The Women’s Economic Security Project Grant Round supports charities and social enterprises building financial wellbeing through innovative employment opportunities and tailored financial capability support for women across Australia.

COVID-19 has exacerbated issues of economic inequality for many women - including barriers to employment participation, the burden of unpaid and lowly paid work, high levels of financial insecurity and inadequate superannuation.

The economic recovery period in Australia will be challenging for groups including young women entering the job market, older women seeking work, Indigenous women, refugee and migrant women.

The Ecstra grants will support charities and social enterprises that provide meaningful employment opportunities for women as part of their response to these challenges.

The aims of the grants are to:  

• offer philanthropic support to charities and social enterprises creating meaningful employment opportunities for women who face barriers accessing mainstream paid work
• Support organizations to integrate financial capability and personalized support into the delivery of these Initiatives.

Outcomes

The intended grant outcomes are: 

• more opportunities for women to access meaningful and secure paid work through an employer, cooperative or their own enterprise – helping them achieve their career and financial goals
• more women are supported to build their financial capability, confidence and decision making through access to timely, relevant and tailored resources/support
• to enable charities and social enterprises to scale and share sustainable Initiatives
• Contribute to the evidence base of ‘what works’ in building women’s economic security and financial wellbeing in Australia.

Funding Information

• $2 million in total funding is available in this grant round.
• As a guide, funding proposals should be between $50,000 - $300,000 depending on the scale of the Initiative and the relative size of the applicant.
• One application per organization may be submitted in this grant round.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, your organization must:

1. be an Australian registered charity or established social enterprise
2. have reported a total annual income between $200,000 and $5 million in FY 2019 or FY 2020 audited financial reports (acknowledging that 2020 FY income may vary due to COVID-19 related operating conditions)
3. have demonstrable experience and expertise in working with women to address gender based economic inequality
4. be seeking funding support for an Initiative that helps build the economic security of women in Australia through creating employment opportunities
5. include in the Initiative financial capability and personalized support components that aim to build financial knowledge, confidence and support decision making
6. include in its application, the estimated number of women the Initiative aims to help secure paid employment (including supporting evidence)
7. Have an impact measurement framework or system in place for the Initiative including methodologies and outcomes to date.

For more information, visit ECSTRA.