ChildFund Ireland is a member of the following groups:
Dóchas is the association of Irish Non-Governmental Development Organisations. Dóchas provides a forum for consultation and co-operation between its members and helps them speak with a single voice on development issues. Dóchas serves as the national platform of Irish Development NGOs, representing its members to the European Union and the Irish Government, on issues of importance to the policy environment in which they work. ChildFund Ireland has been a member since 2005.
The Irish Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence is made up of a group of Irish human rights, humanitarian and development agencies and two Irish government departments (Irish Aid as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Defence Forces). These organisations joined forces in 2004 to discuss how best to respond to reports of very high levels of rape in the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. During those discussions, it was recognised that responses to gender based violence (GBV) by the international community were, for the most part, isolated and ad-hoc and that there was a pressing need for the issue to be addressed in a more comprehensive and systematic manner. Therefore the organisations formed a Consortium whose overall aim is to promote the adoption of a coherent and coordinated response to gender based violence (GBV).
The Wheel is a support and representative body for community, voluntary and charitable organisations across Ireland. Established in 1999, The Wheel has evolved to become a resource centre and forum for the community and voluntary sector. The Wheel, in its capacity as a resource centre, provides high quality support programmes to community, voluntary and charitable organisations. It acts as a representative body on issues which are shared across all community, voluntary and charitable organisations. The Wheel’s mission is to strengthen the community and voluntary sector, advocating for an environment that supports voluntary activity, supporting organisations and by representing their shared interests.
Irish Charities Tax Reform Group (ICTRG) is a membership organisation of charities, focused on creating a policy climate in which philanthropy can thrive – through a combination of taxation and regulatory reform. Since it was formed in 1991, they have organised a number of campaigns to optimise tax effective giving, reduce the tax burden on the sector, and ensure regulation is appropriate to the needs of Irish charities. A major breakthrough was achieved in 2001 with the introduction of a comprehensive system of tax relief for all donations (€250+ with no upper limit) to an Eligible Charity/Approved Body. And, in 2006, the Scheme of Tax Relief on Donations extended to include gifts of publicly quoted shares. The ICTRG also plays an active role on behalf of charities in relation to regulation. ICTR has been closely involved at all stages of the development of the Charities Act 2009 and is now firmly focused on implementation issues.
