Inspiring groups use Small Grants to make a deep social impact

CCI Giving has announced fourth round recipients of the Small Grants Program which distributes up to $150,000 to eligible charities, annually. This includes single grants of up to $5,000 to support events or projects and up to $10,000 to support small capital works initiatives.

In the latest round of grants, sixteen community organisations were selected to share in $75,000 that was pledged towards programs driving social benefits for people experiencing difficulty and hardship.

CCI Giving Chair, Jeremy Yipp, says the initiatives of all the recipients inspire dialogue and action to redress poverty and social inequality in its many forms.

“Some of our applicants rely on community support completely in their work to help families at risk of violence. There are groups that support asylum seekers, homeless women and men, and students who have educational and financial disadvantage.”

“The types of applications demonstrate a clear need to support young people. Programs in this round will help children in need of therapeutic care to access sensory rooms, and one applicant is providing equine therapy that enables kids to care and work with horses to facilitate mental wellbeing and self-care awareness. In 2020, we’re going to see musical and creative workshops for students, and mentoring and tutoring for young people with learning disabilities. These are just some examples of the projects that CCI Giving is proud to help drive forward. All of the submissions this year represent an incredible range of initiatives making a profound difference to communities.”

Jeremy Yipp, CCI Giving

Applications for the next round of the CCI Giving Small Grants Program will open in January 2020.

The full list of recipients of CCI Giving’s Small Grants Round 4:

Centacare Catholic Family Services

A grant will help to provide two therapy rooms with sensory modalities for people in South Australia who access services across the Children’s Services Unit at Centacare. The rooms will be located at Centrecare’s Seaton and Elizabeth sites, for up to 300 families from across metropolitan Adelaide to use. The rooms have been designed following research compiled by the Therapeutic Work Group within the Children's Services Unit to provide safe spaces that are outside the family home.

Beacon Foundation

A grant will support the delivery of two Work Readiness Programs in the first half of 2020, reaching approximately 40 high school students at St. Benedicts College in Queensland and Marist Regional College in Tasmania. Young people gain skills that are not always available through the core curriculum. Students get careers guidance, learn 21st century skills, develop professional etiquette and have a chance to engage with professionals. The initiative creates optimism, increases possibilities for a positive life and empowers youth to take important steps toward financial independence and well-being.

Wickham Community Projects Incorporated

The Feed Program in Western Australia supports communities to plan, prepare and gather for a feed on a regular basis. Many people suffer from a poor diet due to a cycle of abuse (both substance and physical) and the initiative helps people to plan, prepare and gather in a safe environment to eat. The initiative means significant lifestyle improvements for children, women, men and the elderly. The aim of the program is to enable skills transfer to home life and promote a flow-on effect into family networks.

Horses For Hope Limited

Catholic Care assists young people to participate in Horses for Hope equine therapy sessions. Participants who have mental health issues learn new skills by working with horses that themselves have experienced a difficult background. In learning how to gain the trust and co-operation of horses, participants begin to understand the effect of their behaviour on those around them and how their calmness and confidence works on people too.

St Vincent de Paul Society

The Society is building renewable energy capacity in New South Wales; installing solar-power panels on the roofs of seven transitional-accommodation units for homeless people, and on the Matthew Talbot Centre (MTC)'s roof. This reduces living costs for vulnerable tenants and improves their ability to pay bills (part of their rent costs). Cost savings for MTC will fund Life-Skills programs for homeless men transitioning to housing and prevent descent into chronic homelessness. The annual electricity cost is $9,000 for the units and $5,388 for MTC per year. Solar panels provide a 40% saving (units) and 58% (MTC) creating a reduction of $6,725 per year in costs.

Wellsprings for Women

Wellsprings Women's Cooking Program is an avenue for migrant and refugee women to engage as a team and work on practising dishes for catering purposes. The program helps to develop language and communication skills, team building, negotiation, problem solving, and organising, budgeting and time management. It provides training in food hygiene, food handling, and food presentation, and engages participants in catering events that include monthly cooking for families experiencing food insecurities and financial hardship.

Endeavour Ministries Inc.

