Deadline: 08-Aug-2025
The Victorian Women’s Trust is currently accepting applications for its grant program to help women, girls and gender diverse people to thrive.
With over three decades of grant making, the Victorian Women’s Benevolent Trust has built a considerable body of expertise and intimate knowledge in effective, feminist grant making. This feminist grant making ethos has guided much of the evaluation and allocation of nearly over 700 small grants since 1985.
Grant Sub Fund
- Fleur Spitzer Sub-Fund
- Con Irwin Sub-Fund
- Supports innovative social justice projects that offer circuit breaking solutions to:
- discrimination;
- violence against women and children; and
- inequality of educational opportunity.
- Supports innovative social justice projects that offer circuit breaking solutions to:
- Christine Friday & Kathleen Pooley Sub-Fund
- Supports project applications from Aboriginal community organisations that:
- address the education, health needs and housing of Aboriginal women and girls in Victoria.
- Supports project applications from Aboriginal community organisations that:
- Humanitas Sub-Fund
- Supports project applications from women from African countries living in Victoria, including those who are refugees or asylum seekers that:
- enable them to avail themselves of educational, employment and other economic opportunities in Australia.
- Supports project applications from women from African countries living in Victoria, including those who are refugees or asylum seekers that:
- Jan Webster And Sue Peterson Sub-Fund
- Supports projects that work with:
- women exiting prison;
- educational and leadership opportunities for Aboriginal women; and
- pathways for women out of homelessness.
- Supports projects that work with:
- Loula Rodopoulos Sub-Fund
- Supports projects that:
- assist women recovering from mental illness or other difficult circumstances; or
- support and enable programs which encourage young and established female writers.
- Supports projects that:
- Union Of Australian Women Sub-Fund (Victoria)
- Supports projects from Aboriginal organisations which address:
- Indigenous rights, leadership and training for Indigenous girls in Victoria.
- Supports projects from Aboriginal organisations which address:
- Ruth Owens & Kevin Lynch Sub-Fund
- Supports grassroots projects that address and enhance educational and employment opportunities for:
- single women as parents; and
- refugee and migrant women.
- Supports grassroots projects that address and enhance educational and employment opportunities for:
- Prue Myer Sub-Fund
- Supports projects for immigrants, refugees and disadvantaged girls and young women that:
- provide them with positive mentoring opportunities;
- improve their academic and educational outcomes; and
- encourage their engagement and participation in political life.
- Supports projects for immigrants, refugees and disadvantaged girls and young women that:
- Jean Mccaughey Social Justice Sub-Fund
- Joan Hudson Sub-Fund
- Supports projects that provide:
- positive and effective community supports for mothers and their children;
- new and/or improved opportunities for respite care for mothers of children with high-need disabilities; or
- practical support for young women from less advantaged backgrounds to access educational and academic opportunities.
- Supports projects that provide:
- Alma & Albert Tivendale Sub-Fund
- Assist projects which:
- Support girls who are disadvantaged in overcoming barriers to participation in physical activities such as sport and dance; and
- foster imaginative community models to assist women and their families experiencing financial hardship due to health and medical crises.
- Assist projects which:
- Deborah Ganderton & John Henry Sub-Fund
- Assist projects which:
- support young women and gender diverse people in developing their skill and capacity in strategic foresight and strategic planning to advance full gender equality.
- Assist projects which:
- Supriya Singh Sub-Fund
- Supports projects which:
- financially empower women who have experienced violence and abuse; or
- deepen the understanding and communication of gender, money, power and control in intimate relationships.
- Supports projects which:
- Essie Burbridge Sub-Fund
- Supports projects that:
- provide leadership and achievement in cross-cultural understanding, and strategies for combating racism; promote values critical to a vibrant and non-racist society;
- build bridges between European, Middle Eastern and Asian cultures; or
- advance tolerance, compassion and understanding in the community.
- Supports projects that:
- Nancye & John Cain Sub-Fund
- Assist projects for women, girls and gender diverse peoples with disability or disabilities, including hearing loss, in ways which:
- support their participation, civic engagement and leadership capacity;
- address barriers in society that prevent their full and equal enjoyment; and
- empower them to have independence, choice, and control in their own lives.
- Assist projects for women, girls and gender diverse peoples with disability or disabilities, including hearing loss, in ways which:
- Fay Marles Equal Opportunity Sub-Fund
- Supports projects that provide:
- leadership training to increase young women’s working knowledge of equal opportunity legislation, structures and processes;
- research that strengthens knowledge of loopholes and gaps in equal opportunity legislation, with a view to system improvement and policy change; and
- education and engagement on equal opportunity issues in workplaces, organisations and in the broader community.
- Supports projects that provide:
General Categories
- If you are uncertain about which Sub-Fund might fit your project, please feel free to make an application with the following general categories in mind:
- Health and well-being
- Family violence and sexual harassment
- Poverty and income insecurity
- Housing and homelessness
- Gender equality and discrimination
- Disability
- Leadership
- Education and empowerment
- First Nations rights
Funding Information
- Grants can range from small sums up to $10,000 depending on the Sub-Fund.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Victorian Women’s Benevolent Trust cannot fund individuals.
- Grant applicants must be endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office for Item 1, Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), and either Tax Concession Charity (TCC) or can prove that they would be charitable but for their connection with government (usually established by a letter from the ATO). Applicants must provide a copy of these endorsements, or a letter from the ATO, at the time of application.
- Eligibility is strictly limited to groups that operate for charitable purposes and either provide relief of poverty, sickness, suffering, distress, misfortune, destitution, or helplessness amongst Victorian women or operate for purposes beneficial to Victorian women.
- Projects must address the needs of women and girls living in Victoria.
- VWBT is open to funding the project of an eligible organisation in partnership with another organisation.
- VWBT does not provide matching or shortfall funding for government funded projects, infrastructure, or operational costs.
For more information, visit VWT.