Grants Hub

The Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) Small & Vital stream gives small remote, rural and regional communities across Australia the opportunity to access funds for a broad range of initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities.

Grants up to $10,000 are available for a broad range of grassroots, community-led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities that strengthen local people, places and climate solutions, with a preference for smaller communities (populations under 15,000).

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and assessed quarterly. 

The Westpac Youth Impact Challenge is a nationwide initiative open to all Australian students aged 7 to 21. The Challenge aims to help students solve problems in their local communities. To take part in the Challenge, participants must identify a local problem and brainstorm an innovative business or social change idea to solve it. Participants can choose to work individually, or in a group of up to 3. 

Selected winners will receive an Exclusive Prize Pack which will include a Microsoft Surface laptop from partner Microsoft, a 12-month Membership to ‘The Academy’ by the Australian School of Entrepreneurship which will provide them with access to eLearning content, resources and exclusive members perks and discounts, a Spill the Beans Pitch Opportunity, access to financial education mentoring support for your business or social change idea from Westpac’s Davidson Institute and an invitation to their Young Entrepreneurs Advisory Council and an opportunity to pitch at the final Challenge event!

The IOOF Foundation provides grants that support Australian not-for-profit organisations working with disadvantaged families, children and youth. The general grant program is for funding on average for $75,000 per year for up to two years. Please ensure you provide as much budget information as possible to enable us to evaluate the grant amount requested against funds available to distribute. Whilst our initial general grants are on average $75,000, we do have current grants ranging from $10,000 - $150,000 pa.

The Mental Awareness Foundation has made a goal of trying to support grass-root charities and organisations in the mental health sector that perhaps the public has not heard of.  The Mental Awareness Foundation has the following grants on offer:

• Large Grants - 7 x $25,000
• Small Grants - $5,000 and $10,000 to the value of $25,000
• Total Funding requested must not exceed $25,000.

Applications must be submitted online. Applications can be submitted throughout the year.

The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program supports community organisations to look after Australian cultural heritage collections. 

Note the closing dates on this record are for new applicants, which includes first time applicants who have not had a CHG project in the past five years (since 2019). Take note of your closing date below if you have previously completed a CHG or are applying for training projects. 

The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) is a staged grants program that supports community-based organisations to identify and care for Australian cultural heritage collections which are publicly accessible, locally held and nationally significant. CHG is open to a wide range of non-profit, incorporated organisations who hold nationally significant collections, with a strong focus supporting small, local groups with limited funding and staff, who would benefit from access to professional cultural heritage expertise. The program also seeks to build the knowledge and skills of paid and volunteer staff and their ability to care for heritage collections. Applications for training projects are welcomed at any stage.

There are three applicant categories: Applications for new applicants (or those applying for a Significance Assessment) will close on 9 May 2024; Applications for those who have recently completed a Community Heritage Grant project in the past 5 years will close 4 June 2024. Applications for training projects will close on 4 June 2024

Qantas is offering $2 million in support to Australian-based communities and projects that are looking to benefit Australia's regional areas. There is no maximum or minimum allocation – this is entirely at the discretion of the panel. The $2 million is divided between marketing support ($750,000) and flights and cash ($1,250,000).

Examples of eligible applicants:

• A teacher applying for funds to create a playground at the local school.
• A sporting club looking for flight funding to support a domestic trip to a competitive competition.
• An event organiser applying to promote their event to a broader audience in collaboration with Qantas.
• A charity looking to expand their program into regional areas (eg breast cancer trucks visiting regional towns).

The FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grant program helps communities take action on ideas generated by young Australians on issues that matter to remote, rural and regional youth. The Heywire Project Ideas are developed annually at the Heywire Youth Summit in Canberra. Grants of up to $10,000 are available for communities to act on these issues by either adopting or adapting the project ideas.That might include implementing the idea as developed by the Heywire Youth or by adapting it to respond to the issue the project idea seeks to address with an initiative that meets the needs of young people in your community. Through these grants, this program aims to: Make remote, rural and regional Australia a better place to grow up for young Australians;Put young people at the centre of decision making about issues affecting them within their community; Strengthen young people’s connections to their community, by providing an avenue for organisations to engage well with youth. The Heywire Youth Summit provides an opportunity for youth from across Australia to collectively identify issues that have impacted them growing up in remote, rural and regional Australia, and then develop project ideas that address these issues.