Equipping for Success is a project that supports financially disadvantaged students in Victoria so that they are not educationally or socially affected by their parents' inability to afford school equipment, uniforms or elective fees. A grant will also help young people with learning disabilities to be identified and supported with psychological assessments, and given tutoring to overcome learning disabilities. As secondary colleges require each Year 7 and Year 10 student to purchase a laptop at a cost of at least $1000, the grant will also relieve a significant financial strain on many families.

Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH)

ACRATH will conduct workshops to train volunteers who work to counter human trafficking in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region. The Eliminating Human Trafficking: Membership Workshops and Strategic Planning will see volunteers who provide care and companionship to trafficked women and their children come together to discuss working within schools, parishes, and in community organisations as advocates for change. A grant will support addressing issues of human trafficking (forced marriage, forced labour, and the importance of slavery-free supply chains). This initiative will also provide a forum for the development of a national plan of action to counter human trafficking, for 2020-23.

Mercy Works Ltd.

Mercy Connect Melbourne provides in-school mentoring by more than 150 trained volunteers for over 600 students from asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds. The program operates in 52 primary and secondary (Catholic and Government) schools and aims to overcome barriers to education and enable a better transition to school in Australia. Mercy Connect Melbourne also includes adult literacy classes conducted by 10 volunteers for approximately 50 refugees and asylum seekers at the Dandenong Library once per week.

West Welcome Wagon

A grant will help to provide essential clothing for families in need, and linen for their beds. Supplied clothing is generally donated along with support from various sources. Items such as underwear and other personal items are required to be new and need to be purchased. Other specific items are required in order to make up sets of bedding.

Foothills Community Care Inc.

The Dandenong Ranges Domestic Violence Peer Support Group - Retreat Program offers domestic and family violence-specific support for mothers and their children in the Dandenong Ranges and surrounds. By supporting mothers in developing strong, safe communities women are less likely to be vulnerable to further abuse. Women can receive support in their recovery from trauma, and be empowered to give their children safe and emotionally connected parenting. The program uses a framework of Intentional Peer Support (IPS) to help women to rebuild trust in themselves and in their relationships, their parenting connection, and confidence.

Good Samaritan Housing

Bright Start in Queensland provides transportation to workshops for people who can’t get themselves to courses and workshops that the Good Samaritan provides. A grant assist people to be able to get the important skills they need. Housing Starter Packs are offered that include basic household items such as a toaster, kettle and other kitchen items, as well as bathing supplies. These packages assist mothers when they move into their home.

Sisters of Charity Community Care Limited - Downs & West Community Support

Bugger the Drought Events in Queensland is a gathering of people in support of farmers and people in drought-affected communities. Between 80 and 100 people including men, women and children are expected to turn out for each event. Children are cared for in a safe environment while the adults receive information on the following: farm household assistance, other financial support that is available from governments and other organisations, as well as mental health and general health issues that need to be attended including information about accessing medical tests.

Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA)

The RCOA hosts a Refugee Alternatives Conference each year that engages the knowledge and expertise of people with refugee backgrounds. 'Refugee Alternatives: Improving Policy, Practice and Public Support' will contribute to a vital national discussion about the direction of Australian refugee policy. It aims to connect, network and re-energise the refugee sector to work together on collective challenges. The event brings together various participants including those who have experienced forced displacement, to explore solutions to the needs of refugee communities.

Heaps Decent

Keys to Home in NSW, an initiative supported by Heaps Decent, hosts a series of 20 free creative workshops in electronic music and visual production. The series runs between January and July 2020 in Sydney, for up to 50 children and young people aged 12 to 17 who are isolated and experiencing challenges as the result of mental health issues, economic disadvantage, and a number of other personal challenges. These children and teens live in state-based care or NGO refuge accommodation, and have experienced interrupted schooling. They face many barriers to participating in community and extracurricular activities.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Inc (ASRC)

The Foodbank is the ASRC’s flagship program and forms part of a broader Community Food Program providing daily community meals and fresh produce from the Harvest of Hope edible garden. Around 650 people seeking asylum receive groceries each week. A grant has allowed Foodbank to improve services for people seeking asylum in Victoria. Food security has been a core objective of the ASRC since its inception, in 2001. A supermarket model allows members to shop and select items to suit family size and means.