These grants aim to support equity and opportunity for Australian communities through local community-driven solutions that build self-reliance and empowerment.
Strong and Resilient Communities – Inclusive Communities grants will support the social and economic participation of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in their communities by providing funding that supports:
- the development of young people aged 12 to 18 years who are, or are at risk of, being disengaged, marginalised and having limited engagement with education/training
- people with disabilities and/or mental health issues to participate in their community, and work towards becoming and/or remaining independent and engaged
- vulnerable women who experience, or are at risk of, isolation or discrimination, to participate in their community and increase their sense of self agency and empowerment
- people who are unemployed to address individual barriers to social and economic participation and employment by increasing their capacity for engagement with existing employment, community supports, and training services, as they work towards gaining meaningful employment.
Expected Project Outcomes
Funded projects under the program may achieve one or more of the following outcomes:
- increased social, civic and economic participation
- increased connection and functioning within communities
- reduced levels of social isolation/increased sense of belonging in communities
- people are self-reliant, empowered and experience improved mental health
- people are engaged with education, training and work-ready services and activities
- people have improved work skills and increased opportunities for paid work
- people engage with and sustain engagement with community services and activities
- people are engaged with skills development and learning opportunities in their communities
- people have improved connections and linkages to services that further support their increased social, civic and economic participation
Funding will be available to eligible organisations to deliver one-off, time-limited, new projects in their communities. Projects may include a trial, seed or start-up project to establish new activities, short-term interventions, or the significant reframing of existing activities.
Please note: Applications for a previously funded or existing project cannot be funded under this grant opportunity unless the new project represents a change to the service provision type, location or cohort. This grant opportunity is not designed to support ongoing service delivery.
Eligible expenditure
You can only spend the grant on eligible expenditure incurred under the agreed project activities.
Eligible expenditure items are:
- staff salaries and on-costs, which can be directly attributed to the provision of the grant program in the identified service area or areas as per the grant agreement
- employee training for paid and unpaid staff including Committee and Board members, that is relevant, appropriate and in line with the grant program
- operating and administration expenses directly related to the project as per the grant agreement, such as:
- rent and outgoings
- computer/IT/website/software
- insurance
- utilities, including telephone
- postage, stationery and/or printing
- accounting and auditing
- domestic travel/accommodation costs
- up to 2 years of vehicle leasing
- assets as defined in the Terms and Conditions that can be reasonably attributed to meeting agreement deliverables
- evaluation of the project – up to 7.5% of the total grant may be used for evaluation and exploring possible options for future sustainability and ongoing viability of the funded project beyond the SARC Activity – Inclusive Communities Grant
Apply for Strong and Resilient Communities (SARC) Activity – Inclusive Communities
Applications close November 3, 2022 but note the earliest start date of grant activity is July 1, 2023 and projects must be completed by June 30, 2025.
apply for strong and resilient communities (sarc) activity – inclusive communities »