not-for-profit or charitable organisation
3. The organisation must have a bank account set up in the name of the organisation
4. Be registered in the Republic of Ireland and active in Ireland for the past 12 months
5. The organisation must have a child protection policy in place

What funding opportunities are available?

Awards of up to €10,000 are available with this fund.

Organisations applying for funding will be asked to submit a detailed budget breakdown of expenditure as part of their application.

Evaluation

Organisations applying for funding will have to show how their proposed project will show measurable impact in one of the following two areas;

• An increase in knowledge regarding anxiety
• A new skill learned to manage/ support anxiety

As part of your application you will be asked to detail how you plan to measure this impact and report on it

How can projects apply for the funding?

All applications will be made online via www.iyf.ie/grants

The application forms will be live online from Wednesday 14th May 2025.

How will applications be assessed?

• The IYF will assess all applications received using a scoring sheet to assess their suitability against the fund criteria
• A longlist of applications that meet all the criteria will be prepared by IYF, and these will be presented to the Expert Grants committee for evaluation
• The committee will meet to review and will agree the shortlist
• Shortlisted candidates may be called for interview
• IYF will conduct due diligence on the shortlist
• The final decision on awarding grants rests with the Vhi CSR committee
• Successful applicants will be notified and contracts issued by IYF
• Once signed contracts are received, the funds will be transferred

Criteria used to assess projects will include;

1. An assessment of impact, both in terms of the measurable outcomes for young people highlighted above and the numbers reached.
2. The sustainability of the project beyond this funding
3. Opportunity for added value from Vhi, including volunteer opportunities for Vhi staff
4. Any other funding opportunities or pro bono support the Vhi support may unlock

Timeline for use of funding;

• If your project/programme is successful in securing funding, we would request that funding is spent by 31st August 2026

Reporting;

• Awardees will be asked to submit two progress reports as part of the contract - one at the halfway stage of the programme and one on completion of the programme. IYF will provide full progress reports for completion.

Term and conditions of funding

In addition to the funding eligibility criteria as outlined above all applicants must meet the following criteria.

• The organisation must provide a copy of their annual audited accounts/end of year accounts (via link to benefacts on the online application)
• The organisation must provide a reference where requested
• Successful awardees must be willing to share photos of their project, be willing to do media interviews and speak at events

GDPR

• IYF will hold the organisation and project details which you submit with your application form so that we may inform you of future funding applications. We will only share this information with the third parties administering the application and selection process, unless we agree otherwise with you

Please note

• Late applications will not be accepted
• By sending in your application, you accept these terms and conditions. If you do not comply with these terms and conditions, you may be disqualified and may have to return any award granted. In the event that an award is not accepted, or an award is revoked, the Directors may select an alternative awardee

Note on Costs eligible for funding

• The fund will cover costs associated with running the programme, such as buying materials, venue hire, paying for a coach to do training sessions etc.
• The fund will not cover salary costs
• The fund will not support research costs

IYF reserves the right to disqualify any entrant, to change the terms and conditions without notice, or to cancel the application process at any stage

For more information on this fund please visit the Irish Youth Foundation website https://iyf.ie/vhi-health-and-wellbeing-fund-2025/or contact Aoibheann Murphy on aoibheann@iyf.ie.