Here for generations to come
Our funding model is different to many other foundations. We’re an independent organisation with self-sustaining income which we use to provide as grants to our local communities. Now. And for generations to come.
Calm Cove: Safe Sensory Spaces for Regional NSW
Region: Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, New England (Tamworth) and Northern Rivers (Ballina)
Grant: $25,000
Aruma will create five ‘Quiet Retreat’ kits to provide sensory-safe spaces at community events, supporting people with sensory needs that may be related to autism, ADHD, or other sensory impairments. Over 18 months, around 13,000 people are expected to benefit from these Calm Cove spaces, which aim to reduce stress, improve social experiences, and boost community participation.
Assistance Pups
Region: Northern Rivers (Grafton)
Grant: $78,000
Assistance Dogs Australia will purchase and fit out a vehicle to help continue their “Assistance Pups” initiative, which engages people in custody to train puppies who will then go on to be assistance dogs for those living with disabilities.
BackTrack Basics: Embedding regional employment skills
Region: New England
Grant: $50,000
BackTrack will trial a place-based learning model to help disengaged youth gain regionally relevant skills and real-world job experience on its properties, including ‘The Farm’ in New England. Participants will earn licences for machinery and construction work, supporting long-term employment and breaking cycles of disadvantage.
Aviation Tow Motor to Support CareFlight’s Patient Transport Service
Region: Hunter
Grant: $35,000
Critical care aeromedical service CareFlight will purchase a new tow motor to facilitate safe and speedy patient transfers at Newcastle Airport. This will enable CareFlight to provide an effective service to regional communities across the Hunter, Mid North Coast and New England regions, ensuring they have equitable access to healthcare, no matter where they live.
Culture Connect Pilot: age tailored wellbeing programs
Region: Central Coast
Grant: $50,000
Coast & Country Primary Care will pilot an eight-week mental health and wellbeing program for First Nations people on the Central Coast, co-developed with Mingaletta Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Corporation. Led by an Aboriginal peer worker, the project promotes cultural connection, health literacy, and access to support in a culturally safe environment.
Strengthening Family Inclusion initiative
Region: Hunter
Grant: $94,000
Aiming to improve outcomes for children in out-of-home care, FISH will provide the parents of these children with support, knowledge and skills, contributing to higher rates of family preservation and restoration/reunification.
Avenue Newcastle - expanding Avenue’s microbusinesses and supporting entrepreneurs with disability
Region: Hunter
Grant: $49,500
People living with disabilities will be given opportunities to build social connection and generate income through Avenue Newcastle’s microbusiness program. The project will also train, mentor and support 14 entrepreneurs to develop a plan to kick-start or scale up their business.
Central West Community Food Relief Program
Region - Central West
Grant: $137,000
This one-year pilot project will hire, train and provide a vehicle for a Community Food Relief Coordinator to support sustainable food accessibility for those in the community who do not have food security.
Cycling to Freedom
Region - Hunter/ Central Coast
Grant: $55,000
Cycling to Freedom will gift a custom-built and age-appropriate Freedom Wheels bike to 25 children residing in the Central Coast and/or Hunter Region. Children aged 2 - 19 with physical and cognitive disabilities. It will introduce children with disabilities to the social benefits of cycling. The bike is theirs to keep.
Brush With Kindness
Region: Hunter
Grant: $120,000
Drawing on its global experience in providing quality accommodation for people facing disadvantage, Habitat will expand to the Hunter and Central Coast for the first time. Their project will engage 150 volunteers to refurbish 20 social and transitional housing units for those in need, especially women and children escaping family and domestic violence.
Integrating Aboriginal Health Workers at Pharmacy
Region: New England
Grant: $70,000
Building on their extensive experience in delivering primary health care in the New England region, this pilot project will see HealthWISE partnering with community pharmacies to embed Aboriginal Health Workers in retail settings to improve health literacy and medication management for First Nations communities.
Friendship on a Plate
Region: Hunter
Grant: $74,000
Home-Start will run a 12-month program in Newcastle to help parents improve cooking skills and family nutrition using affordable ingredients. Led by a nutritionist, the initiative also fosters social connections, better mental health, and healthier family lifestyles.
Hunter Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Tech-facilitated Abuse Project
Region: Hunter
Grant: $61,000
The Hunter DFV Consortium will partner with IT social enterprise WorkVentures to build capacity in the domestic violence sector so they can respond to the emerging issue of tech-facilitated abuse and cyber-stalking. This will ensure better outcomes for victim-survivors of this fast-evolving and complex problem.
The Sunshine Hut: A project to deliver an early-intervention children's support program in domestic violence crisis refuge
Region: Hunter
Grant: $127,000
The Sunshine Hut clinic delivers children’s support services at Jenny’s Place Crisis Shelter. With this $127,000 grant, this project will support operation of the clinic, helping over 50 children receive expert help to recover more quickly from trauma and build resilience. It aims to improve outcomes for children who have experienced domestic and family (DFV) violence by developing an innovative support program.