The 2024 Heywire issues impacting young Australians are:

• Bussin’: How might we create more accessible transport options for young people in regional and rural communities
• MEE (Mentoring Educating Empowering): How might we close the gap in accessing quality education for young people in regional, rural and remote communities
• A Place for You: How might we improve accessibility to mental health services in remote and regional areas of Australia
• The Bigger Picture: How can we empower young people in regional towns to celebrate their differences and foster connection among themselves
• Safe Sphere: How might we ensure that young people in regional and remote communities receive relevant and comprehensive sexual education
• Youth 2 Grassroots: How might we promote a stronger connection between individuals and their land by fostering a culture of environmental protection and stewardship

Grants of up to $10,000 are available for communities to act on these issues by either adopting or adapting one of these six project ideas. The 2024 Heywire winners came up with some innovative ideas to address these issues. If you need inspiration on how you might adapt the idea to address these issues within your community, you can apply for a Heywire grant to fund the initiative.

The Ian Potter Foundation's Community Wellbeing program seeks to fund initiatives delivered by organisations supporting people with disabilities, or otherwise marginalised individuals primarily with the objective to secure employment pathways. The Foundation seeks to identify and support those organisations which have well thought out projects that seek to help vulnerable members of the community to overcome the challenging circumstances in which they find themselves.

The Foundation’s support extends both to organisations that have demonstrated success and to those seeking to make well-considered innovations.  The Foundation favours programs that are preventative in nature and seek to address the root causes of disadvantage. 

Funding objective: To improve circumstances for disadvantaged members of the community, this program area funds initiatives delivered by organisations supporting people with disabilities, or otherwise marginalised individuals primarily with the objective to secure employment pathways. Organisations of any size are encouraged to apply. The Foundation only considers grant applications for multi-year grants for a minimum of $100,000. The Foundation particularly encourages applications in high-need areas that have a strong volunteer component and/or a volunteer Board that is a representative cross-section of the community.  You must speak to the Program Manager to discuss your proposal prior to submitting an Expression of Interest.

The Aboriginal Languages Trust Small Grants Program provides open and non-competitive grants between $500 to $15,000 to support Language activities by NSW Aboriginal not for profit Community organisations, groups, and Aboriginal sole traders. 

Funding can be used for projects that meet the objectives identified under the ALT strategic plan: Community driven Language activities that support the growth and use of Aboriginal Language in that Community; Strengthening Aboriginal Community participation in Language activity; Support for Aboriginal People and Communities preparing resources for Language programs; Meeting Language training and development costs of Aboriginal Community organisations and groups; Purchase of minor equipment or services to deliver Language programs to Aboriginal Communities.

Opens 19 May 2024

Closes 15 July 2024

The Trees for Bees Community Tree Grants support the planting of bee-friendly trees in extended gardens, community-owned land, school grounds, sporting club precincts and urban corridors.  The program provides funding to community groups and organisations to increase vital habitat, providing spaces for bees to forage, live and breed.

20 grants of $500 are available. Applications require a brief summary of the bee-friendly planting proposal, planting area and planting dates.

Opens 1 July 2024

Closes 31 July 2024

GrainCorp seeks to support our communities in their endeavours to develop, renew, recover and thrive. Our grants program provides financial support to organisations and projects that contribute to the development and promotion of those communities. There are two types of activities that we fund:

• Community-related programs & activities (Maximum funding limit: $5,000)
• Community infrastructure projects (Maximum funding limit: $20,000)

To be eligible for our Community Foundation Grants Program, your organisation or project must: Be based within a GrainCorp operational region or region linked to grain growing activities; Be intended to have a positive effect on local communities in rural and regional areas; Demonstrate a direct connection with community development; and be categorised within at least one of GrainCorp’s Community Foundation Pillars.

