Grants & Fundraising
Introduction
There are numerous grant schemes providing money for a range of sustainability projects. Many of these are on a yearly or regular cycle. So, if you are too late to apply now, they may come up again in the future.
Grants currently open for application
These lists are not exhaustive and we do not specifically endorse any of them. They are provided for your information only.
Whilst there are many sustainable actions that we can undertake that do not require money more often than not many projects are dependant on some financial support. Having money enables the acquisition of plants or tools or can be used to help prepare and protect the project site. One of the important things about obtaining a grant is that it ensures the project will be viable and can sometimes help others to get involved because they see that this plan or project has support. Being successful with project funding is an important start but it needs to be remembered that with a grant comes an expectation that the project will proceed. Your team will be expected to account for how you spend the money and report on what you have done and what has been achieved.
Also be aware that many grants will have a long lead in time which means you may have to apply for money this year for a project you will undertake in the next year. One of the advantages of this is that it gives you plenty of time to plan and prepare. The secret of a great project is often in the amount of planning you do as well as the number of partners you bring in to get involved. It is really important to get students involved in the planning stage and let them own the project as much as possible. Staff, your grounds person, parents, your local community and council are all important partners. Don’t forget environmental professionals such as your local NRM Education staff who are there to help you with your projects. Taking action in your school is a great way to learn about how you can work together to solve problems and help protect our environment and planet.
How to get Money for your projects
This workshop provided ideas on raising money for environmental projects and was developed through the Youth Environment Council of South Australia.
http://www.yecsa.net.au/documents/How_to_get_money_for_your_project.pdf
Community Grants Website
A new website showing available community grants: http://community.grantready.com.au