Irish Museum of Modern Arts and ECO-UNESCO win Movement for Good larger grant awards

For the fourth year running, the Benefact Group, which owns Ecclesiastical Insurance in Ireland, is giving away over €1million to charities through the Movement for Good Awards across Ireland and the UK.

Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and ECO-UNESCO are amongst the 31 charities that were chosen by a panel of judges to receive a share of €500,000 in grants. These are larger grants intended to support longer-term projects in four key sectors: community; education and skills; environment and climate; and heritage and arts.

Home to the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, IMMA is a space where contemporary art and life connect, challenge and inspire one another through a world-class exhibition programme and innovative community engagement. They will receive a grant of £15,000 (euro equivalent) which will allow the charity to present Unseen Traces, a community outreach project developed in collaboration with New Communities Partnership, Ireland's largest independent migrant-led national network. Scheduled to take place at IMMA in Spring/Summer 2023, this project will increase the relevancy of the Museum to under-served audiences, engaging with community groups across Ireland.

ECO-UNESCO is Ireland's leading national youth environmental education organisation that works to conserve the environment and empower young people. The £50,000 (euro equivalent) grant will allow the charity to reach more young people in schools, youth organisations and clubs around the island of Ireland and give them the skills to address the ongoing climate and biodiversity emergency. The funding will also enable them to continue the Young Environmentalist Awards, which is the only all-Ireland environmental awards programme that recognises and rewards young people who engage in action projects to improve the environment and raise environmental awareness amongst their peers, schools and communities.

The Movement for Good awards is designed to help charities make a real difference in their communities. More than 500 charities applied for the funding, which is being put towards the advancement of heritage and arts, education, rural and community, climate, human rights and equality. The winning projects were selected against four criteria: impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.

For more information about Movement for Good, including how to take part, visit www.movementforgood.com