Cavan Community ENews 6.11.26
With over 30 pieces of news this week welcome to your weekly ENews. Our news is compiled weekly from our over 500 member groups (571 as of this week!), partner agencies and funders. The deadline for submitting to cavanppn@gmail.com is noon Wednesdays with the title 'ENEWS ITEM' and we can only take community focused news. Please try to ensure that items fit to one A4 page for ease of reading by recipients.
Please note that views/items contained within our ENews may not reflect the values/policies of CavanPPN.
Many Thanks, The CavanPPN Team (Aisling & Daniel). info@cavanppn.ie, CavanPPN, CCLD, Corlurgan, Cavan. H12 X9Y1
CONTENTS (Shaded are new items this week, but all are still relevant/in date)
FUNDING
1-FUNDING: Bealtaine Touring Award
2-FUNDING: Regional Creatives Fund
3-FUNDING: River Basic Management Fund
4-FUNDING: Festival Investment Scheme 2027
5-FUNDING: Conservation & Climate Micro Grants
TRAINING
6-TRAINING: Facilitation Training
7-TRAINING: Running AGMs
8- Settting Up & Running Community Groups
9-TRAINING: Board Induction for Non-Profits
SURVEYS/CONSULTS 10.SURVEYS/CONSULTS: Natural Predator Survey EVENTS & OTHER NEWS 11- Healthy Cavan Committees Sought for County 12- Cavan Countywide Community Conference Comes to ARVA 13- Cavan Biodiversity Conference 14- Woodland Restoration/Nature Reserve Opportunity for Cavan 15- 'Framing Cavan' Photographic Event 16 Community RetroFit Event Ballyconnell
REPRESENTATION 17- Cavan LCDC Seat Open for Communities 18- Peace Plus Partnership Seeks Cavan Voices!
19- Beilieborough/Cootehill Community Representative Sought
20- Cavan Credit Union Seeks Community Representation for its Board
FUNDING
1 Bealtaine Touring Award
Bealtaine Touring Award 2027 - 11th Nov
Age & Opportunity, the national organisation dedicated to empowering older people through arts, physical activity, personal development, and active citizenship, is pleased to announce the call for applications for the Bealtaine Touring Award 2027.
Proposals are invited from artists and producers for ready-to-tour performing arts productions to be presented during the Bealtaine Festival in May 2027.
Deadline: 12pm Wednesday 11th November 2026
2 Regional Creatives Fund
The Regional Creatives Fund Ireland (RCF Ireland) is Amazon’s annual grant programme supporting charities that help people from underserved communities build skills, confidence, and careers in the creative industries.
Deadline: 30 Nov
3 River Basin Management Fund
Are you a community group or NGO working to protect and improve water quality in Ireland? The River Basin Management Service’s Catchment Support Fund 2027 can help strengthen your organisation and support your work to protect our rivers, lakes and coastal waters.
In 2026, the fund awarded over €1.11 million to 56 groups across 20 counties, alongside two national projects.
Consult your local Community Water Officer before applying!
Deadline: 11.30pm 16th November 2026
4 Festival Investment Scheme
Festivals Investment Scheme 2027 – Round 2 - 19th Nov
The Festivals Investment Scheme supports small-to-mid-scale festivals to deliver high-quality arts experiences for audiences. It focuses on programmes engaged with, and relevant to, local communities or communities of interest.
There are three funding bands in the Festivals Investment Scheme.
Those operating:
A small festival, a new festival wanting to test new ideas, a festival that is in the early stages of development or a festival without a formal business structure should consider applying to Band A. Funding available up to €10,000
A small to mid-scale festival, a festival that is seeking to build programme capacity in a particular artform/arts practice area or which wishes to develop strategies for public engagement should consider applying to Band B. Funding available €10,001–€25,000
A mid-scale festival that is strategically led and wishes to develop its capacity in the area of artform development (e.g. co-commissioning, producing, etc.) should consider applying to Band C. Funding available €25,001–€45,000
Deadline: 5.30pm Thursday 19th November 2026
5 Conservation & Climate Micro Grants
Conservation and Climate Awesome Foundation Micro-Grants - 27th Nov
Each chapter of the Awesome Foundation is volunteer-run and self-funded by a group of people who pool their money to form micro-grants that fund meaningful projects. This chapter is focused on nature conservation and climate change. They want to find promising projects and innovations that may be overlooked by the big, cumbersome funding organizations. If you are an individual or small team, with an awesome idea that will help the environment, you are encouraged to apply.
They want to support: Creative, innovative and impactful projects having to do with wildlife conservation, habitat protection, climate change, ecotourism or environmental communication. They are looking for ideas that haven't been done before or are being done in a unique way.
Deadline: 27th November 2026
TRAINING
6 Facilitation Training FREE For PPN Members
Do you want to develop your facilitation skills and confidence?
Then this training workshop is for you…
This half-day, online workshop will help to build your confidence and develop practical skills to help groups work together more effectively. Whether you’re leading team meetings, facilitating workshops with service users, supporting strategic planning or bringing people together to make decisions, good facilitation can help ensure discussions stay focused, different perspectives are heard, and groups make the most of their time together.
By the end of the workshop you will:
Understand the principles of effective facilitation
Be able to plan and design facilitation that’s purposeful and confident
Have a checklist of practical techniques for participative in-person or online activities.
Have explored questioning techniques that support discussion, reflection and decision-making.
Who should attend
Board members, CEOs, Managers and Volunteers are all welcome. This workshop is for anyone who leads meetings, workshops, away-days or online sessions.
How to register
register by emailing cavanppnsw@gmail.com quoting your member group or PPN number. 150 euros for individuals, 85 euros Wheel members and FREE for CavanPPN members.
7 Running AGM Training
We’ve all been to AGMs and left feeling frustrated. They’re a “must-do” event on our annual calendar, but many wish they didn’t have to attend. Why is that?
The main issue is that the purpose of an AGM isn’t well understood. Its importance for a well-run organisation is often overlooked, leading to poor planning.
This workshop will help participants appreciate and plan for an event that members will actually want to attend while benefiting the organisation.
Learning objectives
AGMs are a requirement so understanding their importance and planning for them to be successful is critical for the health of an organisation.
How to plan for an AGM that members will want to come to.
The legal context of AGMs, including:
What goes wrong
How to ensure that it is seen as a central part of an organisation’s annual work programme.
Timelines leading to the day
An agenda to cover what is legally required and what would be good to add and exclude.
Running the meeting to the benefit of all present.
Who should attend
Board members especially Chairs and (Company) Secretaries, CEOs and admin staff
How to register
register by emailing cavanppnsw@gmail.com quoting your member group or PPN number. 150 euros for individuals, 85 euros Wheel members and FREE for CavanPPN members.
8 Setting Up & Running Community Groups Training
This online course will be delivered over 2 weekly Zoom sessions as per the details below. For privacy reasons, these sessions will not be recorded, so please make sure to attend both sessions if possible.
Module 1: (Tues 24 November, 10am - 1pm)
Establishment of a Group
Setting up a community group
Deciding on the Legal Structure
Writing Your Constitution
Recruiting Volunteers
Running of the Group
Committee Roles
Running a Meeting
Agendas/Minutes
Module 2: (Tues 1 December, 10am - 1pm)
Making Decisions
Conflict of Interest
Code of Conduct
Communication with members of group
Legal Duties
Regulatory Responsibilities
Charity/Tax & Bank Accounts
Succession Planning
Methodology
Delivered virtually via Zoom.
To register for free as a member of CavanPPN, email cavanppnsw@gmail.com , naming the training you request and citing your PPN group or groups number.
9 Board Induction Training For Non-Profits
Becoming a member of a non-profit board is a rewarding and at times challenging task. Understanding the role and responsibilities of a board member makes the job easier. In this eLearning course we provide you with a structured sequence of topics, each of which is designed to further your knowledge of corporate governance and support your understanding of your voluntary board role.
This course can be accessed for up to 60 days after purchase. To access this e-training for FREE contact cavanppnsw@gmail.com quoting your PPN member group or its PPN number
SURVEYS/CONSULTATIONS
10 Natural Predator Survey
I would be very grateful if the Public Participation Network could help circulate my short, anonymous survey among its members. Understanding a variety of experiences and perspectives are particularly valuable to this research, helping to build a better understanding of human-wildlife interactions and inform future wildlife management.
The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete and is open to adults aged 18 and over living on the island of Ireland.
If possible, I would appreciate it being shared through member communications, newsletters, social media or local branches.
Survey link: https://uupredatorsurvey.com/
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I would be happy to provide any additional information about the research or survey if required.
