The Arthur Guinness Fund

€1 million was distributed among ten social entrepreneurs with diverse projects from accross the country. In total the Arthur Guinness is investing €2.5 million over the next two years.

Mary Nally, Founder of Fáilte Isteach commented, "The organisation has dramatically improved the quaility of life for migrants  who had been struggling with the kind of day to day things we take for granted, such as asking for directions, helping their children with homework, or explaining symptoms to the doctor. The project has been a challenge, but a challenge that has been well worth embracing. Funding from the Arthur Guinness Fund will go towards the further expansion of this project around the country."

Guinness worked in partnership with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, (SEI) in developing the Arthur Guinness Funds awards programme. Sean Coughlan, Chief Executive Officer, SEI said, "We believe that new and innovative solutions exist to the myriad social and enviromental challenges we face today. These solutions are most effective when driven by individuals who adopt a highly entrepreneurial approach to their activities. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Diageo in supproting the successful awardees and their projects in reaching the next level of their development and in making a real difference to communities accross Ireland."

Widely regarded as the original Social Entrepreneur of his day, Arthur Guinness provided the inspiration for the Arthur Guinness Fund, which was born out of Guinness' 250th celebrations last year, when up to 1 million people accross Ireland put their signature next to Arthur's in pubs across Ireland, which ultimatley helped to create the Arthur Guinness Fund.

              The Arthur Guinness Fund