Worldwide Ireland Funds’ President and CEO, Kieran McLoughlin, announced at the 2012 Worldwide Ireland Funds Conference in Cork that the goal for the Promising Ireland campaign was being raised from the initial target of $100 million by the end of 2013 to $140 million within the same time frame. The initial goal of $100 million was exceeded in May, 19 months before the campaign closing date.

The Promising Ireland campaign is a philanthropic initiative to raise much-needed assistance for charities from among the Funds’ global network in 12 countries. The new target will require the Funds to raise $1 million a month between now and December 2013.

Announcing the new goal for the campaign, McLoughlin said, “The response to the Promising Ireland campaign is an affirmation of our donors’ belief in Ireland’s future. The impact of the campaign is best illustrated by the fact that, of the $432 million the Funds have raised since our inception in 1976, $122 million has been raised in the last 3 years. In other words, over a quarter of our entire income has been raised in a tenth of our history. Already the Promising Ireland campaign has provided support to more than 350 charities whose work is vital at a time of intense social need and diminished resources."

Over 200 supporters from 8 countries gathered in Cork, Ireland for the announcement at the annual Worldwide Ireland Funds Conference.  Prime Minister Enda Kenny and US President Bill Clinton were in attendance to celebrate the progress of the campaign and the impact it has already made to charities in Ireland and beyond. Celebrating the Funds’ commitment to the arts, the 40th anniversary of its Literary Award was marked with a special lifetime award to Seamus Heaney.