Minister Barr: Local community organisations to benefit from Charitable Fund
- Written by ACT Government
Released 03/07/2019
Canberra families that are doing it tough, the homeless and LGBTIQ+ people are set to benefit from the first round of grants issued through the Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund.
29 local community organisations will share in almost $400,000 of donations from the fund, which includes:
- CatholicCare’s pilot program addressing homelessness in the ACT: including support to operating an 18 bed facility to provide overnight and short term accommodation to men and women who are homeless.
- Parentline ACT’s outreach programme to parents and carers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds: particularly parents who are isolated or newly arrived refugees, connecting them with community facilities and ensuring that children have an opportunity to fully participate in the Canberra community.
- Uniting Care Kippax’s Ginninderry Social Enterprise Hub: Construction work creating a site within Ginninderry as an essential first step in supporting an innovative and collaborative communal social enterprise hub in West Belconnen to house workplace accommodation, training and storage facilities for up to three separate social enterprises.
- Canberra PCYC’s Youth Engagement Program: Working across the ACT suburban hotspot areas to engage young people to reconnect with education and training and to adopt safe life skills.
The Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund was established in 2018 with a $5 million grant from the ACT Government invested as seed funding, to kick-start a long-term commitment to local charities and the community sector.
These grants are providing vital funds to community organisations doing great work with vulnerable people.
The projects – including e-learning platforms, mobile outreach services, innovative approaches to transitional housing, food rescue, work skills programmes, retrofits and workshops – will all be delivered over the coming 12 months.
Quotes attributable to Diane Kargas Bray AM, chair of the board of Hands Across Canberra, which administers the Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund:
“The community sector is an incredibly important part of how our city functions.
“Each year we consult widely about the need that exists and how we might work with the community sector to address real issues such as homelessness, disability, access to employment for trans and sexually diverse people and domestic and family violence.
“We are committed to ensuring the Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund is a true collaboration between the community, business and government.”
Hands Across Canberra is an independent philanthropic community foundation, working with more than 300 local community organisations. In addition to the ACT Government’s seed funding, Hands Across Canberra has sought collaborations with the Snow Foundation, the John James Foundation and the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to support the Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund. Beyond financial contributions, Givit and the MBA are further providing in-kind support to a number of grant applicants. The full list of grants awarded is attached. For further information about Hands Across Canberra visit handsacrosscanberra.org.au
- Statement ends -
Section: Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases
