Community Giving Project

To be eligible, applicants: 

• must be a not-for-profit organisation with an ABN or Incorporation Certificate. (unincorporated organisations may be auspiced by an incorporated organisation and must provide a letter from the auspice organisation confirming that the auspice arrangement is valid and current) 
• must be located and service a regional, rural or remote community in which Elders or, an Elders owned and operated business, operates or has a physical presence, i.e., not a metropolitan area (this includes rural products and real estate branches)
• must not be affiliated with a political party or union, or take an overtly political stance in the focus of their work
• may have a religious basis, but any program or initiative must not incorporate religious teaching into the delivery of the program or initiative
• should declare if you are seeking funding for the same initiative elsewhere. It will not hinder your application or possible success
• must be able to provide a Certificate of Currency for public liability insurance (where applicable).

We welcome applications for projects which align to a pillar and have wide reaching and long-term impact in your community. We encourage innovation and creativity – the opportunities are endless!  

No, we will only be accepting applications from regional, rural or remote locations.  

There are 14 grants available, two per pillar including the People’s Choice category.

When applications are open, you will be redirected to a platform called SmartyGrants. SmartyGrants is a hosted grants management application that allows grantmakers to receive and manage applications, and is Australia’s most used grant administration system. 

You will need to include the following: 

• Your ABN or Incorporated Number
• Organisational information, including your purpose, annual revenue, and legal structure
• If you are being Auspiced, you will need the organisation details and a letter confirming the auspice agreement
• Project title and the rationale for the initiative/project and who will benefit, with reference to the pillars
• A business case and activation plan outlining budget, timelines, objectives and intended outcomes
• Letters of support of your project (if available, and highly recommended)
• Anticipated budget and expenditure
• Risk assessment
• Recent annual report (weblink is acceptable) or financial statements.

• Consider and outline the relevant permits, approvals, insurances etc required for the initiative.   
• Declare if you are seeking funding for the same initiative elsewhere. It will not hinder your application or possible success.  
• Secure the required and necessary insurances in place to provide and/or deliver the initiative.  
• Ensure that you meet all criteria prior to submitting your application, as incomplete and ineligible applications will not proceed to the next round. We will not follow up on any missing documentation after an application has been submitted.  

It will take approximately six weeks for all applications to be reviewed, with successful applicants announced in July. 

Successful applications will be notified via phone and email, with a subsequent contractual agreement issued to confirm the grant.   

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email.  

Unfortunately, no. You can imagine the number of applications we receive, so it’s not possible to provide feedback on every application. We encourage you to reapply the following grant round.   

Once due diligence is complete and you accept and sign the grant offer letter, you will receive your funding within 30 business days.  

Applications will go through several assessment rounds. Through an unbiased process, applications will first be assessed in eligibility and completeness of application. They will then be assessed by subject matter experts, with successful applications moving to a second round. These will then be assessed by the Community Giving Project selection panel, before final due diligence is undertaken, and successful application selected.  

Your application will be assessed across the following areas: 

• Alignment against the elected pillar/s  
• Expected outcome and impact of the initiative  
• Need for the initiative within the community  
• Eligibility of organisation applying   
• Reputation of the organisation and ability to deliver on the initiative  
• Ability to show use of funds  
• Ability to measure and report on outcomes of the initiative  
• Alignment with the goals and values of Elders  
• Potential for success of the initiative  
• Innovation and creativity.  

You will be required to submit an acquittal form outlining how the funds were used and the measured impact on the community by a specified date as determined by Elders.