At a special presentation, representatives from Castletown GAA, including the under-14 girls’ team, gathered to receive the equipment from CFI’s Head of Community Finance (ROI), Barry Symes. Also present at the event were Club Chairman Paddy Flood and Máire Halvey, who highlighted the significance of the donation.

Máire Halvey, who selected the under-14 girls’ team for the prize, expressed her excitement about the impact of the giveaway:

“The Community Fit Giveaway is a fantastic initiative, and I’m delighted to nominate the under-14 girls’ team at Castletown GAA as chosen recipients. This team embodies the dedication and passion that grassroots sports are all about. The new training kit will help them feel more united and prepared, and it’s wonderful to see them benefit from this support. A huge thank you to Community Finance Ireland for making this possible.”

Speaking at the presentation, Paddy Flood, Chairman of Castletown GAA Club, also expressed his gratitude:

“Our club has a deep-rooted commitment to developing young players and fostering a love for the game. The Community Fit Giveaway from Community Finance Ireland allows us to provide better resources for our under-14 girls’ team. It’s not just about the training kits – it’s about the sense of pride and belonging they instil in our players. We are truly grateful to Máire for selecting our Club, to club member Eilis Kinsella Kavanagh for co-ordinating matters and to CFI for their ongoing support of grassroots sports.”

Barry Symes, Head of Community Finance (ROI), reaffirmed CFI’s dedication to investing in local sports initiatives:

“At Community Finance Ireland, we believe that sport is a powerful driver of social inclusion and community development. Castletown GAA Club embodies the spirit of teamwork, dedication, and resilience. We are delighted to support them and look forward to seeing the positive impact this initiative has on their players.”

The Community Fit Giveaway has already made a tangible difference to local clubs, with Ballymoney Ladies’ Hockey Club in Northern Ireland being the first recipient. Their club benefitted from sponsored kit bags and all-weather jackets, ensuring their players are well-equipped throughout the season.
For grassroots clubs looking to benefit from this initiative, Community Finance Ireland encourages applications through their mailing list. If your sports team could use support, sign up today and be in with a chance to receive the next Community Fit Giveaway award.

For more updates, follow Community Finance Ireland on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post Castletown GAA Club Receives Community Fit Giveaway Award from Community Finance Ireland appeared first on Community Finance Ireland.

The Community Fit scheme launched by Community Finance Ireland in late 2024 is an opportunity for CFI to give back to grassroots sports clubs who are an integral part of the social finance infrastructure. Each quarter the scheme awards £1,000 to a club in Northern Ireland and €1,000 to a club in the Republic of Ireland towards the acquisition of sponsored team kit items by means of a giveaway.

Ballymoney Hockey Club was set up by two Dalriada students Eilish Gillan and Jayne Thompson in 1984 as an outlet for girls and women who wanted to play hockey. In the intervening years the club has grown from strength to strength and the club now fields four teams and boast over 200 minis and juniors members.

The club has achieved major successes over the years including winning the Irish Senior Cup in 2001 and more recently the European Club of the Year in 2021. The club’s players Lynsey McVicker, Bridget Cleland, Katie Mullan, Megan Frazer have all gone on to captain the Ireland team and 13-year-old Sammy Jo Greer became the youngest goalkeeper in Ulster and Irish Hockey’s history.

Emma Creelman, Treasurer of Ballymoney Ladies’ Hockey Club, says the equipment provided by CFI was a huge help for the club. She said:

“The new kit bags and all-weather jackets will make a massive difference to the girls and women on the team. Playing hockey outdoors in the winter months can be tough going and having the new jackets in particular will help us keep warm during training sessions. It means that the money that we would have spent on these items can be redirected to other areas of the club. A huge thank you to Cllr Kane and Community Finance Ireland.”

Donal Traynor, Group Chief Executive for Community Finance Ireland who visited the Club earlier this month to present them with their new kit items, said:

“At Community Finance Ireland, we are delighted to support Ballymoney Hockey Club with sponsored equipment that empowers them to grow their success on the field. The club’s commitment to providing a sporting facility for the local community of Ballymoney aligns perfectly with our mission to invest in sporting initiatives that drive positive social change.”

If you are involved in your local sports team and want to be considered for future Community Fit awards, sign up to Community Finance Ireland’s mailing list here to be eligible.

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This significant accomplishment reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence in serving our clients and advancing positive social impact.

The ISO 9001 standard is built upon a set of quality management principles, including a strong customer focus, active involvement of top management, a process-oriented approach, and continuous improvement. By adhering to these principles, we have established a solid foundation for organizational excellence.

Benefits to CFI and Our Clients
This achievement brings several advantages to both Community Finance Ireland and our valued clients:

Increased Efficiencies: With all our processes aligned and comprehended by every member of our organization, we can enhance the efficiency of our internal controls, streamlining our operations and ensuring optimal performance.

Enhanced Reputation: The ISO 9001 accreditation further strengthens our reputation as a credible and genuine charity and social enterprise. It underscores our dedication to advocating for positive social impact and demonstrates our commitment to delivering high-quality services.

Clear Objectives and Commitment: By assessing the overall context of our organization and understanding the expectations of those affected by our work, we can clearly define our objectives. This enables us to showcase our unwavering commitment to excellence and the pursuit of our mission.

Customer Focus: We reaffirm our dedication to putting our customers first, consistently meeting their needs, and enhancing their satisfaction. This recognition ensures that our clients’ experience with Community Finance Ireland remains at the heart of everything we do.

Compliance and Governance: Attaining the ISO 9001 accreditation guarantees that we meet the necessary statutory and regulatory requirements, strengthening our compliance and governance practices.

We extend our gratitude to our dedicated team, whose hard work and commitment have made this achievement possible. We are excited about the opportunities this accreditation brings and the continued positive impact we can make together.

The post Community Finance Ireland Achieves ISO 9001 Quality Management System Accreditation appeared first on Community Finance Ireland.

The report published today highlights the following key takeaways:

• Ulster Region: £2.8m (€3.2m) of loans into 28 organisations
• Leinster Region: £3.1m (€3.5m) of loans into 38 organisations
• Munster Region: £0.9m (€1.0m) of loans into 16 organisations
• Connacht Region: £0.6m (€0.7m) of loans into 7 organisations
• £6.5m to 231 communities via much needed grant payments funded by the Department of Communities NI and in collaboration with NICVA
• £5.8m in loan support to 186 SME clients through the management of the Invest NI sponsored NISBLF Fund II since 2018, in collaboration with Enterprise Northern Ireland.

With a client portfolio, whose core assets are predominately its volunteers, the 89 projects saw their own belief mirrored back to them and secured term or bridging loans which supported them in:

• Providing access to facilities and services for their local area

• Expanding their businesses and growing their memberships

• Improving their sustainability and helping them achieve their long-term goals

In what was another extraordinary year for the history the organisation and for the communities and citizens on the island Donal Traynor Group Chief Executive highlighted the following in his welcome video message:

To learn more about Community Finance Ireland and discover the inspiring stories of the organisations we supported in 2022, please visit here.

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The report published today highlights the following key takeaways:

Northern Ireland

• £2m of loans into 14 local projects;

• £7.2m to 354 charities via much needed grant payments in collaboration with Department of Communities NI and NICVA; and

• £4.4m to 152 SME clients through the management of NISBLF Fund II since 2018.

Republic of Ireland

• €2.2m of loans into 26 projects in the Leinster Region;

• €1.2m of loans into 15 projects in the Munster Region;

• €0.1m of loans into 4 projects in the Connacht Region; and

• €1m of loan approvals into 17 projects in Ulster (excluding NI).

With a client portfolio, whose core assets are predominately its volunteers, the 76 projects saw their own belief mirrored back to them and secured term or bridging loans which supported them in:

• Keeping their doors open;

• Pivoting their business;

• Ensuring their viability when their services were needed more than ever; and

• Ensuring their sustainability as the island transitions to a new normal.

In what was another extraordinary year for the history the organisation and for the communities and citizens on the island of Ireland Donal Traynor Group Chief Executive said the following:

“Our team continue to ensure social impact is felt not just dreamt and 2021 was no different. Dreams were realised and progress was felt right across the island. Choose change is indeed the mantra of the sector and the volunteers who keep it vibrant. We are delighted to be part of that change, whilst recognising there is always more to do.”.

Donal Traynor, Group Chief Executive Community Finance Ireland

View the report in full here.

The post Community Finance Ireland Annual Report Launches and 76 Community and Social Enterprises Avail of Social Finance in 2021 appeared first on Community Finance Ireland.

The new fund will make flexible loans of €10,000-€500,000 available to sports organisations seeking to make a change in their local community whether that is to renovate changing or training facilities for their players and participants, or to improve local infrastructure that makes their club grounds more accessible for the local community.

The fund launched today at an online event, ‘Financial As Well As Physical Fitness Is Key To Success’, with panellists including Sinead Reel, Chairperson of Armagh Ladies’ GAA County Board, sports journalist with the Irish Times Joanne O’Riordan, and Irish Olympian Brendan Boyce who trains at the Community Finance Ireland funded Finn Valley Athletics Club in Donegal.

