The Geelong Community Foundation is proud to announce the outcomes of the 2026 Community Grant Round, supporting organisations working across food relief, homelessness, education, employment, mental health, family support, community connection and environmental sustainability throughout the Geelong region.
This year, the Foundation approved 59 grants through the Community Grant Round, reflecting a significant increase in both the scale and approach of the Foundation’s grantmaking.
Importantly, the 2026 grant round marked a deliberate shift toward more trust-based philanthropy, with the Foundation increasing both the number and value of multi-year grants to better support the long-term sustainability of community organisations.
A total of 39 new grants were approved this round, including 16 multi-year grants, with the average annual grant amount increasing by almost $10,000 compared to previous rounds.
The changes form part of the Foundation’s strategic commitment to strengthening long-term partnerships with community organisations and reducing unnecessary administrative burden on grant partners.
As part of this shift, the Foundation redesigned its application process for 2026: organisations applying for multi-year funding participated in an invite-only process; while single-year grants remained open through a competitive community application round.
The updated process recognised the strong and longstanding relationships the Foundation has built with many community organisations — some of which have partnered with the Foundation for more than two decades.
Geelong Community Foundation CEO Amy Waters said the changes were designed to create a more supportive and sustainable funding model for the community sector.
“Many organisations are responding to increasing demand while also managing rising operational pressures, workforce challenges and growing complexity across the community sector,” Amy said.
“We wanted to redesign our process in a way that better reflected the relationships we have with our grant partners and the trust we place in their work.”
“By increasing multi-year funding and simplifying the process for long-term partners, we are helping organisations spend less time reapplying for funding and more time focused on supporting the community.”
The Foundation also saw significant demand in areas relating to food and emergency relief, mental health, wellbeing, social connection and family support — reflecting the continued impact of cost-of-living pressures and increasing complexity of community need across the region.
Funding approved through the 2026 Community Grant Round includes support for:
- food relief and emergency assistance programs;
- homelessness and material aid services;
- education and employment pathways;
- mental health and wellbeing initiatives;
- family violence prevention and family support programs;
- community connection and belonging initiatives; and
- environmental sustainability projects.
The Foundation remains committed to community-led philanthropy that responds to local need and strengthens the organisations supporting the region every day.
A full list of 2026 Community Grant Partners and funded projects can be viewed here.
The Geelong Community Foundation thanks its donors, fundholders and community supporters whose generosity continues to make this work possible.
