Grants

Our Victorian Government funding agreement requires public access to the movement in the East Gippsland Community Bushfire  Disaster Relief Fund.

Current Grant Opportunities

COMMUNITY BUSHFIRE RECOVERY GRANTS 2024

We have a further East Gippsland Community Bushfire Recovery Grant commencing on 1 March 2024.  Our application portal will be open from 8am on Friday, 1 March and close at 6pm on  Sunday, 7th April 2024. Priority will be to communities heavily impacted by the Black Summer Fires of 2019/2020 …

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Fire to Flourish East Gippsland – Open Now

$1.2 Million granting pool – Grant Projects of up to $75,000

Fire to Flourish (F2F) Community Grants 2024, administered by Gippsland Community Foundation, are now open.

Applications are sought for community led projects in the F2F footprint of Gipsy Point, Genoa, Cann Valley, Cabbage Tree Creek and Bemm River. 

Fire to Flourish (F2F) is a program that enables communities to strengthen disaster resilience. It is trialing new ways to enable community-led resilience while addressing systemic disadvantage, developing and testing new tools and processes to support community action, creating a knowledge and evidence base to build disaster resilience – from the ground up. 

A Monash University research project, F2F is funded completely by philanthropic funds.

Applicants MUST contact the F2F East Gippsland Community Team members before submitting an application. Contact details and eligibility requirements can be found on the Guidelines & Information sheet.

Eg F2F Community Logos-08

Community Event Grants 2024 - FULLY ALLOCATED
Funds in this grant round have been fully allocated. Further funds may become available late 2024 if some scheduled events are unable to proceed.

A pool has been made available by East Gippsland Shire Council and East Gippsland Community Foundation with funds from the Victorian Government through Emergency Recovery Victoria and Commonwealth Government, under the Commonwealth-State Category C Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, in response to the 2019-20 Eastern Victorian Bushfire.

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General Grant Information

Gippsland Community Foundation will fund projects delivered within East Gippsland, Wellington, Latrobe and Baw Baw Shires which directly benefit people who live in these municipalities.  GCF also works closely with South Gippsland and Bass Coast existing community foundations.

Gippsland Community Foundation provides grants programs to fund community-led projects. Granting opportunities are determined annually based on the available funding and the priorities established by the Board, within the parameters of the funds in Trust. Grant streams may alter from time to time as we respond to changing community voices and needs.

What are we most likely to fund?

Generally, grants will fund:

  • Activities which have ongoing benefit to communities in Gippsland, specifically East Gippsland, Wellington, Latrobe & Baw Baw Shires, noting that there are other existing community foundations successfully operating in South Gippsland and Bass Coast Shires.
  • Innovative undertakings that provide new opportunities for residents.
  • Projects that are in keeping with the mission of the Gippsland Community Foundation.
  • Project development activities that will assist the preparation of applications to other major grant programs. For example, the preparation of business plans, socioeconomic assessments, project design and costings.
  • In any youth support grant stream, assistance may be provided to individual students or groups of students or other young people.

What we are less likely to fund

  • Large scale capital works
  • Ongoing salaries
  • Projects that would normally be the responsibility of Federal, State or Local Government agencies
  • Projects in successive years.
  • Projects that have already been completed.

What we do not fund

In accordance with Australian Tax Office Guidelines we are unable to fund:

  • Organisations that are not charitable in purpose
  • Recreational or commercial activities
  • Sporting activities – unless determined eligible by a funding body
  • Projects for private or personal benefit
  • Activities or events that have already commenced or taken place.
ELIGIBILITY
All organisations applying for funding must:

The Foundation provides
small but vital grants to community organisations
across Gippsland.

