Irish Youth Foundation

What Irish Youth Foundation does

Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) is a registered Irish charity (CHY5957, RCN 20009878) founded in 1986 and headquartered at 24 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2. It is Ireland's only charity dedicated solely to supporting children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, operating exclusively through private philanthropy with no government funding. IYF is a grant-making foundation rather than a service-delivery organisation: it raises money from individuals, corporate partners, legacy gifts, and fundraising events, then awards grants to grassroots youth organisations and national charities across Ireland.

IYF's portfolio is structured around three focus areas — Education (7,000-children target), Health & Wellbeing (8,000-children target), and Skills & Employability (5,000-young-people target) — delivered through annual and recurring grant programmes including the Flagship Fund, Generation Pandemic Fund, Applegreen Blossom Fund, Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund, Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, Skills & Employability Fund, and IYF Bursary. It produces research such as the Generation Pandemic Report and runs campaigns like Children's Hour. IYF has raised over €20 million and supported over 2,000 projects across 38 years, with the last four years alone covering 354 projects and reaching 96,618 young people.

IYF operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees led by CEO Sarah Edmonds, supported by a Board chaired by Michael McLoughlin. Its go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer fundraising (donations, events including the Milan to Rome Charity Cycle, legacy giving) with corporate partnership development handled in-house. Distribution to grantees runs through a website-based grant application portal and direct outreach by the Grants & Programmes team. The organisation has no proprietary technology platform, no public API, and no disclosed AI capabilities; it is fully compliant with the Charities Act 2009, the Companies Act 2014, the Charity SORP (FRS102), and holds the Triple Lock mark from Charities Institute Ireland.

Name

Irish Youth Foundation

Legal name

Irish Youth Foundation

Website

https://iyf.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Irish Youth Foundation is a Dublin-based registered Irish charity that raises private donations and corporate partnership funds to award grants to grassroots organisations supporting disadvantaged children and young people across Ireland's Education, Health & Wellbeing, and Skills & Employability programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Charitable Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Youth grant programmes
• Charitable foundation services
• Education funding support
• Mental health grants
• Skills development funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: IYF receives funds from individual donors who support their mission to level the playing field for disadvantaged children and young people in Ireland. No government funding is received.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners including Applegreen, Vhi, PwC, William Fry, Glandore, Udemy, Google, and others provide funding, sponsorships, and employee fundraising programmes.
3. Legacy Giving: Individuals can leave a gift in their will to IYF, creating long-term impact for youth programmes.
4. Events and Campaigns: Fundraising through events such as the Milan to Rome Charity Cycle, Children's Hour Campaign in November on World Children's Day, and various community fundraising activities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Irish Youth Foundation is a grant-making charitable foundation that raises funds through individual donations, corporate partnerships, events, and legacy gifts, then distributes grants to grassroots youth organisations across Ireland. Funding is concentrated across three strategic pillars: Education, Health & Wellbeing, and Skills & Employability, supporting disadvantaged children and young people through key life transitions. The foundation provides due diligence, governance oversight, and ongoing management of funded projects rather than direct services.

Product overview

Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) is Ireland's leading charity committed to levelling the playing field for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. IYF is a grant-making foundation rather than a traditional product company. Its core offering consists of grant programmes funded through corporate partnerships and individual donations. The main grant programmes include the Generation Pandemic Fund (COVID-19 recovery), Flagship Fund (annual major funding), VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund, Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, Applegreen Blossom Fund, IYF Bursary, and Skills & Employability Fund. These operate across three strategic focus areas: Education, Health & Wellbeing, and Skills & Employability. IYF also produces research (Generation Pandemic Report) and runs campaigns like Children's Hour. The organization funds over 2,000 projects and has awarded over €20 million in grants over 38 years of operation. No SaaS product or developer API is offered; the organization operates a donation website and grant management processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Generation Pandemic Fund: A fund established to support projects and programmes working to address the damage the Covid-19 pandemic inflicted on marginalised children and young adults in Ireland.
• Flagship Fund
• Applegreen Blossom Fund
• Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund
• Coca-Cola Thank You Fund
• Children's Hour Campaign

