GRANTS
2023 Signature and Nurturing Grants
Grants focus areas: Employment & Economic Empowerment, Homelessness, Family Violence.
Applications open: Thursday 6 July 2023
Applications close: 6pm, Friday 4 August 2023
Outcomes notified: September
Signature Grant recipient & Nurturing Grant recipient voted: November
2023 Application Pack
The 2023 Application Pack contains the following
2023 Grants Guidelines – everything you need to know about eligibility, key dates, application requirements and more
2023 Application Template – word document to draft your responses, ready to enter into our online application form when the grant round opens in July.
2023 Activity Implementation, Evaluation, and Budget Plan – complete and upload with your application
Purpose of our Grants
The aim of the Melbourne Women’s Fund Grants Program is to help improve the well-being of vulnerable women and families in Metropolitan Melbourne.
We do this primarily by distributing a Signature Grant and a Nurturing Grant annually to two bold, often smaller, non-profit organisations striving to do outstanding work for the benefit of these individuals. Our membership votes for the two grant winners from among six finalists that present their organisation and proposed activity at our annual Grant Awards Celebration in November. We also provide smaller Merit Awards to our finalist runner-ups.
As we are a giving circle, our grant amounts are dependent entirely on the funds we receive from our members by 30 June each year.
Grant amounts are announced in July each year when the grants round opens for applications
Through the collaborative nature of our submission process, we strive to help strengthen the grant-seeking capacity of the non-profits that submit an application. This includes being available to consult, listen and answer questions throughout and providing individual written feedback on unsuccessful grant submissions.
For our finalists, we deliver tailored pitch training. We also work flexibly with each finalist organisation to arrange a site visit or other engagement activity so MWF members can see their work first-hand. In the past, engagement with our finalists has resulted in MWF members contributing pro bono services to organisations and/or funding support. This is in addition to a variety of network support we provide our finalists and winners after the Grant Awards Celebration.
MWF grants are reviewed by Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer and approved by its Board.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to apply for a Melbourne Women’s Fund grant, organisations must meet these four main criteria.
DGR & TCC
Be endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) as covered by Item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, and as a Tax Concession Charity (TCC).
ACNC
Be up-to-date in its reporting to the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission (ACNC).
Previous Year Finalists
Organisations cannot be a MWF Finalist or Grant Recipient from the previous year. Note: Recipients & finalists from previous years that are not from the immediate past year ARE eligible to apply again.
Beneficiaries
The activity takes place in metropolitan Melbourne and the direct beneficiaries are: Young and/or adult women OR Young and/or adult women together with their families.
Activities that involve young and/or adult men are eligible if purposed to achieve positive outcomes for the above direct beneficiaries.
Melbourne Women’s Fund is a Charitable Fund Account of Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation