The objective of the grant is to provide seed funding to pilot new programs and services to empower women and girls, or enable existing programs and services to pivot, scale or build their evidence base.

The program is unique to other NRCF grants because the funds raised come from the NRCF Women’s Giving Circle. By bringing together passionate women from the Northern Rivers, the Circle aims to promote equality and human rights for women and girls through collective giving and participatory grant making.

Focus Areas

• Grants may support projects that deliver activities broadly to the community, or have a focus on specific groups, including:
  • First Nations women
  • LGBTQI+ women
  • Young women and girls
  • Women living with disability
  • Refugee and migrant women
  • Rural women
  • Women experiencing homelessness and housing stress
  • Single mothers
  • Women experiencing income inequality, including those in low-paid professions (childcare workers, aged care workers etc.)
  • Older women

Funding Information

• There are three grants of $20,000 available in 2025.
• Applicants can elect to have their grant paid over 12 months (one payment of $20,000) or 24 months (two payments of $10,000).

Eligible Projects

• Prevent and respond to men’s violence against women and support survivors of violence (e.g. programs that seek to change attitudes and norms, crisis support).
• Recognise and celebrate women’s achievements (e.g. events and awards programs, noting that the grant cannot be used to fund prizes).
• Address social isolation and expand social networks (e.g. women’s support groups).
• Raise awareness about issues affecting women and girls (e.g. arts installations or productions).
• Developing the leadership capacity of women and girls so that they can play a bigger role in their communities (e.g. leadership programs).
• Supporting women’s financial independence by creating or promoting financial literacy or better work conditions for women.
• Improving mental and physical health outcomes (e.g. improving access to antenatal care or raise awareness of conditions affecting women and girls).
• Promote gender diversity and inclusive communities, including addressing discrimination and stigma (e.g. projects that combat ageism, transphobia, racism).

Eligible Costs

• Deliver activities, events, programs and services
• Purchase equipment and materials
• The purchase of assets and infrastructure for the community
• Strengthen and build capacity of your organisation to deliver outcomes (e.g. conduct research or develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks)

Ineligible Costs

• One-off emergency relief assistance
• Prizes, trophies or other gifts
• Projects whose main objective is to fundraise for another organisation
• Projects that do not include a contribution (either cash or in-kind, e.g. volunteer hours)
• The promotion of a religion, political party or business
• Programs that exclude people based on their race, sex, gender, religious affiliation or for other reasons, unless justified (e.g. it is required to create a safe space)

Eligibility Criteria

• There are three basic criteria for being eligible for the Empowering Women and Girls grant:
  • Locally based or locally governed: The grant supports organisations working within the 7 LGAs of the Northern Rivers (Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley, Ballina, Byron and Tweed); or, demonstrates local governance through a board or committee based in the Northern Rivers.
  • Women-Led: The organisation or project is led by women or has developed a formal mechanism to ensure that the project is informed by women and women’s organisations (e.g. in the form of a partnership, advisory committee etc.).
  • Not-for-profit: NRCF can only grant funds to organisations holding Deductible Gift Recipient 1 (DGR1) status.

Evaluation Criteria

• Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:
  • Eligibility – To what extent is the project led by or informed by women?
  • Need – To what extent is there a demonstrated need for the project?
  • Outcomes – To what extent is the project likely to achieve the outcome of empowering women and girls in the Northern Rivers?
  • Viability – How likely is it that the project will be delivered as described, on time and within budget?
  • Capacity – To what extent does the applicant demonstrate the capacity to deliver the project?

For more information, visit NRCF.