This program provides financial and in-kind support to encourage and assist community groups and organisations to make a positive and ongoing contribution to the community’s wellbeing, cultural life and environmental sustainability. 

Each financial year there will be a maximum of $100,000 available for projects that will assist organisations to make a positive and ongoing contribution to the community’s wellbeing, cultural life, economic development and environmental sustainability. $50,000 will be available in each of two assessment rounds, with funding available for projects in four categories:

• Culture and the Arts;
• Sport and Recreation;
• Community Services;
• Rural Village Enhancement

Each of the four categories will have a total of $25,000 available annually, with unspent funds from the September assessment round rolling over into the following round. Unspent funds will not roll over into a new financial year.

Eligible community groups and organisations can apply for up to $5,000 per project for: Funding Assistance: direct cash contribution towards undertaking a project or running an activity or event; In-Kind Assistance: contributions of physical Council resources (such as waiving of Council’s Fees and Charges, venue or plant hire and labour). The estimated cost of this in-kind assistance will be included in the funding allocation. Combination of funding assistance and in-kind assistance (with an estimated total of $5,000 or less).

For projects involving capital works (construction of new infrastructure, or the upgrade, refurbishment or extension of existing infrastructure – eg. Installation of new fence, construction of new storage shed, painting of existing toilet block etc), applicants must be able to demonstrate at least 50% funding towards the project. This may take the form of a cash contribution and/or an in-kind contribution, such as the use of volunteers or resources donated from another source.

Examples of eligible applicants:

• A teacher applying for funds to create a playground at the local school.
• A sporting club looking for flight funding to support a domestic trip to a competitive competition.
• An event organiser applying to promote their event to a broader audience in collaboration with Qantas.
• A charity looking to expand their program into regional areas (eg breast cancer trucks visiting regional towns).

The Telstra Footy Country Grants is designed to financially assist initiatives that can support Community Clubs affiliated to the AFL to strengthen the base and secure the future in three key strategic areas. Local football clubs across Australia will have the opportunity to share in an $8 million funding boost over the next four years, as the AFL and Telstra launch Telstra Footy Country Grants. With a pool of $2 million to be distributed in 2024, eligible regional and metro clubs can apply for grants up to $20,000 - helping strengthen, sustain and grow local footy.

As the foundation of our great game and the heartbeat of communities, investment in local clubs is vital to ensuring everyone has access to play Aussie Rules and experience the health, social and wellbeing benefits that come with belonging to a club. Aligned to the AFL strategic objectives, the grants will look to strengthen the base and secure the future of community football through the following criteria: Grow and assist volunteer capacity; Grow and diversify participation; Improve club environments and experiences. 

Opens 27 May 2024

Closes 19 August 2024

The Backroads Initiative is established to enable high-quality, small-scale professional productions to smaller towns and remote communities in regional NSW.  Backroads is best suited to compact, adaptable, low budget productions that would suit a community centre, old town hall, local cinema or café, or small, independent theatre. Tours need to be self-sufficient, able to produce, mount and market their work in regional and remote towns.

Applicants can apply for up to $10,000 to support a tour to one or more independent or community run venues in regional NSW. Applicants are expected to have other sources of income in their budgets, be that ticket sales, other grants, sponsorship or company contribution.

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust runs three funding rounds per year, through which individual artists can apply for grants of up to $15,000. The Trust primarily provides support for structured professional development and networking opportunities such as: Residencies; Mentorships; Study tours that have a clear skills development focus; Masterclasses and private lessons; Internships; Conferences and workshops; Postgraduate study with a focus on professional development and artistic practice where no equivalent exists in Australia. Professional development programs combining multiple opportunities can be applied for as a single project. For example, a series of residencies or a workshop followed by private lessons.

This round is for travel/projects after Friday 20 September 2024.