Grant FAQ's

To apply for a grant or scholarship from the Gippsland Community Foundation, log onto our website https://www.gippslandcf.org.au/grants/ and click on the ‘Apply Now’ tab. From here, select the program you wish to apply for e.g. grant or scholarship. If you have applied for a grant or scholarship previously with the Community Enterprise Foundation or the East Gippsland Community Foundation, login using your existing login details. If you are a new user, you will need to register your details to commence an application. Complete all relevant questions in the application form and attach all compulsory documents. Verify your application and if the system does not detect a problem, click submit application. Once your application has been submitted successfully you will receive a confirmation email with your application. Applicants will generally be advised of the outcome of their application within four weeks from the closing date.

To reset your password, navigate to the login page. Enter your email address used to login. Leave the password field blank and click ‘forgot your password?’. A new password will be sent to your email address.

Read the program description carefully before applying and consider the eligibility criteria, to understand what is being asked of you. Take note of the supporting documentation required and make sure you have it to hand.
A good application is engaging and concise but gives all the information required. You need to answer every relevant question and attach supporting evidence. Finally, inspire us! Tell us why your project will make a difference to your organisation, community, and/or you. We receive lots of applications and passion shines through.

As a rough estimate, the entire process can take around 20-30 minutes. This includes registering as a user and completing your application. However, it can take longer if your project is complex. Note, you can save your application to complete at any time so long as the grant or scholarship is still accepting applications. Remember, we don’t accept applications after midnight on the closing date.

The Foundation can only fund not-for-profit organisations with a current and valid ABN. If your business or organisation wishes to apply for a grant but isn’t a not-for-profit, you will need to establish a relationship with an organisation that fits this criteria and work with them to deliver the project. We refer to these organisations ‘Project Partners’. The project partner will receive the funds on behalf of the applicant to be spent on the project. It’s preferable if the project partner makes a tangible contribution to the project. This contribution can be monetary or in-kind. Notable groups that need project partner support of their state governing body include Scouts and emergency services organisations. This is simple for the local group to arrange and the Foundation can assist if needed. Note, government entities cannot always funded directly and generally need a project partner. If this applies to you please contact the Foundation on 0499 241 917 to discuss before submitting your application.

The Foundation can only provide funding for projects that have a charitable purpose. This means they provide a benefit to the wider community. Traditionally, charitable projects fit into one of five main categories: a. the relief of poverty b. the relief of sickness and distress c. the advancement of education d. the advancement of religion e. other purposes beneficial to community. Each grant program also has its own criteria, so please read the funding guidelines carefully before applying to make sure your project is eligible.

Furthermore, for funds distributed by the Foundation from the Australian Disaster Relief Fund (the trust), monies must benefit 2019/2020 bushfire affected communities across East Gippsland. Project activities or works must be used for:
• Bushfire recovery
• Community-led capacity building
• Disaster planning & preparedness
From time to time, different grant streams may introduce different criteria which will be promoted at the time and will need to be addressed in the grant application process.

The Foundation cannot provide funding for projects that are illegal, commercial or confer private benefits, such as distributions to owners or members, benefits to members, benefits to individual entities that may not be members of an organisation and/or incidental or ancillary private benefits. It’s important to note the advancement of sport, recreation and social activities is not considered a charitable activity by the ATO. Therefore, applications from sporting organisations need to clearly demonstrate a benefit to the wider community and should clearly indicate which other local organisations are involved. The Foundation is unable to fund projects retrospectively. The Foundation will not consider projects that are vague, have insufficient value or that are of indeterminable value to the community.

As mentioned previously, the advancement of sport is not considered a charitable activity by the ATO. However, this does not restrict not-for-profit sporting clubs from applying for funding for projects that are non-sporting or clearly demonstrate a benefit to the wider community and fit within one of the five charitable categories listed above. Examples of charitable projects often championed by sporting groups include building and maintaining multipurpose public facilities, all-abilities programs, health promotion and leadership education.

Under Australian Law, government entities are not considered charitable. It is for this reason the Foundation cannot fund Commonwealth, state, or local government entities for core government functions with a charitable grant. However, on some occasions these entities have a separate fund with the correct charitable endorsement. For example, some state schools have a library or building fund that may be acceptable. To check whether your organisation has this status, log onto the Australia Business Register https://www.abr.business.gov.au/ and type in your ABN.

