Grants and Scholarships Update

The NAB Foundation has launched its 2017 grants program with a new format offering longer-term funding of up to three years, under two separate grant categories.

The Domestic and Family Violence Support Grant aims to support work in prevention, early intervention and improvement in support to victims by supporting initiatives that:

• focus on preventing violence including the cultivation of respectful relationships or consider cultural requirements within certain communities
• aim to stop the cycle of violence within families and communities through focus on intergenerational change
• are innovative in approach to early intervention focused on people who are at risk of becoming perpetrators of domestic and family violence
• enable greater collaboration between service groups to improve access and delivery of support services to victims
• focus on technology solutions to facilitate the safe and secure access to information and support as well as the use of data to improve support of victims.

The Financial Shocks Support Grant aims to support work in helping Australians build financial resilience to prepare for and weather financial shocks to prevent long-term financial damage.

This grant will consider initiatives that:

• focus on designing, testing or launching of innovative products, services or programs that support positive financial behaviour
• support the use of data and data analytics to provide insights that will positively influence financial behaviour or help stop Australians falling into financial hardship
• focus on new or different solutions and harness the transformative power of technology
• focus on new or different learning delivery tools and mechanisms for increasing financial literacy that is identified as a gap in this area.

NAB said its 2017 program offered two grant types with amounts starting from $50,000 per year to $500,000 (paid over a period of up to three years).

These include:

• the Thrive Grant to help organisations become sustainable, scale or collaborate and move to their next stage of growth
• the Seed Grant to support the seeding of innovative ideas or help organisations get started through supporting core operations and capacity building.

NAB Foundation manager Lan Liu said charities and social enterprises could both apply.

“Another significant change this year is that the NAB Foundation is now able to grant to charities and social enterprises as long as the program, project, initiative, or organisation that is applying for a grant has a charitable purpose,” Liu said.

“An organisation can be but does not need to have deductible gift recipient (DGR) status to be eligible to apply.”

The NAB Foundation grant round is now open online via Smarty Grants and will close at 5pm on Friday 21 April 2017.

Further information on eligibility, FAQs and the application process is available on the website.

Aurizon’s Community Giving Fund

Local community groups and charities nationally can apply for cash grants of up to $20,000 through the latest round of Aurizon’s Community Giving Fund.

Andrew Harding, CEO of Australia’s largest rail-based transport business said Aurizon was proud to say that since 2011 its Community Giving Fund had supported more than 240 charities and not-for-profit organisations across the country in education, community safety, environment as well as health and wellbeing.

Applications for the latest round of Aurizon’s Community Giving Fund are open until 5pm AEST Friday 28 April 2017.

NFP leader’s scholarship opportunity

McCarthy Mentoring is again offering its NFP Executive Mentoring Scholarship in 2017.

Now in its fifth year, the scholarship is designed to assist a talented executive progress their career, strengthen their leadership skills, manage tough organisation challenges and increase their capacity to affect change through their important work in the community.

The scholarship winner will be offered a six month Executive Mentoring Program with a selected mentor external to the organisation.

The mentor will be chosen from a suite of well-respected leaders from business, government and the not-for-profit sector that have reached the top of their fields and that share McCarthy Mentoring’s commitment to developing others.

The program provides the mentee with a trusted confidential advisor to assist them to:

• develop their leadership skills and capacity
• build confidence and resilience
• clarify and map their goals and career path
• broaden networks
• manage challenging workplace issues
• gain support from board and other stakeholders
• further understand best governance practice
• work more effectively with the board.

Applications close 7 April 2017.

Full details, online application and stories of past participants are available here.

Fulbright scholarship strengthens global disaster response

A leading figure in the humanitarian response to disasters in the Asia-Pacific, Professor Matthew Clarke has become the newest recipient of the Origin Foundation’s NFP Fulbright Scholarship.

Clarke’s Centre for Humanitarian Leadership at Deakin University has been responsible for training around 400 people since being established three years ago, building the capacity of development workers who are among the frontline when disaster strikes.

“There is enormous disruption to people’s lives when a disaster occurs,” Clarke said.

“The role that humanitarian leadership plays in supporting communities and helping them get back on their feet is critical to re-building, often when everything is lost.”

Clarke will use his Fulbright Scholarship to travel to the United States later this year to build connections with the country’s aid sector, as he extends the reach and impact of the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership. He will also visit humanitarian centres at Tufts and Harvard universities.

Head of Origin Foundation Sean Barrett applauded Clarke’s work in establishing the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, and the vital role it has played in improving disaster response.

“Fulbright Scholarships are about sharing knowledge,” Barrett said.

“While Professor Clarke will learn much, he will also be able to share the expertise accumulated at Deakin University. The prestige of the Fulbright program will enhance the international reputation of the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership.”