Women

Now Open: Advance QLD Female Founders Program

QLD Department of Employment, Small Business and Training

Closing: Ongoing Applications Accepted

The Female Founders program is designed to assist female founders at different stages of the entrepreneurial cycle. The program focuses on increasing the participation rates and business skills of female founders in Queensland and provides support to those in the growth phase that need assistance to take their business to the next level. 

Female Founders Impact Program - Delivers capability development activities, which focus on confidence, education and skills development. The program is delivered by Impact Innovation Group and options include:

• Personalised Pathways
• Mentor Match
• Learning Links
• Events and Webinars

 Please visit Impact Innovation Group for more information.

Female Founders Advisory Board Program - Delivering the skills and exposure to engage effectively with advisors and to establish best practice governance and advisory foundations in your business to support growth. Delivered by the Advisory Board Centre, programs include:

• Essentials Program: group sessions designed for female business owners with growth aspirations who need assistance gaining clarity about the type of support they need including confidence, skills and exposure
• Starter Program: designed to establish best practice governance, business diagnostics and foundations of a structure to support their growth plans
• Growth Program: Female Founders with a carefully selected, highly qualified Certified Chair to provide strategic guidance on the evaluation, implementation and facilitation of an advisory structure based on the ABF101 Advisory Board Best Practice Framework™ to meet business needs.

Please visit Female Founders Program Advisory Board Centre for further details. 

Spark Female Founders Program - The Spark Female Founders program is a 12-month program providing female-led startups access to business support, first-rate mentors, sales and marketing strategies and a renowned global influencer marketing analytics and education platform. Advance Queensland is supporting a cohort of 25 female founded startups to participate in the program, which is tailored to focus on revenue growth, marketing and confidence.

Advance Queensland is subsidising $4200 towards individual participant’s program costs, with each required to co-fund the remaining $500.  Please visit the Spark Female Founders Program page to learn more about the program and successful recipients. 

Guidelines and Applications

Application Guidelines and further information on each of these opportunities is available at the Female Founders Program website.

Currently Closed

National Careers Institute Partnership Grants Program: Career Opportunities & Pathways for Women

Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment

Closed: 2 December 2021

The Australian Government National Careers Institute Partnership Grants program provides funding to enhance partnerships with industry, employers, schools and tertiary institutions to deliver innovative career advisory products and services for people at all stages of their careers.

The objectives for round 3 of the program are to:

• create greater awareness of career pathways and career information for women with a focus on women returning to work from a career break, women in non-traditional industries and occupations, or industries where women are under-represented (including at senior levels)
• contribute to an evidence base for addressing the needs of women undertaking training and apprenticeships
• enhance partnerships between industry, employers, schools and tertiary providers that support women through traditional and non-traditional career pathways.

The intended outcomes of the program are:

• enhanced career pathways that help women of working age to reach their full career potential
• increased understanding by women of skills and attributes sought by employers including in new and emerging industries
• stronger local collaboration in the delivery of career guidance to women of working age
• improved quality of locally based career guidance to women of working age.

Grants from $20,000 to $350,000 are available for application for up to 12 months.

Eligibility

To be eligible you must have an Australian business number (ABN) and be one of the following entities:

• an entity, incorporated in Australia
• an incorporated not for profit organisation
• a secondary school that is registered with a state or territory authority
• an Australian local government agency or body as defined in section 14 of the guidelines
• an Australian State/Territory Government agency or body.

Joint applications are mandatory and you must have a lead organisation who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply. For further information on joint applications, refer to section 7.1 of the grant guidelines.

The program can only accept applications where you have identified one or more partners that will support the delivery of your project. You must include partners from both categories (unless you are one of the categories) below:

• a school/group of schools, a tertiary education provider/group or a community organisation/group, or a career advisory organisation/body
• an employer/employer group, industry body (including business bodies) or training provider (including group training organisations).

If you, as the lead applicant fall under one category, you only need to include a partner from the other category.

