Deadline: 19-Jun-25
The Department of Human Services is requesting proposals from applicants for its Community Sheds Grant Program aimed to increase participation, capacity, and sustainability of community sheds throughout South Australia.
Focus Areas
- This funding aims to support initiatives that will achieve positive outcomes for community sheds in the following areas:
- Community participation to increase wellbeing, reduce social isolation and loneliness, and contribute to an improved sense of community connection.
- Increase participation specifically from groups likely to experience social isolation and/ or discrimination including people with disability or aged related disability, and people experiencing poor health or mental health challenges.
- Skill sharing and mentoring.
- Support the sustainability of current operations.
- Volunteering.
Priorities
- The Department has three strategic priorities:
- Increasing inclusion, independence, and shared decision-making for all.
- Supporting their communities when it matters most.
- Delivering modern services for their communities.
- Funding is prioritised for projects that support people and/or communities experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and other vulnerabilities and who may face additional barriers to accessing services such as:
- Aboriginal peoples.
- People from new and emerging culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
- People with disability, with a focus on those not currently supported through the NDIS.
- LGBTIQA+ community.
- People who are financially disadvantaged (for example unemployed, in receipt of government support payments, health care card).
- People residing in communities identified as places where persistent and/or relative location based disadvantage exists (including rural/remote).
- Areas of disadvantage as identified by the Socio- Economic Indexes for Areas.
Funding Information
- Single grants of up to $30,000 are available.
Eligible Expenses
- Capital works for existing sheds
- Tools, Equipment and Occupational Health and Safety Measures
- Resources for communal spaces including kitchens to support participation
- Community Food Gardens
- Mentoring and Knowledge Sharing
Ineligible Expenses
- Core business costs i.e. operational staff wages, rent, insurances, utilities, internet, websites, phones, phone systems and video conferencing, purchase or lease of buildings, land, vehicles, or lease of IT equipment. Payment of volunteers, boards or committee members (including honorariums).
- Delivery of services, advocacy, outreach and case management services.
- Marketing and administration costs above 10% of the total project value.
- Retrospective funding for items, services, or resources already paid for or purchased.
- Items to be purchased and distributed to individuals as prizes, awards, gifts, trophies, sponsorships, fundraising, donations, reimbursements, uniforms, and costumes.
- Emergency and food relief (e.g., food hampers, food vouchers, pre-paid store cards, individual debt, or bill payments).
Eligibility Criteria
- To align with the Charitable and Social Welfare Fund, Grants SA can only award funds to the following eligible organisation types:
- Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCO), or
- Not-for-profit organisations
- Organisations must:
- Be currently registered with a valid and eligible Australian Business Number (ABN).
- Have an Australian bank account in the name of the legal entity.
- Have been operating or established as a legal entity for more than 12 months.
- Be currently operating within South Australia and delivering programs, services, or initiatives to residents of South Australia.
- Agree to the terms and conditions of the grant agreement.
Ineligibility Criteria
- Organisations must not:
- Have any outstanding contractual or financial obligations (acquittals, unpaid invoices) for any funded Department of Human Services projects/programs.
- Have licensed gaming machines in their facilities or hold a gaming machine license.
- Be educational institutions or related representative bodies (e.g., schools and/or their parent or student associations, universities, colleges).
- Be Government agencies (Commonwealth or State Departments and Local Government Agencies). Local Government Agencies can only act as sponsors for community organisations.
For more information, visit Department of Human Services.