Wettenhall Environment Trust are providing support for people undertaking projects that will make a positive difference to the natural living environment, in land, sea or air, rural or urban. The Trust support grassroots organisations and individuals, and academics who are working with on-ground community groups. The Trust are looking for projects around about flora and fauna conservation around Australia. These projects should involve any of the following: monitoring, recording and sharing data; delivering community education; providing community capacity building (e.g. training); research and science. 

Grants are usually under $10,000. Wettenhall also grants on behalf of donors, and sometimes these programs can be over $10,000. If you have a project over $10,000, check with the Executive Director. Universities and academics can only apply for up to $5,000.

The Australian Government’s Off-farm Efficiency Program is an initiative to upgrade water infrastructure to reduce water losses and increase water available for the environment. Projects funded under the program will provide long-term benefits through improved water infrastructure and reduced water losses. Water users and the community will also benefit from increased water reliability and the creation of job opportunities.

The NSW Government has committed $250 million to establish the Drought Ready and Resilient Fund, an initiative designed to bolster the resilience of NSW farmers to future adverse weather events and climatic conditions, such as drought. Through the Drought Ready and Resilient Fund, eligible primary producers can access a low interest loan up to $250,000 to help prepare for, manage and recover from drought. The loan can be used for products, activities and services relating to animal welfare, farm preparedness, income diversification, environmental improvements as well as training and business development. The Drought Ready and Resilient Fund loan facility has been designed to complement the existing Drought Infrastructure Fund loan product, formerly known as the Farm Innovation Fund.  (See Drought Infrastructure Fund here ) The current interest rate for Drought Ready and Resilient Fund loans is: 5.10% per annum for a 5-year loan; 5.60% per annum for a 10-year loan

Customers will be provided with an indicative interest rate at the point of application, however the rate applied to the loan will not be determined until the date of first drawn down.  The interest rate applied to the loan is fixed for the term of the loan. Applications are now open and will continue to be accepted until program funding is exhausted.

The Future Drought Fund (FDF) is investing $1.6 million dollars through Nuffield over two years to help farmers increase their knowledge of drought resilience and better prepare themselves and their communities for a changing climate. Each scholarship is valued at $40,000 and open to Australian citizens or permanent residents directly involved in food and fibre production typically aged between 28 and 45. The bursary allows scholars to travel overseas both individually and in small groups.

Benefits: 15-weeks of purposeful learning and unique access to our approachable, global agricultural network; Connections to the global alumni – over 500 scholars in Australia and 2,000 worldwide; Access to international businesses and individuals not otherwise reachable; Select a research topic that will be of use to you, your business, community and industry. In addition to a study topic idea that may relate directly to your industry sector or rural community, we are encouraging applications this year from those keen to research both drought resilience and sustainability.

As a Scholar you will: Research a topic to add value to the primary industry sector; Join a global network of 2,000 scholars who have enjoyed this unique experience; Become a lifelong member of Nuffield to promote primary industries. Scholars are innovative, free thinking people. After the study, scholars produce a written report and communicate the new knowledge and experience to others in the industry.

Nuffield Scholars are scholars for life. There is on-going communication with our alumni, plus events, workshops and the chance to be involved in additional learning opportunities. In summary, Nuffield opens doors to exciting and rewarding experiences. Whether it’s walking the halls of Westminster or Washington DC, or touring a leading wheat and maize research facility in Mexico, it presents a career defining opportunity.

The funding will support the establishment of new long-rotation softwood and hardwood plantation forests and assist the sector to respond to the projected growth in demand for domestically sourced timber resources. Through focusing on long-rotation plantation forests, the program’s key intended outcomes are to increase domestic timber supply, particularly construction and manufacturing timber resources, and to contribute to Australia’s carbon emissions reduction commitments. The objectives of the program are to:

• increase future plantation forest resources available for processing, as well as for plantation forest management, harvesting and haulage employment;
• support private industry, First Nations businesses, farm foresters and state and territory forestry bodies to expand the Australian plantation forest estate;
• contribute to meeting Australia’s carbon emission reduction targets, including under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Change Convention.