Speaking at the launch, Anne Graham, Community Finance Ireland Client Relationship Manager said:

“Our athletes have been blazing a trail across tracks, pitches and pools, and inspiring our next generation of sporting heroes. While it’s been a summer to celebrate, it’s also challenged all of us to consider how much more we could achieve, how much more support we could provide our aspiring Olympians or All-Stars, with greater investment in grassroots facilities and clubs.

Every community will be looking to their local pitch, climbing wall or tennis court to see where improvements can be made to upgrade equipment, develop more accessible and inclusive facilities, or perhaps to make the circuit around a pitch or track a safe public walkway for the community to keep active on those darker winter nights by installing floodlights.

Wherever a club sees an opportunity to invest in their local community, we want to put the power to make that change into their hands with fast, flexible, fair loans that can be used to bridge gaps in their funding, unlock drawdown of government grants, or provide much-needed project finance.

We work closely with sports clubs across the country, in fact they make up over a third of the organisations we work with, so we know what they need. We know that volunteers and board members aren’t in a position to provide personal guarantees, so we don’t ask for them; we know funding streams can be unpredictable, so we don’t change our interest rates or hand out penalties for early or lump-sum repayments”.

Anne Graham- Client Relationship Manager, Community Finance Ireland

Patsy McGonagle, Chairman of Finn Valley Athletics Club, worked with Community Finance Ireland to make essential improvements to their grounds in 2013.  He said:

“We’re providing a modern facility in an area where there’s very little opportunity. The mental impact that’s had on the community, the physical and social impact – it’s all positive. When there was a shortfall and we needed money, Community Finance Ireland’s welcome and their approach made it a win-win for us big time. They were very responsive, easy to work with. It was a great experience. The facility would not exist were we not to get that finance.”

Patsy McGonagle- Chairman, Finn Valley Athletics Club

Here’s What You Need to Know

1. What loan product types are available?

• Short term bridging loans to facilitate retrospective drawing of grant support (interest only, plus grant upon redemption).
• Longer term loans with bespoke repayment schedules.

2. What geography does the fund cover?

• Northern Ireland, Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.

3. What is the loan range?

• £10k – £500k (NI).
• €10k – €500k (RoI).

4. What is the term range?

• 1 month – 180 months.

5. What is the interest rate?

• Maximum 6.25%*, calculated on a reducing balance.
• *The lowest maximum rate across the island.

6. Is there an arrangement fee?

• No*
• *The only bridging product available across the entire island to do so.

7. What security is required?

• None on bridging loans.
• Most of our term loans are also unsecured.
• No Personal Guarantees are required.

8. Is there an Early Repayment penalty?

• No.

9. How long does a loan decision take?

• 48 hours for any loan request of up to £/€200k once we have all of your final information.
• Up to 4-6 weeks for loan request in excess of £/€200k.

10. How do I apply?

• You can get started now by clicking here and completing an online application.
• Or if you need to chat to us first click here and we will arrange a follow up call with either Phelim, Peter, Emmett, Barry, Nora or Anne depending on where you and your team are located.

The post Community Finance Ireland Launch New €5m All-Island Sports Fund to support the next generation of heroes appeared first on Community Finance Ireland.

The new fund will make flexible loans of £10,000-£500,000 available to sports organisations seeking to make a change in their local community whether that is to renovate changing or training facilities for their players and participants, or to improve local infrastructure that makes their club grounds more accessible for the local community.

The fund launched today at an online event, ‘Financial As Well As Physical Fitness Is Key To Success’, with panellists including Sinead Reel, Chairperson of Armagh Ladies’ GAA County Board, sports journalist for the Irish Times Joanne O’Riordan, and Irish Olympian Brendan Boyce who trains at the Community Finance Ireland funded Finn Valley Athletics Club in Donegal.

Speaking at the event, Phelim Sharvin, Head of Community Finance (NI) at Community Finance Ireland said:

“The considerable appetite for finance from the sports sector shows no signs of slowing down, with almost a third of queries to our website coming through from sports clubs . 

The success of NI sports people this summer has meant that there’s increasing demands on clubs who are experiencing growing membership and interest in their offerings.  We know that the flexibility of the loan terms, alongside the speedy decision-making process makes this an attractive product for sports clubs. 

With just over a third of loan applications last year coming from the sports sector, this is an area Community Finance Ireland know really well.  In the period June 2020-June 2021, queries from sports organisations were higher than ever with roughly a quarter of these approaches coming from Northern Ireland. Interest from GAA and football clubs continues to be strong, however we’re starting to see engagement from less traditional disciplines like gymnastics and cricket where increasing membership requires additional space and therefore investment in facilities.” 

