Bank of Ireland today launched the Begin Together Awards 2020 with a prize fund of £180,000 to support towns across the island of Ireland as they recover from Covid-19’s impact.
The awards are available now for the first time in Northern Ireland and will be fast-tracked to provide funding to winning towns by the beginning of October.
There are 21 monetary prizes available across 10 categories with an overall winner receiving £45,000 and the title of ‘Most Enterprising Town’.
There is also a prize of £18,000 for the winner of the ‘Rising Star’ award, as well as three special COVID-response awards:
• Local Town Promotion Initiative - A marketing or promotional campaign designed to help kick start the local economy.
• Local Community Enterprise Initiative - A local enterprise initiative established specifically to ease the impact of COVID-19 or one that repurposed itself during the pandemic and was ready to begin operation on the easing of restrictions.
• Local Business and Community Response Initiative – A joint initiative by local businesses and the community to manage the impact of COVID-19 through lockdown and beyond as towns start to reopen.
RELATED: New Bank of Ireland £20 notes to circulate from 20 July 2020
The Begin Together Awards are part of a £2.5m investment Bank of Ireland is making in its ‘Begin Together’ initiative, a three year campaign launched in Northern Ireland in February to "improve the financial, physical and mental wellbeing of Ireland’s communities while supporting the underlying local economies."
The all-island initiative has three strands – the Begin Together Fund, the Begin Together Awards and Begin Together Colleagues. The bank claims that each strand has a specific purpose and combined will deliver a significant positive impact on communities across Ireland.
Ian McLaughlin, CEO of Retail UK within the bank said: “We have seen the tremendous challenges local business owners have faced and are still facing across Northern Ireland because of the pandemic. Through the lockdown, Bank of Ireland took immediate steps to support our customers and now, as we move towards recovery, we are focussed on practical initiatives that can help the local economy to ‘reboot’."
RELATED: Economy Minister stresses importance of skills investment with extra NI COVID-19 funding
The closing date for Begin Together Award entries is 24 August. For more information on the awards and for application forms, please visit bankofireland.com/begintogetherawards
