Foundation reaches new heights in grants funding

UNPRECEDENTED figures have the Geelong Community Foundation (GCF) excited for what’s next, on the back of another successful Main Grants Round.

GCF program manager Amy Waters said this year’s Main Grants Round has allocated 50 grants to local organisations from a funding pool of $1.4 million, both of which are records on the back of an abundance of requests.

“$3.8 million in funding requests from 83 different organisations is the highest we have ever had in terms of requests to date and significant progress on emergency relief and mental health were two of the really big things that came through with this grant round as well.

“What we’ve really responded to is a big focus on three key parts that combat cost of living, such as food relief, material aid and then homelessness assistance.

“It’s been a busy few months, but we are again so proud to assist the community again this year in our 24th year.”

Of the 50 grant recipients announced at this month’s Grants Reception event held at GMHBA Stadium, 41 of the organisations are new recipients – also a record for the foundation.

Other areas grant allocations have focused on include education and employment, a lone environment and sustainability grant, health, resilience and connection grant, an emergency grant and student support.

The largest of the grants announced is the P500 Grant Recipient, announced as Tiny Dots Early Intervention, receiving $79,000 to expand its community care clinics from fortnightly to weekly.

The foundation has also committed $30,500 to developing two food relief sites at Meredith Community Centre ($5,500) and Winchelsea Community House ($25,000).

Ms Waters explained she is pleased with the continued growth of the foundation, which allows the funding pool to grow and commit to larger-scale projects moving forward.

“We had $1.34 million in grant funding available last year, so as our corpus grows, our grant-making ability grows as well,” Ms Waters said.

“We are required by the Australian Taxation Office to donate four per cent of our funds each year, so we met our four per cent this year and a little bit more.

“Our corpus currently sits at $36 million, so we’re really excited that every dollar we give lives on forever and the focus now turns to making our grant recipients our partners down the track.”

All grants were paid last week and the foundation’s attention now turns to its Adroit Insurance Golf Day on November 21, where funds will be raised for this year’s Adroit Insurance & Risk Golf Day Capital Grant Round.

Following the golf day, one local community organisation will be awarded a grant of $75,000.

To find out how to apply, or to view the full list of 2024-25 Main Grants recipients, head to geelongfoundation.org