This new feature, shines a light on members of Philanthropy Ireland, their role, impact and how they are adapting to COVID-19. If you wish to spotlight your organisation please email niamh@philanthropy.ie
basis.point is the charity of the Irish funds industry and its wider ecosystem. The charity was set up in 2014, with the ambition to give every child in Ireland equal access to a brighter future through education. Founded on the idea of joined up giving, basis.point is a unique example of industry colleagues putting their time, energy and resources together, to combat one single issue, educational disadvantage.
Funding for our programmes comes from the annual donations of our growing community of Corporate and Individual Patrons and Supporters. This year we will pass an important threshold, 100 Corporate Patrons and almost 200 individual Patrons and Supporters. Thanks to their ongoing generosity, basis.point has committed almost €2.4 million to multi-year evidence based educational programmes.
We work with inspirational educators from established charity partners, delivering programmes to meet the needs of children from educationally disadvantaged communities. Our range of programmes focus not simply on the nuts and bolts of literacy and numeracy, but also on tackling the peripheral soft skills such as self- esteem, confidence, willingness to engage with authority and resilience.
We currently collaborate with six educational charity partners in key focus areas:
- Empowering parents to offer their child the best start in education – with Archways and Early Learning Initiative, providing safe and encouraging pre-school and early learning environments.
- Enabling children to engage meaningfully in education – with Suas and TUDublin, supporting their needs in primary and junior cycle education.
- Enhancing the chances for success for young adults – with Foroige and Business in the Community, providing mentoring and stimulating opportunities.
The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked the communities that we serve to the core. We responded by raising an additional €200,000 through the basis.point and Irish Funds Emergency Relief Fund. Our endeavours to meet essential needs, through food parcels, home delivered activity packs, shelter, and emotional support, introduced us to new partner charities and in this exceptional year, we additionally supported programmes around the country with Barnardos, Belvedere Youth Club, Camara, Focus Ireland, Good Grub, Limerick Youth Services Centre, and The Peter McVerry Trust.
Working together to improve opportunities for at-risk children remains at the heart of everything we do. For our existing charity partners, it has been a challenging year, and their resilience is admirable. In most cases, they have managed to pivot activities online and continue to deliver the educational programmes on schedule.
In 2020, thanks to regular giving from the Irish funds and financial services industry, our educational programmes supported over 2000 children directly and many thousands more indirectly. Anecdotal feedback highlighted that our programmes have provided a lifeline to vulnerable families and in many cases has given them a reason to get up in the morning.
Enhancing educational opportunities and achieving social change requires consistent investment and a true team effort. We have responded to this need for sustained and planned investment by creating a new Corporate Patron Programme offering different levels of commitment aligned with ability to give and CSR goals.
With eyes on a brighter future, we remain focused on growing our supporter base and helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout Ireland to achieve their life goals. Take a moment to watch our short video or visit our website for further information www.basispoint.ie
