2025 Grants

Directors of the Geelong Community Foundation approved $1,776,552 in grants during 2024/25. Grant allocation are based on the value of the Foundation’s corpus as at 30 June 2024. Grants are paid in the 2024/25 financial year with activity to be delivered in 2025/26.

73 applications were received in the 2025/26 Main Grant Round, seeking a total of $2.8m. This was a reduction from last year due to an extensive consultation period that supported applicants to understand if their activity aligned with the Foundation’s focus.

Applications continued to demonstrate an increasing need in the community for support. Again this year applications had a strong focus on activities that respond to the rising cost of living or that support physical and mental health and social connection.

The Foundation approved 41 new grants across the four grant streams of Food and Emergency Support, Health, Resilience and Connection, Education and Employment and Environment and Sustainability.

The Foundation also approved an additional $100,000 25-year celebratory grant to Thread Together that will address Clothing Insecurity in the Geelong Community.

In total 64 grants have been provided during the 2024/25 financial year, including:

• 41 new grants, including seven multi-year grants to Lazarus Community Centre, Ed Connect, Hope Bereavement, Read The Play, The Empowerment Challenge, CatholicCare and The Good Neighbourhood Project ( Previously Norlane Community Initiatives)
• One new 25-Year Celebratory grant to Thread Together bringing a Mobile Wardrobe Service to Geelong.
• Five existing multi-year grants to Feed Me, Geelong Food Share (previously Geelong Food Relief Centre), Thread Together, Somebody’s Daughter and Cloverdale Community Centre auspice for the Real Deal Alliance).
• Three collaborative grants in partnership with members of the Geelong Funders Collaborative, including: Meli’s Young Men’s Behaviour Program, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Geelong Systems Thinking Project and Give Where You Live’s Home Truths: Homelessness Research Project.
• Three P500 grants ($80,000 to Farm My School and $2,250 each to the Runners Up Skyline Education Foundation and The Men’s Table).
• One Adroit Insurance & Risk Golf Day Capital Grant to The Empowerment Challenge.
• Two grants for student support through the Gordon Scholarships and the Back to School Program, and;
• 8 donor advised grants.

A full list of the grants provided for this year can be found in this link 2025-26 Grant Summary