Local community groups throughout Australia have received a bright start to 2015 after being granted funding as part of nib foundation’s sixth annual Community Grants Program.

The 14 charities will share in $350,000 worth of funding that will support a range of grassroots health programs aimed at young people and carers across the country.

nib foundation Chairman, Keith Lynch, said the foundation partnered with organisations that deliver practical approaches to meeting the unique health and wellbeing needs of these groups.

“Healthy communities are the key to improving the lives of Australians now and for future generations, which is why we focus our support on initiatives that deliver real health outcomes for local communities,” Mr Lynch said.

“Whether it is through expanding current services or introducing new programs that help reduce the gaps in existing services each of these funded projects give young people and carers the opportunity to live healthy, happy lives,” he added.

Individual program funding ranged from between $2,000 to $50,000. The 2014 beneficiaries and their programs are:

• Act for Kids: Adapt Learn to be Safe with Emmy, to be a culturally appropriate protective behaviours program for Aboriginal children in Queensland.
  
• Ausee: Print and distribute a children’s book for siblings of children with eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder.
  
• Australian Catholic University: Deliver the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Families health education program to mothers of children with disabilities in Victoria and New South Wales.
  
• Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club: Implement water safety and awareness program to assist Newcastle’s refugee community participate in beach activities.
  
• Disabled Surfers Association Australia: Acquire new equipment to support volunteers at the Hunter branch hold surf days for people with a disability.
  
• Families Supporting Families Inc: Support the 2015 Carers Café Plus events enabling carers of special needs children in Newcastle to connect with peers, services and information.
  
• Good Cycles Limited: Establish Cycle Smart, a bike education and work experience program for disadvantaged youth in Melbourne.
  
• Guide Dogs NSW/ACT: Deliver a Mobility Adventures Program for blind and vision-impaired children in Sydney and regional New South Wales.
  
• Inclusion Melbourne: Develop a plain English resource to support oral health care for young Victorian people with an intellectual disability.
  
• Learning Links: Run Train the Trainer workshops to assist disability providers in the Hunter region to deliver the Parents as Case Co-ordinators program to local families.
  
• Men's Resource Centre (Inc): Establish a Positive Mentoring Program to encourage disadvantaged youth in Albany, Western Australia to engage in a healthy active lifestyle.
  
• Police Citizens Youth Club NSW Ltd (PCYC): Support the youth training and skills program at PCYC’s Citizens Cafe in Blacktown, New South Wales.
  
• Inspire Foundation: Create audio content information resources to improve the mental health of young people with low literacy.
  
• Villa Maria Society: Establish a new Young Carers Mentor Program in the Hume region, Victoria.
  

More than 450 applications for funding were submitted for the foundation’s community grants program, up 150% on the previous funding round. Mr Lynch said the unprecedented rise in applications was a reflection of the increasingly competitive environment for private sector support.

“We know that 2014 was a tough year for Australia’s social sector with charities seeing an increase in demand for their services while at the same time Government funding for many programs was diminishing,” Mr Lynch said.

“The number of applications we received demonstrated the significant demand for funding programs such as our Community Grants program, to help the many wonderful organisations continue their good work for our community,” Mr Lynch said.

Since its establishment nib foundation has committed more than $12 million in funding to help change the lives of almost 45,000 people who have participated in their partners’ programs.

More information about nib foundation and partners can be found at nibfoundation.com.au