Research Fund Success for Dr. Lorraine Sweeney

Published: 7 May, 2023

A TU Dublin Business Partners Co-Fund Scholarship has been awarded to Dr. Lorraine Sweeney, senior lecturer in the School of Management, People and Organisations. The scholarship is co-funded by TU Dublin and our partners 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland. The research titled ‘Sustaining the non-profit economy: an investigation into giving culture and Infrastructure for charity and Philanthropy in Ireland’ is being undertaken by PhD student Niamh Carruthers and is supervised by Dr. Lorraine Sweeney. This represents important research as Ireland experiences significant social change and the operational environment of nonprofits grows increasingly complex. The research aims to empower nonprofits to improve decision-making, invest in giving, and fundraising strategies that gain support from key stakeholders and reduce barriers to scale charitable and philanthropic giving.

A key output from this programme will be the publication of the annual 'Giving Ireland' report that aims to narrow the gap in knowledge on the sector by analysing its composition, funding, and benchmarked performance. This report delves into the funding of the sector, looking at State, Earned, Investment and Fundraised income and exploring the implications of these trends. The insights and data published in the Giving Ireland report will further inform the leadership of the nonprofit sector.

Dr Lorraine Sweeney said "We are really excited to commence this important research which will provide much-needed insight into the giving culture in Ireland. We are delighted to work with our partners 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland and provide this research which will support the nonprofit sector in Ireland, a sector which is vitally important to Irish society.