Highlights 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 €6 million.

 SPONSORSHIP

• The Ireland Funds in Ireland secured support from leading Irish companies which covered running costs for 2006.

 GRANTS

• Over €6 million was awarded in grants to more than 300 projects throughout Ireland. See list inside.
• €750,000 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.

 EVENTS

• 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 document 101 Fundraising Tips was launched as a practical guide for organisations raising funds in Ireland.
• Over 100 events were held in 39 cities in 11 countries attended by 40,000 supporters
• The 2006 New York Dinner Gala raised over €3 million, 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.

 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.