How To Find Grants For Your Club, Not-For-Profit Or Association

Money is, unfortunately, an incredibly important part of human life. I say, unfortunately, because it doesn’t seem to make anyone happy. I’ve seen plenty of depressed, unhappy people because of money, because the market crashed, or because interest rates went up, or because they can’t afford that new thing that will totally make them happy with their life. 

Do you know who has never been depressed by money? The elephant shrew. You think this little dude knows the first thing about the horrors of capitalism? 

 

 

Of course not. Also, fun fact; Elephant Shrews are more closely related to elephants than shrews, because evolution loves a curve ball. 

Anyway, my long-winded point is that money is essential; we all need it to pursue what we want in life. This also applies to clubs, associations, and non-profits; funding is critical to keep you operational and continue providing the services your members love. One effective way to secure funding is by applying for government grants aimed at supporting organisations like yours. I understand that the process of finding and applying for these grants can be daunting, so I'm here to hopefully make that a little easier. Below are a few resources to find grants, along with a list of current grant opportunities.

How To Find Grants For Nonprofits, Clubs & Associations 

The Australian government has several online services available to help you find grants that apply to your organisation. Two of these are Business.gov and GrantConnect, both of which are government-run websites that have a lot of information about grants, how to apply for them and which ones are currently available. So, let’s have a quick look at them. 

How To Find Grants For Your Organisation With Business.gov  

Business.gov has a really easy-to-use Grants and Programs Finder, where you can search for government grants, loans, and support.

 

 

You can narrow your search by state, industry, business type (including not-for-profits), and more. Once you find a grant that looks good, you can get all the details on eligibility and how to apply. It's a pretty easy process, as much as dealing with the government can ever be easy. 

How To Find Grants For Your Organisation With GrantConnect

GrantConnect is another government website that makes finding and applying for grants easier. Like Business.gov, you can search and refine your results by various criteria, including grant category, funding body, and closing date. 

 

 

GrantConnect focuses specifically on federal government grants, so if you're looking for state or local grants, this isn't the one for you. 

How To Find Grants For Your Organisation From Your Local Council

The truth of the matter is that a great number of grants for non-profits are distributed by local governments and councils. There are free and paid services like Community Grants Hub (free) and The Grants Hub (paid) that provide you with one place to look for applicable grants. Basically like a dating app for grants, but with fewer concerns about whether you look older than your profile picture. 

Outside of services like the ones above, your best bet is to look up “grants” plus whatever your local council is and go from there. I did it with my local council and was able to find some pretty good information about the currently available grants. 

How To Find Grants For Your Organisation From Other Organisations 

Outside of government grants, there are some other organisations that provide grants and funding to clubs, associations and not-for-profits. Sometimes these organisations are philanthropic organisations, and sometimes they are just banks doing their good deed for the decade; either way, they are a good source of possible grants.  

Some of these organisations include: 

• Australian Communities Foundation
• The Sidney Myer Fund
• Bendigo Bank
• Greater Bank
• The Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation

There are plenty more organisations out there that provide grants, but those are just a few to get you started. There are also services that compile grants from multiple places, making it easy to find whatever grants you need. GrantGuru is one such website, and well worth checking out.  

What Types Of Grants Are Commonly Offered? 

When it comes to grants for clubs, associations and nonprofits, there is a wide range of grants available, all doing and helping with different things. While there are too many to list them all here, I thought I’d go through some of the most common ones I’ve come across to help you get a little bit of an understanding of what’s out there. 

So, here’s a little bit of a rundown on the types of grants that are commonly available. 

Community Development Grants

Funds projects that enhance local areas, like building community centres or supporting social inclusion programs. Can help with renovations and improvements to club buildings. 

Arts and Culture Grants

Supports creative endeavours, such as community arts festivals or heritage preservation initiatives

Environmental Grants

Funds projects that protect the natural world, including conservation or environmental education efforts. Can help with the cost of installing solar panels.

Health and Wellbeing Grants

Supports programs that improve community health, like mental health services or sports activities.

Social Welfare Grants

Funds services that address social inequality. If your organisation helps socially disadvantaged groups, you may be able to provide funding to assist you in that. 

Sports and Recreation Grants

Supports the development of community sports facilities and programs to promote physical activity.

Capacity Building Grants

Helps organisations improve their operational efficiency through training and strategic planning.

Technology Grants

Some nonprofit groups are also eligible to get grants to help pay for digital systems like Member Jungle, which makes running their organisations easier. 

Essentially, grants aim to support community needs across various sectors, from the arts and environment to social welfare and sports. 

Currently Available Grants For Your Nonprofit, Club, Or Association

Since all grants are time-limited and must be applied for by a specific date, the following list of grants will not remain relevant indefinitely. Ultimately, you’re better off conducting your own search. However, I wanted to include a few available grants that may be of interest, ensuring I only list those that will still be open in May 2025 when this article is published. 

So, have a look through, and if nothing strikes your fancy, I’ve already given you the inside lane on finding grants for yourself. 

 

• Funding for major events held in Canberra
• Funding for mass participation events held in Tasmania
• Funding for events held in regional Victoria
• Funding to plan regional community precincts with local partners
• Funding for the delivery of regional community precincts with local partners
• Funding to repair, replace or improve public boating infrastructure in NSW
• Funding for organisers of events in regional NSW
• Distributed National Collections
• Community Development Grants (CDG) Programme
• Universal Charitable Fund Grant Round - currently closed, but this is an ongoing grant, so bookmark it so you don’t miss the next round. 

 

More Ways To Help Improve Your Membership Organisation’s Revenue 

So, now that we’ve covered grants, who offers them and how to find them, you may be looking for other ways to help increase your club or association’s revenue besides grants. If that’s the case, I would suggest reading How You Can Make Money With Member Jungle.