Deadline: 16 September 2019

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation is currently accepting applications for its Innovation Grants, an opportunity for leaders within the charitable sector to develop and implement effective solutions to social and environmental issues.

Whether it is piloting or scaling a new program, service delivery model, social enterprise or developing policy & research for systems change, Innovation Grants are to test, develop and demonstrate new solutions, big or small.

Impact Areas

Innovation Grants support projects or initiatives aligned with one or more outcomes of the Foundation’s revised Impact Areas:

• Education & Employment
• Environment & Sustainability
• ​Healthy & Resilient Communities
• Homelessness & Affordable Housing

Types of Innovation Grants

The Foundation offers two types of Innovation grants:

1. Seed Innovation Grants: Up to $50,000 for one year.
   • These grants support the researching, testing or piloting of a new idea or approach. This can include:
     • Project funding to test, demonstrate, trial or pilot a new concept or idea that will lead to a service improvement or an advance in a major community issue.
     • Research funding to build understanding of an area or issue.
     • Inform program design or practice, inform policy development and philanthropic investment or identify best practice.
     • Funding to support the initial development phase of a social enterprise.
   • Seed Innovation Grant projects may be considered for a Scaling-Up Innovation Grant in future years.​
2. Scaling-up Innovation Grants: Up to $300,000 for two years (maximum of $150,000 per year).
   • These grants support the expansion or replication of a proven innovation with the potential to be transformative on a broader community or systems level. This can include:
     • Piloting or scaling up a new service model or developing social enterprise.
     • Applying a new approach to improving service effectiveness and/or service quality.
     • Increasing impact and/or service effectiveness through sharing space or back office support, or other forms of partnership, merger or collaboration.
     • Building an understanding of an emerging issue or area through applied research (i.e. research that has application in practice).

Eligibility Criteria

• Organizations applying under the Education & Employment and Environment & Sustainability Impact Areas:
  • Must be endorsed as a Tax Concession Charity (TCC).
  • Grants provided especially to Australian charities operating in Victoria, New South Wales, and Australia Capital Territory.
• Organizations applying under the Healthy & Resilient Communities and Homelessness & Affordable Housing Impact Areas:
  • Must be endorsed as a Tax Concession Charity (TCC) and as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) as covered by item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
  • Grants provided to Australian charities registered and operating in Victoria, especially but not limited to Greater Melbourne.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply online via the given website.

For more information, please visit https://www.lmcf.org.au/apply-grant/innovation