This quick guide provides links to
select sources of financial assistance to community groups. It does not include
links to scholarships, fellowships or research grants.
Depending on a community group’s
activities, mission, and governance structure, they may be eligible for a range
of grants across more general categories, such as infrastructure support,
marketing, or employment subsidies. This quick guide does not cover all
possible grants for which a community group may be eligible.
Different grants have different
eligibility requirements. Often, groups need to be incorporated and be
deductible gift recipients to apply for grants. Unincorporated community groups
may explore auspicing arrangements in order to apply for funding.
Local governments commonly provide
grants for community groups, often on a rolling basis. Community groups should
consult the websites of their relevant local governments for these
opportunities, which are not covered in this quick guide.
There is no
definitive list of financial assistance available to community groups in
Australia. The grants in this quick guide have been compiled through broad
internet searching and will not comprehensively account for all granting
opportunities.
Australia-wide
grants
Government
grants
- GrantConnect is a guide to grants
available from the Commonwealth Government. GrantConnect includes a list of all
current grant opportunities open for application.
- The
Australian Government’s Business
website has links to funding sources for community groups and projects from
federal, state and local government, as well as some not-for-profit
organisations, philanthropic funds and companies.
- The
Australia Council for the Arts offers a range of grants to individuals and
cultural and community groups involved in artistic activities.
- The
National Library of Australia’s Community
Heritage Grants offer grants to community organisations to care for
Australian cultural heritage collections.
- Festivals
Australia funds arts experiences, festivals, and significant community
celebrations in regional or remote Australia.
Non-government
grants
- The Albert & Barbara Tucker
Foundation supports charitable organisations that make ‘a positive
difference in the lives of humans, animals and the natural environment’.
- The AMP Foundation Tomorrow Makers program funds ‘individuals and organisations with the drive and determination
to create positive social change’.
- Ansvar’s
Community Education Program provides grants for charities that support
disadvantaged youth.
- The ANZ
Community Foundation offers grants to support projects run by charitable
organisations for the benefit of local communities.
- Aurizon offers grants to
community groups that provide support in the areas of health and wellbeing,
community safety, environment and education.
- Australia
Pacific QBE Foundation local grants support community initiatives
addressing climate resilience and inclusion.
- Australia
Post Community Grants provide funds for projects that seek to improve
mental health and mental wellbeing in local communities.
- The Bennelong Foundation provides grants to support programs in the areas of education, training and
employment, community health, and cultural inclusion.
- The BMD
Community Assistance Program supports community groups across a range of
activities in regions where BMD operates.
- Budget Direct provides one-off cash donations for eligible community organisations.
- The CommBank
Staff Foundation aims specifically to assist community groups with youth
programs focused on health, education and social inclusion.
- The Community Enterprise
Foundation provides a range of grants for charities and not-for-profits.
- The Coopers
Foundation provides grants for medical research and health care, youth
education, aged care, and family and community support based on Christian values.
- The Damien Greer Lawyers
Community Grant program provides funding to community groups for a range of
activities.
- The Deafness Foundation
Community Grants program supports projects that benefit people who are deaf
or hard of hearing.
- The Ergon-Energex
Community Fund provides funding for community groups, with a specific
interest in activities that focus on energy efficiencies and responding to and
preventing environmental disasters.
- The Foundation for Rural and Regional
Renewal provides a broad range of grant programs, each with the requirement
‘that funds be used for a charitable purpose that benefits the residents of
Australia’s rural, regional or remote communities’.
- Good2Give allows charitable organisations to
be placed on a registry to be matched with corporate donors and sponsors.
- Groundswell provides grants for organisations that create ‘the social, economic and
political conditions to reduce emissions to levels that will avoid the worst
impacts of climate change’.
- The Hamer Sprout
Fund supports organisations and individuals with initiatives focussing on
the environment and sustainability.
- The Heart Foundation
Active Australia Innovation Grant program funds community-based projects
that encourage physical activity.
- The Heritage Bank
Charitable Foundation provides grants to community groups, with a focus on
vulnerable Australians.
- The Honda Foundation provides monetary grants and loan cars to organisations working across a range
of social and environmental issues.
- The Ian Potter Foundation makes grants
nationally ‘to support charitable organisations working to benefit the
community across a wide range of sectors and endeavours’.
- IGA Community Chest raises
funds to support community organisations. Organisations can approach their
local IGA to enquire about becoming a beneficiary.
- Landcare Australia offers
grants through a number of programs for ‘projects and programs that will
improve environmental outcomes for the Landcare community’.
- The Macquarie
Group Foundation supports community groups and activities in Australia and
overseas.
- The Mary Jane Foundation provides
grants for charities that work to ‘advance the health and wellbeing of
Australian women and girls’.
- The Mercy
Foundation provides support for organisations involved in reducing
inequality and poverty in Australia.
- The National
Australia Bank Foundation provides community grants to organisations for
projects to withstand and recover from natural disasters.
- The National Foundation
for Australian Women runs a program through which other women’s groups can
receive tax deductible donations and grants through their preferred donor fund.
- The nib foundation provides
funding for programs that support communities to ‘live healthier lives’.
- The Optus
Future Makers program provides grants to organisations to help develop
technological applications aimed at supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable
people.
- Perpetual
IMPACT Philanthropy distributes around $120 million annually to
not-for-profits.
- The Pride Foundation provides funding for activities that focus on the ‘good and betterment of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex people and allied communities in
Australia’.
- Qantas
Regional Grants provide funding to community organisations that ‘enhance
the lives of people in regional communities’.
- The Reichstein Foundation provides
grants for projects aimed at advancing social justice and social change.
- The Scanlon Foundation assists
organisations that support migrants and social cohesion.
- The Sidney Myer Fund & the Myer
Foundation provide grants across a range of
areas including the arts and humanities; mental health; poverty and
disadvantage; and sustainability and the environment.
- The SilverChef
Community Grants Program provides funds to community groups ‘who use
hospitality to support disadvantaged or under-served communities’.
- The Sisters
of Charity Foundation provides grants to community projects that ‘break
down social isolation and alleviate the impact of poverty’.
- The St. George Foundation provides grants to community groups focussed on children and education.
- Transurban Community Grants support projects in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane that bring social and
environmental benefits to communities.
- Westfield Local Heroes recognises individuals ‘who make a positive impact to their local community or
environment’ and are nominated by their community, by awarding grants to the
organisation or group that they represent.
Australian
Capital Territory grants
Government
grants
Non-government
grants
New South
Wales grants
Government
grants
Non-government
grants
- The ClubGRANTS scheme is funded by
gaming machine revenue from NSW clubs. The ClubGRANTS website provides
information on the scheme and guidelines for applications.
- The James
N Kirby Foundation provides grants to charities with projects across 4 focus
areas (education and technology; the environment; health; and social welfare
and the arts), with priority given to organisations in NSW and projects that
benefit NSW.
- Regional Arts NSW administers the
Regional Arts Fund on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. It offers a range
of grants for community groups involved in arts and heritage projects.
Northern
Territory grants
Government
grants
- NT.GOV.AU provides links and details on a ‘wide range of grants, scholarships and other
forms of support for businesses, community organisations and individuals’.
Non-government
grants
Queensland
grants
Government
grants
Non-government
grants
- The Brisbane Broncos
Charities Fund provides financial assistance ‘for the underprivileged and
disadvantaged youth of Queensland’.
- Flying Arts administers the Regional Arts
Fund on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. It offers a range of grants for
community groups involved in arts and heritage projects.
- The Queensland Community Foundation is a
public charitable trust set up to serve the state’s communities by providing a
permanent funding source for charity.
- The William Angliss Charitable Fund supports
organisations in Victoria and Queensland across a range of areas.
South
Australia grants
Government
grants
- GRANTassist provides a
search function for funding programs across all state government departments,
for community groups, clubs and individuals.
- Arts
South Australia provides funding for community groups involved in artistic
and cultural activities.
- The Office for Recreation, Sport and
Racing offers a range of sport-related grants and scholarships for
individuals and organisations.
Non-government
grants
Tasmania
grants
Government
grants
- Arts Tasmania funding
and investment programs provide ‘grant programs for professional artists, arts
businesses and arts organisations’.
- Business Tasmania ‘provides
a comprehensive list of funding opportunities available to businesses in
Tasmania’.
- A
percentage of gaming profits in Tasmania is paid into the Community
Support Levy through which grants are made to assist sport and recreation
clubs and charitable organisations.
- The Department
of State Growth provides loans and grants to businesses and individuals to
support professional and sector development.
- The Department of Premier
and Cabinet Tasmania administers a range of community, sports and
recreation grant programs that support community development and engagement.
Non-government
grants
- The Tasmanian Community Fund makes general
grants to community organisations and initiatives that improve the wellbeing,
or assist in the social, environmental and economic development, of Tasmanian
communities.
Victoria
grants
Government
grants
- Grants Victoria lists Victorian
Government grants. Grants are available for a wide range of groups and projects
including volunteers, sporting groups, community infrastructure and
multicultural events.
- Business
Victoria administers a range of grants, vouchers and assistance programs.
- Creative Victoria lists funding opportunities for individuals and arts organisations.
- The Local
History Grants Program is administered by the Public Record Office Victoria
and provides funding for ‘community activities that preserve, record and share
the local, social and community history of Victoria’.
- Multicultural
Affairs ‘offer a range of grants to support Victoria's multicultural and
multifaith communities’.
Non-government
grants
- The Besen Family Foundation provides funding to communities in Victoria in the areas of arts and culture,
Jewish community, early childhood education and environment.
- Helen Macpherson Smith Trust supports
Victorian organisations across education, community, arts and culture,
environment and health.
- Regional Arts Victoria administers the Regional Arts Fund on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. It
offers a range of grants for community groups involved in arts and heritage
projects.
- The William Angliss Charitable Fund supports
organisations in Victoria and Queensland across a range of areas.
Western
Australia grants
Government
grants
Non-government
grants
- Propel Youth Arts WA provides arts
grants for young people in Western Australia aged between 12 and 26 years.