Phelim Sharvin- Head of Community Finance (NI), Community Finance Ireland

Flight Gymnastics in County Antrim, a client of Community Finance Ireland since 2017, has experienced a 300%+ increase in membership in the past 24 months. Andrew O’Hare and Judith Hindes attribute recent growth in part to the Olympics, but more so coming out of lockdown and the need younger people have to develop much needed fundamental movement and social interaction skills greatly affected over the last 18 months.  

Andrew O’Hare from Flight Gymnastics said:

“We’ve been working with Community Finance Ireland since 2017, accessing finance for working capital and the installation of a specialist heating system in our premises. The relationship we have with the team means they know our business and how we work and the fast decision-making process means that we can be as flexible as possible in responding to the changing needs of our members.  Due to a significant increase in our membership base we’re currently looking at expanding our premises and we know that Community Finance Ireland understands how important this facility will be, not only to us but to our members and their families.”

Andrew O’Hare, Flight Gymnastics

Here’s What You Need to Know

1. What loan product types are available?

• Short term bridging loans to facilitate retrospective drawing of grant support (interest only, plus grant upon redemption).
• Longer term loans with bespoke repayment schedules.

2. What geography does the fund cover?

• Northern Ireland, Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.

3. What is the loan range?

• £10k – £500k (NI).
• €10k – €500k (RoI).

4. What is the term range?

• 1 month – 180 months.

5. What is the interest rate?

• Maximum 6.25%*, calculated on a reducing balance.
• *The lowest maximum rate across the island.

6. Is there an arrangement fee?

• No*
• *The only bridging product available across the entire island to do so.

7. What security is required?

• None on bridging loans.
• Most of our term loans are also unsecured.
• No Personal Guarantees are required.

8. Is there an Early Repayment penalty?

• No.

9. How long does a loan decision take?

• 48 hours for any loan request of up to £/€200k once we have all of your final information.
• Up to 4-6 weeks for loan request in excess of £/€200k.

10. How do I apply?

• You can get started now by clicking here and completing an online application.
• Or if you need to chat to us first click here and we will arrange a follow up call with either Phelim, Peter, Emmett, Barry, Nora or Anne depending on where you and your team are located.

The post Community Finance Ireland Launch New £5m All-Island Sports Fund in Anticipation of Increased Demand from Sports Clubs appeared first on Community Finance Ireland.

The report published today highlights the following key takeaways:

Northern Ireland

• £3.1 m of loan approvals into 37 local projects;
• £9.1m to 315 social enterprises via much needed grant payments in collaboration with Department of Communities NI and SENI; and
• £ 4.1m to 140 SME clients through the management of NISBLF Fund II.

Republic of Ireland

• £2.6m/ €2.7m of loan approvals into 37 projects in the Leinster Region;
• £1.4m./ €1.67m of loan approvals into 32 projects in the Munster Region;
• £0.6m./ €0.5m of loan approvals into 25 projects in the Connaught Region; and
• £4.4m/€4.6m of loan approvals into 72 projects in Ulster (including NI).

With a client portfolio, whose core assets are predominately its volunteers, the 169 projects saw their own belief mirrored back to them and secured term or bridging loans which supported them in:

• Keeping their doors open;
• Pivoting their business;
• Ensuring their viability when their services were needed more than ever; and
• Ensuring their sustainability as the island transitions to a new normal.

In what was an extraordinary year for the history the organisation and for the communities and citizens on the island of Ireland Donal Traynor Group Chief Executive said the following:

“The combined market conditions of Brexit and Covid left us all a little shaken in 2020. Yet it also stirred in us a reminder of the importance of access to social finance and the resilience of communities across our shared island.

Our partners in NI: Invest NI and Enterprise NI and Department for Communities, and in ROI SFF, Rethink Ireland and DCU also stepped up and showed their support to the ongoing sustainability and viability of the NFP sector.

It was a year like no other and yet we can confidently say that we supported both our clients and key stakeholders achieve great things and ensured that, when we were asked to stay apart we came together in ways that we could have only imagined.

As a result, we have much to admire and be proud of as our ongoing promise to ensure social impact is felt not simply dreamt continues”.

Donal Traynor, Group Chief Executive Community Finance Ireland

View the report in full here.

The post Community Finance Ireland Annual Report Launches and 169 Community and Social Enterprise Projects Avail of Social Finance in 2020 appeared first on Community Finance Ireland.

With a current all island client portfolio that makes up 37% of our activity, our team have and continue to seek new ways in facilitating sporting excellence and enthusiasm across the island of Ireland. Our support remained during Covid-19 and we will be on hand again as each of us navigate new terrain and a new normal.

