Empowering Donegal Communities to Tackle Global Issues Locally

As Ireland’s National Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Week gets underway, ChangeMakers Donegal is delighted to announce the launch of the ‘Seeds of Change’ 2026/2027 programme.

Community and voluntary groups across Donegal are invited to apply for a small grant of up to €650 to support projects that address a local issue with a global justice theme.

This initiative focuses on modern-day issues like climate change, hunger, migration, gender equality, and sustainable development.

It aims to raise people’s awareness of injustice and to encourage local groups to connect their efforts to global challenges such as climate change.

ChangeMakers is an Inishowen Development Partnership Initiative which is also partnered with Donegal College, Self Help Africa, Trócaire and Concern and funded by Irish Aid.

The ‘Seeds of Change’ initiative was designed to enable local community and voluntary groups to raise awareness of these global challenges, but critically, their chosen project must involve local action that links to global justice.

Cara McLoughlin, Project Worker with ChangeMakers Donegal, said the programme is about encouraging grassroots action with a global perspective.

“We want to support communities in Donegal to think globally and act locally. These small grants are an opportunity to raise awareness and inspire meaningful change through creative and impactful projects. We’d also like to encourage cross-border collaboration by reaching out to community groups in Derry who might like to get to know a Donegal-based group better,” she said.

The deadline to apply for the Seeds of Change grants is Friday, 2 October 2026 at 5pm.

Groups will receive mentoring from an experienced member of the ChangeMakers panel, and a Sustainability Certificate for their group, which could unlock further sustainable actions.

Interested groups can email [email protected] or call 086 085 0175 for more information.