Guidelines

• Read and understand the Grant Opportunity Guidelines and criteria;
• Read the Sample Grant Agreement;
• Read the Sample Application Form

Applications

To apply, you must submit your application through the Online Portal. You’ll need to set up an account when you first log into the portal. 

Mary Jane’s Foundation Women’s Health & Wellbeing Small Grants 2021

Mary Jane Foundation

Closed: 29 October 2021

Mary Jane Foundation is a philanthropic organisation working to advance the health and wellbeing of Australian women and girls through awareness, education and empowerment. The Foundation is currently offering small grants of up to $10,000 for initiatives focused on women’s health and wellbeing. They can only offer grants to not-for-profit organisations that provide proof of endorsement by the Australian Taxation Office (ie a certificate from the ATO) as a Deductible Gift Recipient Type 1 (DGR1) and Tax Charity Concessions (TCC). The Mary Jane Foundation aims to support grassroots advocacy groups and organisations to address gender gaps and bias in healthcare.

Guidelines

Applicants please note that:

• Organisations must be Australian based with the initiative delivered within Australia that is focused on the health and wellbeing of women and girls.
• The organisation’s annual income should be less than $1 million.
• The applicant organisation must have the support of its committee/board members.
• Only one submission per organisation will be considered within the same calendar year.
• Applicants must demonstrate the skills, knowledge and capabilities of key people accountable for successfully and responsibly managing the initiative.
• Successful organisations must have a bank account to accept funds via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
• Funds must be used for the purpose as outlined in the submission.

Further information is available from:  MJF Women’s Health and Wellbeing Grants 2021.

For queries and assistance, please contact: [email protected]

Applications

To submit a grant application please use the MJF Small Grants Online Application Form, or download the form and submit your application by email. You can preview and download the entire form in PDF by copying the following URL into your browser: https://maryjanefoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/MJF-Grants-Application-Form-2021-2022.pdf

Applications close on Friday 29th October 2021 at 5pm (AEST).

Queensland Government – Investing in Queensland Women Grants  

Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General

Closed: Round 2- 31 July 2021 

The Queensland Government’s Investing in Queensland Women Program provides funding for community initiatives that  help achieve the objectives of the Queensland Women’s Strategy 2016–21 and those that inspire and encourage the Queensland community to respect women, embrace gender equality and promote and protect the rights, interests and wellbeing of women and girls. One-off funding grants of up to $15,000 are available for eligible projects, with a duration of up to 6 months that:

• target people who identify as women and who may be more vulnerable or experience multiple levels of disadvantage, including
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • people with a disability
  • LGBTIQ+ people
  • people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (including people on temporary visas)
  • people in rural, regional and remote communities
  • young people
  • older people
• help achieve the objectives of the Queensland Women’s Strategy 2016–21 and inspire and encourage the Queensland community to respect women, embrace gender equality and promote and protect the rights, interests and wellbeing of women and girls
• help achieve the objectives of the Third Action Plan of Queensland’s Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Strategy 2016–2026 to reduce domestic and family violence reoffending, including working with perpetrators and/or with victim–survivors
• help achieve the objectives of Prevent. Support. Believe. Queensland’s Framework to address Sexual Violence.

Guidelines

Before starting an application, it is highly recommended that you read the following documents for more information about eligibility and selection criteria and requirements for successful applicants

• 2021 grant information and application guidelines
• Short form (particulars non-service provision) agreement
• Short form terms and conditions

As part of the application process, you will also need to complete and upload these forms:

• EFT application form
• ABN and GST advice form.

Applications

Applications can be accessed through SmartyGrants. 

For queries about the guidelines or application form, please contact Women's Infolink on 1800 177 577 during business hours or email [email protected] and quote your submission number.