The Foundation requires all applicants (or project partners, where relevant) to provide copies of their most recent financial statements. This could be an annual report, balance sheet or profit and loss statement. Ideally, these should be audited but we understand that some smaller organisations may find this prohibitive. Letters of support are an effective way to demonstrate community need and benefit, particularly for large projects or initiatives that have a sporting or recreational element and need to show wide community benefit. Applications involving a project partner must include a letter of support from the organisation acting as project partner. A template is available on the Foundation website. Written quotes and costs provide solid evidence that the budget is realistic, well planned and allows us to verify that your budget is accurate. However, we are also happy to accept online estimates, catalogue listings and emails confirming price discussions where appropriate.

The Foundation requires all scholarship applicants to provide copies of their current school results and a letter of offer (when relevant) to the course they will be studying.

It’s important to be realistic and do your research ahead of time. In the expense table, include all items for your project and provide a reasonable level of detail. Don’t forget to include the total value of in-kind support as well. Your grant request amount will automatically be populated into the budget, but you will need to list all the other sources of income for your project. This includes in-kind support and support from other organisations. Please do not list GST as a stand-alone item in your budget. If you are paying GST on goods and services, include it for that line item. If you are not paying GST on other items, do not include it. Please note, quotes, and estimates for budget items are compulsory. We understand that getting written quotes can be difficult sometimes, so we’re happy to accept email or online quotes, catalogue listings, position descriptions and a range of other documents that confirm the cost of your program.

You will need to include any in-kind support you receive related to the grant request and ensure it is represented as income and expenditure in your application. In-kind support is any contribution made to a project that has a dollar value but has been provided as goods or services instead of cash. Common examples are volunteer hours, equipment, services, or discounts.

You can submit multiple applications for funding to the same grants program for different projects. When writing your submissions, it’s important to note you cannot apply for multiple projects on the same application, unless they are related. Each unrelated project requires its own application, which includes a separate project description and budget. You will need to complete the first application before beginning the next, unless you register the second application under a different email address.

Each grant program has its own opening and closing dates. Applicants will generally be advised of the outcome of their application within 4 weeks from the closing date.

Grant Writing Tips

You can greatly increase your chances of attracting the funds you’re looking for by employing proper planning and preparation, together with effort and an appropriate allocation of time.
Grants should support identified goals, meet a clear need, and bring forward projects. There is much to be done before applying for a grant. If you’re reacting to an advertisement in the paper, then you’re not ready.

When You Find Funding Opportunities

Check your eligibility and the grant program timeline, and then consider whether it’s worth applying. Do you have sufficient time to submit a quality application?
You’ve decided to apply – first things first; understand the deadlines and aim to have your application completed and ready to submit early. Ideally, this would be the day before applications close.

If you decide to apply:

There’s plenty to do before you get started. Don’t underestimate how long it will take to prepare a budget or to undertake community consultation, and/or gather community and stakeholder support. Can you help the funding body visualise your initiative by providing photos, maps, diagrams or plans?
Will you need letters of support? If so, draft a one-pager about your project and reach out early to those organisations and individuals from whom you’re looking for a letter of support. Don’t leave this until after you’ve completed writing your application, because sometimes these letters can take a while to come in.

Know your project

What is the challenge you’re going to solve, or the opportunity you plan to seize?
The more planning you do, the more likely it is that your project will be successful. Your efforts won’t be wasted. Draft a project plan. This should include a succinct summary of the project, its rationale, supporting evidence of need, activities / components, reach, risk management, outcomes and a budget.

Budget

Don’t underestimate how long it may take you to prepare a budget. Show value for money. Explain your assumptions and costs. Allow plenty of time to source quotes. If you have project partners, agree with them beforehand about how the funds will be allocated.
If your project costs more than the maximum grant available in a program – should you apply? Estimate how much volunteer time will be contributed by members of your organisation and other supporters. This can help to indicate the degree of community support for the project.

Writing Tips

Grant Recipients

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