ABOUT 180 members of the Ireland Funds will attend the organisation’s annual conference in Clare and Limerick in the coming weeks.
The visit comes mid-way through the organisation’s “Promising Ireland” campaign, which has already exceeded its mid-way target of raising $50 million (€34,800,000) for Irish projects.
The five-year-campaign, which aims to raise $100 million by the end of 2013 through the donations of philanthropists, has already raised closer to $70 million, according to president and chief executive of the Worldwide Ireland Funds Kieran McLoughlin.
He said that the upcoming conference, which will include visits to affiliated projects in the midwest area, was an opportunity “to show the impact that their donations are having on the ground”.
“Irish Americans have been disproportionately generous – it’s still a very difficult time for the philanthropic industry in America,” he said, noting that donations to the fund have held up despite the fact that only 12 per cent of American philanthropic organisations had turned a profit last year.
The delegation will be staying in Dromoland Castle during the three-day trip, which begins on June 19th, and the majority will be flying into Shannon airport. The attendees will also have the choice of tours of the locality, in what Mr McLoughlin hopes will showcase the region and “expose its beauty” to the visitors. The trip will include a gala dinner at Dromoland Castle to be attended by President Mary McAleese.
“We will be touring parts of Limerick and visiting some of the projects that we have supported in the region,” Mr McLoughlin said, adding that the guests would enjoy an evening of entertainment at the University of Limerick Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
Approximately 100 of the attendees will come from overseas with the bulk coming from the US while others are expected from the fund’s offices in the UK, Australia and elsewhere; the fund has offices in 12 countries.
The annual event, which took place in Dublin last year, also affords fund organisers and donors the chance to discuss the fund’s objectives. The fund is a philanthropic organisation which donates to a large number of charitable organisations across Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Barnardos, the Dublin Simon Community and the Jack and Jill Foundation.
It has also supported educational facilities, such as the Cork School of Music and University of Limerick, and arts projects, including the Fighting Words creative writing initiative and the Gate Theatre. The organisation is also dedicated to generating reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
The Promising Ireland campaign aims to raise $100 million by the end of 2013 for Irish charities, which it notes have come under increasing pressure due to the economic situation here.
The fund’s mission is to be “the largest worldwide network of people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland dedicated to raising funds to support programmes of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland”.