Ecstra Women’s Economic Security Project Grants

Ecstra Foundation

Closed: 12 February 2021

The Women’s Economic Security Project Grants support charities and social enterprises building financial well-being through innovative employment opportunities and tailored financial capability tools for women. COVID-19 has exacerbated issues of economic inequality for many women – including barriers to employment participation, the burden of unpaid and lowly paid work, high levels of financial insecurity and inadequate superannuation.

The economic recovery period will be challenging for groups including young women entering the job market, older women seeking work, Indigenous women, refugee and migrant women. The Ecstra grants will support charities and social enterprises who develop and deliver meaningful employment opportunities for women as part of their response to these challenges.

The funding aims to:

• offer philanthropic support to charities and social enterprises creating meaningful employment opportunities for women who face barriers accessing mainstream paid work
• support organisations to integrate financial capability and personalised support into the delivery of these initiatives

The intended grant outcomes are:

• more opportunities for women to access meaningful and secure paid work through an employer, cooperative or their own enterprise – helping them achieve their career and financial goals
• more women are supported to build their financial capability, confidence and decision making through access to timely, relevant and tailored resources/support
• to enable charities and social enterprises to scale and share sustainable Initiatives
• contribute to the evidence base of ‘what works’ in building women’s economic security and financial wellbeing in Australia.

As a guide, funding proposals should be between $50,000 – $300,000 depending on the scale of the initiative and the relative size of the applicant.

Guidelines

Please refer to the following prior to starting a submission: 

Women's Economic Security Project Grant Guidelines ; Ecstra’s Funding Principles and Grant Guidelines (provides additional eligibility criteria);

Frequently Asked Questions

Applications

Applications must be submitted through Ecstra’s grant management system via this link, on or before midnight AEST on Friday 12 February 2021.

Please contact Ecstra at: [email protected] if you have any questions, need assistance with submitting your application online or wish to apply through another format.

The Centre for Women & Co.’s Scholarship Fund

The Centre for Women & Co.

Closed: 25th February 2021

The Centre for Women & Co's Scholarship Fund is dedicated to empowering women to achieve their potential. The following grants provide funding to support women’s well-being, safety and scholarship throughout the community.

Applications for 2020 are now being taken in the areas of:

• Business Start-Up - $2500

• Capital Purchase - $2500

• Education and Training - $2500

• Nominate a Friend - 2 scholarships available at $1250 each

Guidelines & Applications

1. Read the following documents:

• Guidelines

• Terms and Conditions

2. Fill in the application forms, available below:

• Business Start-up

• Capital Purchase

• Education and Training

• Nominate a Friend

3. Email completed application form, along with supporting documents to:

[email protected]

For queries or further information, please phone: (07) 3050 3060, or email using this online form.

n’s Alliances grants program  will establish 6 civil society networks (Alliances) to ensure women’s voices are heard in the policy making process. The Australian Government is inviting organisations to apply for grant funding under the Women’s Leadership and Development Program (WLDP) to serve as National Women’s Alliances.

The intended outcomes of the National Women’s Alliances stream are that Alliances:

• Represent Australian women, including underrepresented women
• Collaborate with policymakers to inform the Australian Government’s understanding of policy issues affecting Australian women
• Collaborate with policymakers to inform the development of policy solutions to issues affecting Australian women.

Alliances should have a national footprint. Given this, organisations should apply under one of the 6 specific themes to achieve maximum impact. The 6 themes are: 

• women’s safety
• women’s economic security and leadership
• Australian women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
• women living in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia
• Australian women living with disability.

Guidelines and Applications

Guidelines and further information for this round can be accessed at the GrantConnect  and Community Grants Hub websites.

If you would like assistance, please call the Community Grants Hub Hotline on 1800 020 283 (option 1) or email [email protected]

Please quote 2020-4531 – National Women’s Alliances when you phone or email the Community Grants Hub.

Boosting Female Founders Initiative Funding Program– Round 2

Australian Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment

Closed: 22 Apr 2021, 5:00pm

Funding for female founders of start-up businesses to scale their start-ups into domestic and global markets: