Major Grants recipients announced

 

The Major Grants recipients from Round One 2023 of the Westfund Community Grants Program have been announced.

The $40,000 in major grants is in addition to over $100,000 in regular grants and defibrillators awarded by Westfund in this round of the program – our biggest round to date.

Westfund was thrilled to offer one $20,000 major grant and two $10,000 major grants, with the quality of applicants impressing both the Grants Committee and Executive Leadership team The shortlisted candidates for the major grants were:

Rainbow Lithgow (Lithgow)

Coolamon Community (Coolamon)

Pink Flamingos (Bundaberg) 

The Outback Mind Foundation (Central Queensland)

PTSD Dogs Australia (Nation Wide)

Escabags (Nation Wide)

The six shortlisted organisations were required to present an ‘elevator pitch’ outlining their organisation’s mission and why they were the best candidates for a major grant.

Our Executive Leadership Team were tasked with the difficult decision of selecting the $20,000 major grant recipient from this worthy group of applicants.

After much deliberation, Coolamon Community ended up taking home the major funding boost to go towards the incredible work they are doing in the Indigenous health space. Coolamon Community’s purpose is to make a real difference at the very start of life for an Aboriginal child and their mother. They seek to keep babies with mothers and family, improve pregnancy, birthing and infancy health outcomes, actively support the unique Aboriginal mothering experience and empower women to make informed, respected decisions about their pregnancy.

The two $10,000 grants were decided by a Westfund team vote and a public vote.

PTSD Dogs were successful in taking out our team’s vote,  impressing us with their mission of taking rescue dogs and train them as Psychiatric Assistance Dogs for veterans and first responders suffering with PTSD. PTSD Dogs’ program is aimed at relieving stress for our first responders, who are at higher risk of developing PTSD (10% diagnosed compared to 4% of the general population).

The Pink Flamingos were able to rally their community and were the top voted organisation by the public. The female cycling community aims to promote the recreational sport of cycling and provide its members with bike handling skills, practical maintenance sessions, training sessions, and bunch riding practice to enhance their confidence on the road. Their vision is to empower and unite women of all ages on any type of bike.

The Westfund Community Grants Program continues to grow from strength to strength and aims to recognise organisations making a meaningful difference in their communities. The program is built on a foundation of four pillars: Family, Healthy, Fit for Life and Community.

We have moved to an always on application process. Organisations can apply here at a time that best suits them. The cut off to be assessed for Round Two of our 2023 Westfund Community Grants Program will be 30 September.