Kind regards,
Leighanna Teal Dawson
PhD Researcher in Human-Wildlife Conflict
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Ulster University, Coleraine Campus
EVENTS & OTHER NEWS
11 Healthy Community Committees Sought For Cavan
12 Cavan County Community Conference in Arva This Winter
13 Cavan Biodiversity Conference
14 Woodland/Nature Reserve Opportunity for Cavan
Friends of Little Woods community association is looking to get in touch with community / privately managed nature reserve / woodlands in Cavan. Our group may, subject to funding, be able to offer a free site survey and mapping using a multi spectral drone currently operated by the group. Such surveys can be used to identify tree health / stress in woodland and invasive species in peatlands. If your group would like to explore cooperation in this area then please get in touch with Chris Hillcox at the following email address chris@friendsoflittlewoods.com
15 'Framing Cavan' Photography Exhibition
16 Community RetroFit Event Ballyconnell
In collaboration with KORE Retrofit, we invite you to our Community Retrofit Event in Ballyconnell!
Date: Tuesday, 10th November 2026
Time: 6pm–8pm
Venue: Market House, Ballyconnell
Join us to meet local retrofit experts, discover available grants, get expert advice, and explore practical energy solutions to make your home or business more energy efficient.
Registration is free, but please register your intended attendance using the link below:
We encourage all community members to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about making your home or business warmer, more energy efficient, and more sustainable.
We look forward to seeing you there!
REPRESENTATION
17 Cavan LCDC Seat Open To Social Inclusion Communities
CavanPPN has a seat vacant on the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) for County Cavan and wish to fill this with a Social Inclusion voice at the invitation of Cavan County Council.
The nominee MUST come from a Social Inclusion member group of CavanPPN with a proposer and seconder from a member group. They MUST submit a bio of 50-300 words describing why you seek this seat and your suitability to be the voice for Social Inclusion in County Cavan. We also ask that the full contact details (email, phone, address) be included and that candidates do not already hold another PPN representative position.
Emails have been sent to ALL member groups with information on this. Please request this info from your registered point of contact with the PPN if they have not forwarded it on already to your members.
Of the 103 Social Inclusion member groups, we hope that this voice is not lost to your communities. Please step forward to have your voice counted!
18 A Community Voice Needed for Peace Plus
A seat on the PEACEPLUS partnership requires a social partner representing “New Communities” and nominations are now welcomed for a social partner through the PPN. We are seeking nominations from community representatives, including volunteers, from PPN Member Organisations within our council area and who could represent PEACEPLUS Target groups.
Full details are contained in the attached documents here:
19 Bailieborough/Cootehill Representation Sought
Your Community. Your Voice. Your Seat at the Table.
A seat is available on the Cavan PPN Secretariat for the Bailieborough/Cootehill Municipal District.
Want to do more than complain about how things are run? Come help shape how they’re run.
The PPN Secretariat is the engine room of Cavan’s Public Participation Network — connecting community organisations with local decision-making and making sure the voices of communities are heard where it matters.
As a Secretariat member, you’ll have the opportunity to:
-Influence how community voices are represented.
-Connect with organisations and community activists across Cavan.
-Shape the work and priorities of your PPN.
-Bring the perspective of your Municipal District to the table.
-Learn how local government and participative democracy actually work.
-And, perhaps most importantly, make a difference rather than just talk about making a difference.
You don't need to be a politician, an expert or a professional campaigner. You just need to care about your community, have something to say, and be willing to listen to others.
If you’ve ever thought, “Someone should do something about that…” — this could be your chance to be that someone.
Join the Cavan PPN Secretariat.
Bring your voice. Bring your ideas. Bring your community.
Bailieborough/Cootehill Municipal District — your seat is waiting.
Send your expression of interest into cavanppn@gmail.com with a few lines as to why you want to run.
You must be a member of a registered PPN group in East Cavan.
20 Cavan Credit Union Seeks Community Board Member
Cavan Credit Union are currently seeking individuals who may be interested in contributing their skills, experience, and community commitment by serving on our Board of Directors. As a member-owned financial co-operative, the credit union relies on dedicated volunteers to help guide its strategic direction and ensure it continues to serve the needs of our members and community.
We are particularly interested in speaking with members who have experience in areas such as:
Community development and stakeholder engagement
Information technology and digital transformation
Finance, accounting or risk management
Legal or regulatory affairs
Business leadership and management
Directors are volunteers and do not receive remuneration, although reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out the role are reimbursed by the credit union.
The role involves:
Attending monthly Board meetings, typically held on the third Wednesday of each month.
Reviewing Board papers in advance of meetings.
Participating in committee work as required.
To help prospective candidates better understand the role, members of our Nominations Committee will hold a meeting where the responsibilities, expected time commitment, and election process will be discussed, and candidates will have an opportunity to ask questions.
If you are interested in learning more, or if you know someone in your network who may be suitable, please contact cavanppn@gmail.com
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