Last chance for charity grants

QUEENSLAND charities have just three days left to apply for grants of up to $30,000 each as part of the 2020 Queensland Community Foundation’s latest General Fund round worth half a million dollars.

OzHarvest volunteers who were among the beneficiaries of the last round of QCF funding for charities.

QUEENSLAND charities have just three days left to apply for grants of up to $30,000 each as part of the 2020 Queensland Community Foundation's latest General Fund round worth half a million dollars.

The QCF General Fund grants are designed to support organisational capacity building for charities by providing funds for the development of structures, systems, people and skills to improve the outcomes of the charity's recipients.

Examples include education and training of staff, board or management, recruiting, maintaining or recognising volunteers, information technology support systems, and planning and governance which may include strategic plans, constitution reviews or board appraisals.

Charities must have DGR1 charitable status to be eligible to apply.

OzHarvest, a food rescue charity for people in need on the Gold Coast, directly benefited from the Queensland Community Foundation grant in 2019.

OzHarvest's Gold Coast manager Sally Anderson said the Queensland Community Foundation funding had made a huge impact on OzHarvest's ability to onboard new volunteers and manage its volunteers through its new centralised database.

"It has enabled us to significantly increase our activity and make a difference to so many more frontline programs on the Gold Coast," she said.

Since its creation in 1997 by former Queensland Premier Mike Ahern, the Queensland Community Foundation has distributed more than $28.8 million to Queensland charities.

The QCF comprises a general fund and a collection of sub-funds.

Donations or bequests to QCF are pooled and invested, with the investment income distributed through grants and gifts on an ongoing basis, meaning a donation to QCF lasts forever.

Grant applications can be found at qcf.org.au/grants/general-fund-grant-making and applications close on 13 March, 2020.

Originally published as