The FNTMP can support you to grow your tourism business by connecting you with expert advice, tailored learning and access to culturally respectful industry specialists. If you are a First Nations tourism business and you have aspirations to grow, the FNTMP will give you access to free one-on-one mentoring, delivered in a way which suits your needs. 

The FNTMP can support you to grow your tourism business by: connecting you with industry professionals who can provide free, one-on-one advice; and culturally respectful support; providing access to a suite of learning supports and resources developed for and tailored to the First Nations tourism sector.

The mentoring will be delivered by industry specialists who have: tourism industry knowledge and experience including understanding of local tourism opportunities; experience working in a culturally appropriate and respectful manner with First Nations businesses and/or communities; previous experience providing business advice and support (including mentoring) and/or owning and operating a business.

It is a flexible program and the mentoring will be a mixture of face to face and online as preferred. Mentees will have an initial, one-on-one meeting with their mentor to discuss the current state of their business, their goals and objectives and to agree on the duration and frequency of mentoring as per the table below. 

The low carbon product manufacturing - project development stream will invest in project development activities to help businesses reach a financial investment decision for a new facility that manufactures low carbon products. 

The initiative plays a pivotal role in achieving NSW's commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 through the following 4 objectives: drive economic growth across NSW - increase economic activities by providing funding for new or expanded low carbon manufacturing facilities; increase investment and employment in new low carbon industries - attract more investors to engage in the low carbon manufacturing sectors, leading to more job opportunities; support a diverse, self-sufficient, resilient and competitive low carbon manufacturing sector - foster a dynamic and robust economic landscape, reduce dependency on a single sector, and promote the export of low carbon products and technologies; establish new industrial facilities and advanced manufacturing capabilities to help decarbonise NSW’s economy - facilitate the establishment and development of low carbon manufacturing with advanced capabilities, contributing to the overall reduction of NSW's economy's carbon footprint.

The implementation of metering and monitoring systems is a critical step towards identifying energy saving opportunities and building the case for equipment upgrades. The NSW Government are helping NSW businesses by providing up to $100,000 to cover up to 50% of the cost of implementing the recommendations of your energy metering and monitoring plan. This means you can fill in the metering and monitoring gaps identified in your plan.  The grant is part of the $12 million metering package that supports businesses across the different stages of the metering and monitoring process. This will help NSW businesses overcome barriers to improving energy performance and help NSW reach net zero emissions by 2050.  

There is $1.5 million in funding available in round 1. You can apply for a grant of up to $100,000 (excluding GST) to cover up to 50% of the eligible project costs.  

Some small businesses are located in an embedded electricity network (on-supply) and get an energy bill or invoice from, or on behalf of, the owners or management company where your business is located such as shopping centres. If you are an embedded network (on-supply) customer, you can now apply for your bill relief payment online. Your application will be processed by the Office of Energy and Climate Change within 2-6 weeks. Eligible small businesses using less than 100 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per year will receive a one-off bill relief payment of up to $650 towards their electricity bill.

The Kickstarter Challenge invites women 18 years and over who have a business idea to be part of the challenge. Submit your business idea for a chance to win a share of $60,000 in equity-free funding. Categories for the Kickstarter Challenge 2024 are as follows:

• Health, Wellbeing and The Care Economy: What improvements can be made to address health and wellbeing challenges facing Australians?
• Climate Change and Sustainability: What is a sustainable solution to help protect and safeguard the climate.
• Community Impact: What innovative idea helps to empower or provide value to the community as a whole or for a specific community.
• Fintech or Ecommerce: What Software, mobile application, or other technology solution can improve or automate traditional forms of finance or commerce for businesses and consumers alike.
• Popular Vote: You may also pursue the Popular Vote, where the winner qualifies based on the number of votes received between the time submissions open and close. Entries in the popular vote must also fit within one of the four categories above.

The total value of the equity-free cash prize money is $60,000 AUD which will be shared amongst the Competition Finalists as follows: The Competition winner (Winner) will receive $30,000 AUD; Each finalist (Finalist) will receive $7,500 AUD.