A summary version of this article first appeared in Philanthropy Ireland Magazine, Autumn/Winter 2026
At OKC, we are committed to ‘connecting great people with great causes to achieve great impact’. This means we operate at a unique nexus point, working closely with charities while also engaging with philanthropists and corporate partners who make that impact a reality. Across this work, we are seeing philanthropy increasingly drawn to ambitious capital projects, where their investment can enable something transformational: a building or facility that allows an organisation to scale, reach more beneficiaries, and significantly increase their impact.
This is not a new role for philanthropy in Ireland. Some of the country’s most enduring social, educational and cultural institutions have been shaped by philanthropic investment. Founded over 100 years ago, The Iveagh Trust created housing and community facilities for Dublin’s working population, with a vision that went beyond housing alone. The Rotunda Hospital offers another example. Bartholomew Mosse raised funds to establish a maternity hospital for Dublin’s poorest women, eventually building the hospital that still operates on Parnell Square today. We can also look to the many Universities across Ireland, who have been in receipt of multi-million capital philanthropic investments that have enabled ground-breaking research and innovation. These examples demonstrate something that remains relevant today: philanthropy can help create the physical infrastructure through which services are delivered and impact is maximised.
We know philanthropy is already a significant investor in charitable programmes and services across the country. But programmes require the right physical environment to be delivered effectively, and a new building can often provide this.
The development of Citywise Education’s new Climate, Science & Language Centre illustrates this. The centre will expand Citywise’s reach by 60%, while providing a base from which its approach to education can develop further. The building, enabled in significant part by private and corporate philanthropy, will therefore be part of how the organisation intends to grow its impact. We see a similar relationship between capital and impact in our work with SETU (South East Technological University), where investment in education infrastructure forms part of a wider ambition for students, research and regional development.
For philanthropists, capital projects are therefore part of the impact story. The question is not simply what the building will provide, but what it will allow an organisation to do differently, and at what increased scale. For some, the opportunity to name or acknowledge a contribution within a building can also create a lasting connection to a cause and a visible legacy of the role they and their family played in bringing it to life.
Capital development is also only one part of the investment. The people, programmes, equipment and ongoing running costs all matter if the project is to sustain over the longer term. A strong capital proposition needs a credible plan for what happens once the doors open.
Cancer Fund for Children’s (CFFC) new Daisy Lodge in Cong, Co. Mayo, illustrates this well. Due to open in 2027, it will enable CFFC to increase the number of children and families it supports each year from approximately 1,800 to 4,000.
The funding model brings philanthropic support from Ireland and the US together with corporate and statutory investment, including support from the HSE and Shared Island Fund. It demonstrates how different forms of investment can come together, working in partnership around a common purpose.
We see similar models in our work with the National Concert Hall, Irish National Opera and Kyrie Farm, where philanthropy can sit collaboratively alongside public and other capital investment, supporting different parts of a much larger proposition.
The strongest projects demonstrate the power of a collaborative funding approach. Government, philanthropy, corporate partners, local organisations and European investment can each play a role. A connection to ‘Place’ can also be a powerful driver of philanthropy. Spraoi agus Spórt in Inishowen is rooted in a community it has served for 16 years, and its proposed North West campus is an opportunity to create a permanent home for services that are currently spread across eight rented locations. For philanthropists, investing in a capital development in a village, town or region that they feel closely connected to can be a key motivation.
At OKC, we work across both sides of this relationship - helping organisations build the case for ambitious projects, identify the right partners and developing philanthropic relationships that can support them. We work closely with philanthropic and corporate partners to understand where their investment can contribute most meaningfully, ensuring long-term, strategic and sustainable impact - that lives on, long after the capital ‘build’ is delivered.
A building is just bricks and mortar until people bring it to life. The real value of these projects is in what they enable - more people reached, better services delivered, new ideas developed and lasting change created.
That is where building impact is the key driver. The capital development creates the conditions; what happens within the walls is what turns the investment into lasting social change.