Our genuine commitment to sport runs very deep in our organisation. This is showcased again as we launch our first €/£5 m All Island Sports Loan Fund. Open to all those change-makers across the island of Ireland who may realise that despite Covid disruptions, the ability to gather, train, play and compete plays a key role in our personal and community connections.

The theme of this event is Financial as well as physical fitness is key to success. The panel will discuss the importance of financial and physical fitness and detail how our new £/€5 million All-Island Sports Loan Fund can support sports club’s activity.

Our Speakers

Phelim Sharvin | Head of Community Finance NI, Community Finance Ireland

Phelim is a Chartered Banker and holds a Masters degree in European Regional Development, Economics & Business Management. He joined Community Finance Ireland in 2002, bringing with him nearly 20 years’ experience in the Social Finance sector and Portfolio Management. He has helped develop tailored loan products and bespoke loan funds in the local Sports, Childcare, Green Energy and Start-Up Social Enterprise sectors. He is a sports enthusiast and is involved in his local GAA club.

Anne Graham | Client Relationship Manager, Community Finance Ireland

Anne joined Community Finance Ireland in April 2021 as our Client Relationship Manager for Connacht and her native Donegal. Anne has over 25 years’ experience working across financial services in business development, business lending, and financial advice and credit control roles. Anne holds an MBA from University of Ulster and a QFA Diploma from the Institute of Bankers. When not working with clients, Anne spends her time running and has recently taken up sea swimming on the beautiful shores of Lough Swilly. Family time is a priority at weekends and if not attending Football or GAA matches, Anne enjoys cooking and making the most of beautiful outdoors in Donegal

Joanne O’Riordan | Sports Journalist for the Irish Times and Activist

Joanne O’Riordan studied criminology in University College Cork (UCC) and is only one of seven people in the world living with a rare physical disability known as Total Amelia. Joanne is an activist for people with disabilities, a motivational speaker and a sports columnist with the Irish Times. Joanne has spoken before the UN and was named Young Person of the Year at the People of the Year awards in 2012. Joanne also appears in the 2013 documentary No Limbs No Limits. Joanne recently travelled to Japan in 2021 to cover the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Brendan Boyce | Olympic Race Walker and Sports Ambassador

Brendan Boyce is an accomplished sportsman who has competed three times in the Olympics in the sport of race walking. Most recently he finished tenth in the 50km walk event in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. A native of County Donegal, Brendan has benefitted from Community Finance Ireland’s investment in Finn Valley Athletics Club. Brendan now lives in Midleton and trains in Cork City. Brendan has been vocal on sporting issues that he feels are unjust, recently using his influence to speak out about the International Olympic Committee (IOC) giving itself power to remove sports from the Olympic program.

Sinead Reel | Chairperson Armagh Ladies’ GAA County Board

Sinead Reel is a lifelong GAA player and fan. For Sinead, Sport is very much a family affair with both her father and her brother also sharing her love for competing on the GAA pitch. Sinead made history by building the first and only dedicated female changing and playing pitch in Co. Armagh. Her dedication to sport in her local community has not only helped to develop new state of the art playing facilities but has also created employment opportunities and helped to advance opportunities for the next generation of players.

Register Now

To reserve your place, simply register with Eventbrite below:

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The extent of their investment in communities across Ireland was detailed in the first all-island impact report launched last month. At the launch, Dónal Traynor, Associate Director of Community Finance Ireland spoke about the importance of access to social finance as communities recover from Covid-19.

“With the fallout from the pandemic, we anticipate a reduction in grant funding to the community sector generally, so- in the coming years- social finance will play an increasingly vital role in supporting grassroots community organisations and social enterprises. At the same time, Covid-19 has starkly shown the importance of community solidarity, ‘social capital’ and sustainability within communities.”

Dónal Traynor, Associate Director of Community Finance Ireland

As Ireland’s and the UK’s fastest-growing social finance provider, the organisation works with groups that drive social impact, including sports clubs, social housing organisations, community projects, faith-based groups and social enterprises.

Mr Traynor said:

“We can provide loans ranging from €30,000 up to €500,000 and our finance products are specifically tailored for the community sector. We have waived arrangement fees to make loans as accessible and cost-effective as possible, we have a quick turnaround time for lending decisions, and- given the organisations we lend to are typically run by volunteers- we do not ask for personal guarantees. There has been a default rate of just 0.75% on our loans since 2008, which is low by any standard and particularly when you consider that many of our loans are made available on an unsecured basis. This is in no small part due to the strong relationship which we have developed with communities over time.”

Dónal Traynor, Associate Director of Community Finance Ireland

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