Connecting Clare Communities – Where Local Groups Learn, Connect and Grow
Connecting Clare Communities is now underway – and community groups across Clare are being encouraged to get involved.
Launched in January, the Connecting Clare Communities Training and Mentoring Programme is an 18-month initiative supporting volunteers and community groups to strengthen skills, share learning and build sustainable local action. The programme has already held its first online kick-off session, bringing local groups together to begin shaping priorities for the months ahead. Led by Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) in association with Levie Consulting, the programme is deliberately flexible and co-designed, meaning groups can still join, shape upcoming sessions and benefit from training, mentoring and peer support as the programme continues to roll out. This promises to be one of the most exciting Clare community groups free training workshops of 2026.
The programme is motivated to meet the real, on-the-ground needs of Clare’s volunteers, community groups and local organisations. Free to attend and fully supported by LEADER funding, it promises practical, accessible learning and peer collaboration for everyone from emerging groups to long-established clubs. “This initiative is built around what local people tell us they need,” notes Anneli Vaughan of CLDC, encouraging community members to shape the programme and “get things done” in their communities.
Co-designed for Local Impact
Unlike a fixed curriculum, Connecting Clare Communities starts with community input. Insights gathered during the initial online kick-off session are already helping to inform upcoming workshops and mentoring clinics, with further opportunities for participants to influence topics as the programme develops. Areas of focus include governance, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, digital skills and sustainability, ensuring that each session remains directly relevant to those taking part. This ensures that every workshop and mentoring session is directly relevant. By partnering with Fiona Levie of Levie Consulting, CLDC taps into expertise in community development and flexible programme design, building on past CCC workshops and successes since 2023. The result is a participant-shaped journey from “Shared Experience to Shared Action,” where groups learn from each other’s experiences and turn ideas into real-world improvements.
- Inclusive & Accessible: All materials will be in plain language, with visuals and subtitles as needed, and events held both online and in-person to suit diverse schedules. Targeted outreach will ensure that underrepresented or disadvantaged groups can both shape and benefit from the programme
- Flexible & Interactive: The format adapts as the programme unfolds. Interactive workshops will include case studies, group exercises and peer teaching, while mentors help groups apply what they learn to their own projects. Digital clinics and a shared online space mean that learning continues between sessions.
- Collaborative & Empowering: By encouraging local networking, the programme strengthens cooperation across communities. It’s a chance to build lasting partnerships – for example, sports clubs and heritage groups might team up on funding applications.
Practical Skills for Real-World Impact
Over the course of the year, participants can join a series of workshops, webinars and mentoring clinics covering key areas of community leadership. Topics range from governance and effective board structures, volunteer recruitment and retention, grant writing, project planning, to communication and storytelling, digital innovation, and collaborative initiatives (with possible additions like volunteer well-being). In short, groups and their leaders will strengthen governance and management skills, learn practical tools for funding and planning, and build strategies for inclusive engagement.
Benefits include:
- Fundraising & Grants Support: Learn to write successful funding applications and explore new grant opportunities (many workshops are co-designed around these themes).
- Volunteer & Stakeholder Management: Gain tools for effective volunteer recruitment, retention and community engagement, making it easier to run your group and recruit helpers.
- Networking & Peer Learning: Share experiences with other Clare groups at events and online clinics, tapping into new ideas and forming supportive networks across the county.
- Ongoing Mentoring: Access both group and one-to-one mentoring (online or in-person) tailored to your group’s needs. Mentors will help you apply workshop lessons to your own plans and goals.
- Accessibility & Well-being: The programme emphasizes inclusivity and resilience – ensuring materials are easy to use, sessions are timed flexibly, and even volunteer well-being is addressed through peer support.
Clare Community Groups: Free Training Workshops 2026 – Save the Dates
Whether you lead a sports club, festival committee, resident association or any community group, it is not too late to get involved.
How to sign up: Send an email to leader@cldc.ie or visit cldc.ie/connecting-clare-communities to register and receive updates. Don’t miss the chance to join “Where Clare’s communities learn, connect and grow,” gaining practical skills for real-world impact. Together we will move from shared experience to shared action – strengthening every corner of County Clare through collaboration and support.
Save the Date:
The first workshops in Connecting Clare Communities are now locked in, shaped by input from our kick-off session. Mark your calendars for these practical sessions (more to follow as we co-design the rest):
Sat 28th of March (10am-2pm): Grant funding, and how to write a good Funding Application.
Sat 25th of April: Volunteer Management
Sat 13th of June: Event Management
Sat 26th of September: Interpersonal Skills and Communication
Sat 17th of October: Corporate Governance and Charity Structures
Sat 28th of November: Media and Digital Skills