Mercy Foundation: Inviting Australian Not for Profit Organisations for 2019 Social Justice Small Grants Program

Deadline: 4 March 2019

The Mercy Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2019 Social Justice Small Grants Program that provide seed funding to assist communities and organisations to build capacity that will help create structural change and bring about greater social justice in Australia.

The Mercy Foundation seeks to create greater social equity and inclusion in the Australian community.

The focus for 2019 is Justice and our Environment. Projects that address issues that protect, restore or repair our environment will be prioritised. This includes issues such as:

Protection and conservation of water
Conservation or rehabilitation of the environment
Minimising waste
Care for wildlife especially threatened species
Rebalancing ecosystems
Minimizing future environmental damage
Addressing depleting resources
Clean and renewable energy

Grant Information

Funding under this program ranges between $1,000 to $10,000 per organisation.

Eligibility Criteria

The Social Justice Small Grants program is only available to NOT FOR PROFIT organisations.
The following criteria will be used to assess Social Justice Small Grant applications:
- The Mercy Foundation prioritises projects that target disadvantaged women and/or women with children, regardless of the annual social justice focus issue.
- Applications are accepted for projects that are run wholly within Australia, by community based groups or organisations based in Australia.
- Organisations applying for funds must be a legal entity (or auspiced by a legal entity), not-for-profit and therefore exempt from income tax, but are not required to have Deductible Gift Recipient status.
- Small to medium organisations with a turnover of less than $500,000 with limited access to other funding sources are prioritised.
- Social Justice Small Grants do not fund:
- Core (normal) operating costs of applicant organisations
  - Vehicles
  - For-profit organisations
  - Private individuals
  - Projects that require recurrent funding
  - General fundraising appeals
  - Research
  - Deficit funding
  - Duplication of existing services
  - Organisations that have, or have access to, significant government or other funding
  - Government entities
  - Projects that do not meet the identified goals and priorities of the Mercy Foundation.
Other considerations:
- The objective of the project must be clear and measurable.
- Organisations must demonstrate capacity to implement and manage the project.
- Organisations need to explain how a project will continue if the key person (who might be a board member, staff member or volunteer organiser) leaves the project while it is still being implemented.
- The application should include how the project will be evaluated and what developments or future actions will come from the project.
- Applications require the completion of the appropriate application form and a brief description of the organisation and an annual report or similar document to substantiate the organisation’s status.
- Applicants must provide referees who can vouch for the organisation’s competencies and the project’s viability.