Funding
We are transparent about our funding sources. We ensure that funders have no influence over the conclusions that we reach in our fact checks.
We are transparent about our funding sources. We ensure that funders have no influence over the conclusions that we reach in our fact checks.
We have policies and procedures in place at every level of our organisation to ensure our independence and impartiality. They include: our Board of Directors , which consists of individuals with a broad range of professional backgrounds and expertise; a continuously monitored internal risk register for the organisation; a code of conduct for staff; a rigorous adherence to our processes; and absolute transparency of our funding sources.
FactCheckNI is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Northern Ireland at Companies House (Company Registration Number: NI660549). The company was established with the objective of improving fact checking and critical thinking skills in Northern Ireland. FactCheckNI is a non-profit, Community Interest Company (CIC), where all generated surplus income will be reinvested in the company.
Project funds come from charitable trusts, statutory bodies, and individual donations.
The project costs mainly cover paying for staff (researchers, writers, and editors) and training services (trainers).
For the last financial period ended April 2023, project costs were £84,531.
You can review our filings at Company House.
Funders
We thank all of our funders. All income greater than £2,500 or 5% of annual turnover (whichever is lower) is listed here along with the funding source and what the funds were for.
Our funders have no input into our editorial content or decision making.
2023–24
| Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) | £77,000 | On 11 July 2022, FactCheckNI was awarded a grant of £210,000 over a three year period (2022-2025) by JRCT to conduct work under our project, “Facts in Front”, which aims to grow our work through multi-level approaches of fact checking, training, evaluation, and communications. |
| Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) (Ireland) – Reconciliation Fund | £20,688.51 | The “Facts Matter” project is focused on increasing our capacity to deliver on our current work where we have been applying the practices we have developed over nine years of our work in NI, as well as ensuring we are adapting them to address emerging issues in society in the region. |
2022–23
| Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) | £58,109 | Our project, “Facts in Front” (as above) |
| Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) (Ireland) – Reconciliation Fund | £15,711 | On 8 March 2023, FactCheckNI was awarded a grant of 18,275 euros from the Reconciliation Fund at DFA, to conduct work for the purpose of “Facts over Fears” to increase organisational capacity. |
| Future Screens NI | £5,000 | On 22 March 2022, FactCheckNI was awarded a grant of £20,000 from the Proof of Concept R&D funding stream administered via Future Screens NI, to conduct work under the project, “Telling it Straight”. The funding is for a collaboration on an R&D project with academics and communications specialists, to explore how alternative communication strategies may expand and develop new approaches to audience engagement and fact checking. |
| Meta | £1,333 | In April 2019, FactCheckNI joined Meta’s Third Party Fact Checking programme, under which we receive payment for submitting certain fact-check articles. |
2021–22
| Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) | £49,600 | In October 2020, FactCheckNI was awarded a grant of £99,190 over three years by JRCT, to conduct work under our project, “Empowering People through Facts”. The grant enabled FactCheckNI to provide comprehensive and accessible fact checks, train groups in critical thinking, disseminate our work to the widest audiences, and improve our effectiveness. |
| European Commission | £38,291 | From April 2018 to October 2021, FactCheckNI was a full partner organisation of a research and development project, Co-inform, which examined disinformation with the aim of co-creating socio-technical solutions with citizens, journalists, and policymakers. The project was established under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme. The total grant to FactCheckNI was 223,304 euros (£191,723). |
| Future Screens NI | £15,000 | In March 2022, FactCheckNI was awarded £15,000 to collaborate on an R&D project with academics and communications specialists, to explore how alternative communications strategies drawn from adjacent fields such as advertising and marketing could help expand and develop new approaches to audience engagement in fact checking. |
| Department of Finance (Northern Ireland) | £5,000 | In May 2021, FactCheckNI was awarded a grant of £5,000 by the Department of Finance under its Open Data Innovation and Outreach Fund. For this project, we created effective and attractive data visualisation to augment our existing work in tackling disinformation around Covid-19. |
| Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) | £4,500 | In July 2021, FactCheckNI received an additional grant of £4,500 by JRCT, for the development of its website and communications. |
| Meta | £3,652 | Meta’s Third Party Fact Checking programme (as above). |
| Politics in Action | £1,400 | In October 2021, Politics in Action commissioned FactCheckNI to deliver training services as part of its programme work. |
2020–21
| Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) | £37,200 | 2020-2023 Empowering People through Facts” Project (as above). |
| Meta | £11,366 | Meta’s Third Party Fact Checking programme, (as above). |
| Community Development & Health Network (CDHN) | £4,800 | Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) and FactCheckNI worked in partnership to improve people’s health literacy about COVID-19. |
2019–20
| European Commission | £62,619 | Co-inform project. |
| Meta | £12,294 | Meta’s Third Party Fact Checking programme, (as above). |
| Community Development & Health Network (CDHN) | £3,200 | Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) and FactCheckNI worked in partnership to improve people’s health literacy about COVID-19. |
Practical support
And to all our readers, Facebook likers, and Twitter/X retweeters, you help bring FactCheckNI alive — thank you!