Grantmaking

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Australian Communities Foundation supports a range of charitable organisations and projects each year.  

Grants are made locally, Australia wide and internationally through Australian registered charitable organisations.

These fall broadly into the areas of arts & culture, community development & advocacy, community services & welfare, disability, education, training & employment, environment, health & medical research, overseas aid & development.

Specific target groups are also supported, including Indigenous communities and refugee/asylum seekers.

Australian Communities Foundation primarily makes grants to the community in two ways:

  • through requests from our donors on the basis of their areas of interest and 
  • through Australian Communities Foundation’s identified strategic initiatives, such as  MacroMelbourne, Youth at Risk,  and Indigenous Education and Capacity Building.

Seeking Funds from Australian Communities Foundation

There is no formal submission process for organisations seeking funds from Australian Communities Foundation. Eligible organisations can submit a request for a grant via our on line submission form.

Who can Australian Communities Foundation support?

Australian Communities Foundation only makes grants to organisations with the following tax ATO endorsements:

  • TCC – Tax Concession Charity
  • DGR – Deductible Gift Recipient Item 1 of the table in section 30‑15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA) 
  • Organisations listed on the Register of Cultural Organisations www.arts.gov.au 
  • Organistations listed on the Register of Environmental Organisations www.environment.gov.au
  • Organisations with DGR Special Listing in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997


The Australian Government’s Australian Business Register online enables you to search your organisation’s name or ABN and see whether it is endorsed as an Item 1 DGR and TCC.  www.abr.business.gov.au

What happens once the request for a grant is received?

Each request is checked to ensure it meets the ATO eligibility requirements and to ensure the intention of the grant is charitable. Requests for grants are then made available for donors to view online. 

Organisations will only be contacted if there is interest from a donor in providing a grant and more information is required.

Following consideration by Australian Communities Foundation and donors, grants recommended to receive funding are tabled each month for approval by the Grants Committee.

Follow the link to submit a grant request to Australian Communities Foundation

What if a request for a grant is successful? 

All successful grant recipients will be notified in writing.  Payment is made by cheque and organisations must supply a tax deductible receipt to Australian Communities Foundation.

Are there any reporting requirements?

Grant agreement and project reporting forms will be sent with approval letters to all organisations to which grants have been made over $1,000.

To view examples of recent grants made by Australian Communities Foundation read some Grant Stories.

For a full list of grants made in the last financial  year, read the Annual Report.