Products and services

• Flagship Fund IYF's major annual grant programme supporting youth projects across Ireland in the three pillars of Education, Health & Wellbeing, and Skills & Employability. In 2023, helped level the playing field for 22,000 children and young people.
• Generation Pandemic Fund Emergency COVID-19 recovery fund supporting projects and programmes helping marginalised children and young adults in Ireland. Spans IYF's three focus areas: Education, Emotional & Mental Wellbeing, and Skills & Employability.
• VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund Corporate partnership fund with Vhi supporting projects that strengthen resilience in young people and help them manage anxiety, with emphasis on early intervention and prevention. Open annually for grant applications.
• Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Corporate partnership fund with Coca-Cola providing grants to youth organisations in Ireland. Open for applications annually to support youth services.
• Applegreen Blossom Fund Corporate partnership fund with Applegreen supporting youth projects across Ireland focused on health, mental wellbeing, and educational transitions. Since 2018, raised over €450,000, directly supporting 112 projects and 8,000 children and young people.
• IYF Bursary Bursary fund providing direct financial support to young people in Ireland.
• Skills & Employability Fund Fund supporting programmes that help young people develop skills and pathways to employment, including training and mentorship opportunities across Ireland.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96,618 young people impacted over the last 4 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UdemycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUdemy is a proud partner of IYF to help achieve their mission to level the playing field for youth throughout Ireland. As the world's largest online learning destination, Udemy is committed to creating a more equitable world where anyone can access necessary skills to thrive.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ISPCC (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children): Ireland's largest children's charity, supporting child welfare through direct services, childline, and grant-funded programmes. Directly comparable to IYF as both compete for the same Irish donor and corporate CSR pool focused on disadvantaged children.
• Barnardo's Ireland: UK-headquartered children's charity with significant Irish operations delivering services and programmes for disadvantaged children. Closely comparable to IYF in mission, beneficiary focus, and reliance on corporate partnerships and individual donations.
• Foróige: Ireland's national youth development organisation working with ~70,000 young people annually through volunteer-led clubs and programmes. Comparable to IYF as a youth-focused organisation competing for the same grant and corporate funding pool, though Foróige is more service-delivery oriented while IYF is grantmaking.
• Youth Work Ireland: National federation of youth organisations serving disadvantaged young people across Ireland. Comparable to IYF in target beneficiary profile and geographic scope, and frequently among IYF's grant recipients or co-funders.
• Pieta House: Ireland's leading suicide and self-harm charity, with a strong youth mental health focus. Comparable to IYF through their joint Generation Pandemic partnership with PwC and overlap in the youth mental wellbeing funding pillar.
• ChildFund Ireland: Irish arm of a global child-focused charity raising funds through individual sponsorship and corporate partnerships. Comparable to IYF in operating model, donor base, and beneficiary focus on disadvantaged children.
• Jigsaw (Youth Mental Health Ireland): National centre for youth mental health in Ireland providing clinical and community-based support. Comparable to IYF as it overlaps significantly with IYF's Health & Wellbeing funding pillar and competes for the same corporate mental-health CSR budgets.
• Suas Educational Development: Irish charity supporting education for disadvantaged children through partnerships and grantmaking. Directly comparable to IYF in its education-focused grantmaking model and Irish corporate donor base.

Regional players

• Crosscare: Dublin-based social services agency providing youth, family, and community support services. Comparable to IYF in its Irish youth-services focus and as a typical grant recipient within IYF's funded ecosystem.
• The Peter McVerry Trust: Major Irish homeless and youth housing charity. Comparable to IYF in its Irish focus on disadvantaged youth and competition with IYF for the same corporate and individual donor base in Ireland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IYFcharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irish-youth-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/irishyouthfoundation
• Xx.com/iyfcharity

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Irish Youth Foundation