Community grants: a quick guide to key internet links
This quick guide provides links to select sources of financial assistance to community groups, as well as options for individuals looking for advice on the process of applying for funding – writing grant applications can be daunting, but there are many ways to seek support, such as:
- Utilising the Mentoring for Growth’s Ask a mentor series to access the expertise of mentors and discuss your funding needs – they can usually offer valuable suggestions on how to improve your pitch.
- Accessing the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ) online and easily accessible resources and information
- Referencing the How to prepare and write a grant on this Business Queensland website.
Using the fact sheets available on The Funding Centre website: https://explore.fundingcentre.com.au/help-sheets/writing-grant - Visiting the Grants Hub resources page, for application hints and tips, budget development resources, and basic writing dos and don’ts.
- Checking the legal issues that may arise for community organisations when they apply for and receive a grant or funding. https://www.nfplaw.org.au/free-resources/fundraising-and-holding-events/grant-funding
Example sources of funding:
The Community Grants Hub will connect you to GrantConnect, the Australian Government’s centralised grants information system. It is the authoritative source for grants information, where you can search for opportunities. The Hub also contains information and fact sheets to support people and organisations interested in applying for community grants to develop and submit their applications.
The Queensland Government website list grants and funding opportunities for your organisation, as well as advice and tools to assist you in developing your grant application. Specifically for sport and recreation organisations, and artists and art organisations, the Queensland Government Recreation, Sport and Arts page will link you to Sport and Recreation funding programs, and arts funding programs, grants and sponsorships.
Brisbane City Council – Brisbane City Council’s community grant programs help fund local non-profit community groups. This funding helps to develop and improve community facilities and services in Brisbane. Grants also help meet the housing and social needs of people experiencing homelessness and support community groups facing financial hardship.
The Celebrating Multicultural Queensland Grants Program provides funding to events and projects that promote cultural diversity and inclusiveness in the community.
The Queensland Community Foundation (QCF) is a public charitable trust set up to serve the state’s communities by providing a permanent funding source for charity. QCF supports over two hundred charitable organisations each year through its distribution of income and grant-making.
The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation provides information and links to a number of community benefit programs that are funded by gaming revenue and provide grants to local organisations. Most notable is the Gambling Community Benefit Fund (GCBF), Queensland’s largest one-off community grants program and distributes approximately $60 million each year to not-for-profit community groups.
In addition to Council and government grant funding opportunities, there are a range of enterprises that support community projects, such as the Sidney Myer Fund & the Myer Foundation which provides grants in four key areas: the arts and humanities; education; poverty and disadvantage; and sustainability and the environment, and the Telstra Foundation, which provides community development grants for technological innovation projects aimed at children and young people.
The Woolworths Group also provides support to local community organisations and charities, and the CommBank Staff Foundation aims specifically to assist community groups with youth programs focused on health, education and social inclusion.
