Highlights of the year 2006

 CONTRIBUTIONS

• Over 3,000 donors worldwide contributed to
  The Ireland Funds in 2006, including over 900
  first time donors.
• The Funds’ Endowment, which includes over 50 Donor Advised Funds, now stands at over $8 million
• The Ireland Funds in Ireland secured support from leading Irish companies which covered running costs for 2006.

 GRANTS

• $1 million was committed to the Sesame Street Northern Ireland project. This will allow Sesame Workshop to create unique programming addressing sectarian attitudes in children in Northern Ireland.
• $1 million was committed to build two new integrated schools: Oakwood Integrated Pre-school and Rowallane Integrated College.
• Over 230 projects were supported in 2006.

 EVENTS

• Over 100 events were held in 39 cities in 11 countries attended by 40,000 supporters.
• The 2006 New York Dinner Gala raised over $4 million dollars, making it the most successful fundraiser in the history of The Ireland Funds.
• The Boston Dinner Gala celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006 with over 1,000 in attendance.
• The Young Leaders made an inaugural visit to Ireland to see the impact of their philanthropic work and meet with supporters.
• The Young Leaders’ Mentoring Program matched the next generation of Irish-American leadership with leading AIF donors.
• The Ireland Funds’ hosted their eighth seminar Promoting Philanthropy in Ireland which was attended by over 300 members of Ireland’s not-for-profit sector.
• The inaugural Women of The American Ireland Fund Luncheon was held in San Francisco attracting over 300 supporters.

 CONFERENCE

• The annual June Conference in Dublin attracted donors from 7 countries around the world.
• The 35th AWB Vincent AIF Literary Award was presented to novelist and short-story writer, Eugene McCabe.

  COMMUNICATIONS

• Connect Magazine is circulated to over 27,000 supporters in 11 countries.
• The Ireland Funds’ website received an average of over
  80,000 unique visitors a month.
• Over 8,500 supporters received regular e-News updates via e-mail.