Family Volunteers: Integrated Kids Development Program
Region: Kempsey
Grant: $150,000
This expansion project will build on the success of its Volunteer Family Connect program in the Taree region, enabling volunteers to help vulnerable families whose children require additional support for healthy development. Upskilling volunteers to support therapeutic outcomes for children is expected to support career development with pathways provided to further studies and job opportunities in the allied health sector. This will address a severe allied health workforce shortage in the area.
Connect & evolve: Newcastle’s new mental health hub
Region: Hunter (Charlestown)
Grant: $100,000
The Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network (LMNSPN) will pilot vital mental health services at its new, multi-agency Evolve Mental Health & Wellbeing Hub in Charlestown. The Hub offers a safe space for those in crisis to develop coping skills and seek support.
Lungs in Action Community Exercise Project
Region: Hunter, Mid North Coast and Central Coast
Grant: $33,839
Respected national charity, the Lung Foundation Australia will establish its Lungs in Action exercise programs in the Hunter, Mid North and Central Coast. The project will train 10 local registered fitness professionals to help patients live manage their chronic lung and/or heart conditions.
Rewriting Futures – Creating Education & Employment Pathways for At Risk Youth
Region: Central Coast (Gosford)
Grant: $90,000
Music-based youth development charity Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD) will deliver a new streamlined program for young people who are at-risk or have already disengaged from education and employment in the Central Coast region. Their Rewriting Futures program will provide participants with life skills, social connections and increased confidence.
Deadly brain: Family and community brain health
Region: Central West, Mid North Coast
Grant: $200,000
Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) will partner with four Aboriginal Health Services to study brain health in First Nations communities. Using culturally appropriate yarning with 120 participants, the project will develop a “Deadly Brains model”, which will include training staff as Brain Health Champions, and running community education events.
Inclusive Futures Project
Region: Hunter (Cessnock)
Grant: $87,000
Prelude Australia will pilot a 12-month project connecting Hunter early childhood educators with health and intervention specialists to support children with diverse needs. Around 200 educators will receive practical training, aiming to reduce exclusions, ease burnout, and improve outcomes for children.
Dunghutti Young People – Strong in Self, Strong in Culture
Region: Mid North Coast
Grant: $86,000
Thirty Year 10 students from Macleay Vocational College will learn a range of digital media skills, including film and audio fundamentals, video production, editing and post-production. They will take their new skills and knowledge on Country to record knowledge shared by Custodians.
Shedding Community Workshop Capacity Building
Region: Northern Rivers
Grant: $81,000
Shedding Community Workshop experienced significant growth in demand for their inclusive and trauma informed services following the 2022 flood disaster in the Northern Rivers. This project will enable them to focus on the long-term sustainability and scalability of their organisation while continuing to deliver their practical resilience building workshops to the community.
Challenges and opportunities for social inclusion among childbearing immigrant women of non-English CALD background in Northern NSW
Region: Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast
Grant: $20,000
Southern Cross University will research the challenges and barriers faced by immigrant women of child-bearing age in the Northern Rivers region. Led by a team with lived-experience, the project will inform future practices to reduce the disparities in healthcare and social services they currently face.
TeamUp Sports & Wellbeing Program for Afghan & Syrian Youth
Region: Hunter
Grant: $20,000
Established community health agency STARTTS will deliver a sports and wellbeing program to young Afghan and Syrian refugees in Newcastle. The project will leverage team sports to provide a safe space for young people to connect with others, enhance wellbeing and navigate complex settlement experiences.
At The Table: Supporting social and mental health for men
Region: Hunter, Mid North Coast
Grant: $82,500
The Men’s Table will expand to Muswellbrook, Cessnock, and Port Macquarie, creating safe spaces for men to connect, share, and support each other. Over 12 months, the program aims to engage 48 men, helping reduce social isolation and improve mental and emotional wellbeing in regional communities.
Social and Economic Resilience (SER) of Young Migrants and Refugee Women
Region - Hunter, Central Coast, Central West
Grant - $88,600
The SER of Young Migrants and Refugee Women project is an employment and skills development program for young at-risk migrant and refugee women in culturally and linguistically diverse and “hard-to-reach” communities in Regional NSW. With this $88,600 grant, the aim is to increase female workforce participation and career development.
The Young Warrior Woman Project
Region: Hunter
Grant: $150,000
The Warrior Woman Foundation will bring its evidence-based flagship program, The Young Warrior Woman Program, to the Hunter. With a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach, the program is designed to support vulnerable young women in their transition into adulthood with a particular focus on financial independence and safe, healthy relationships.
Warm Blankets for Everyone Ongoing Viability and Success
Region: Hunter
Grant: $20,000
Grassroots, volunteer-led organisation Warm Blankets for Everyone will deliver 1,800 handmade high-quality blankets to a diverse range of community organisations in the Hunter and Central Coast to offer comfort and security for people experiencing poverty or homelessness.
