Community Development Grants

Gardiner Foundation is a not-for-profit philanthropic organisation with a vision for vibrant, thriving Victorian dairy communities where people want to live, work and invest. From 2002 to 2024, Gardiner Foundation’s Community Grants program invested $2.4M across 601 community organisations in regional Victoria.  

In 2024, Gardiner partnered with Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) to refresh our community grants program. From mid-September to late November, ACF conducted a range of workshops and interviews, consulting more than 55 people from all sectors and services that intersect with dairy communities. The results highlight the need for systems-level change to ensure dairy communities thrive in the decades ahead.

In May 2025, the Gardiner Foundation Community Development Grants will distribute $150,000 to community organisations, in collaboration with select community foundations across Victoria’s dairying regions. Recognising the value of a localised approach, the Gardiner Foundation is partnering with community foundations that have deep knowledge of their regions’ specific needs.

The South West Community Foundation will support communities in South West Victoria, the Gippsland Community Foundation will focus on the Gippsland region, and both Border Trust and Greater Shepparton Foundation will support communities in Northern Victoria. This grant round will be done via an expression of interest directly with the relevant community Foundation.

About Community Development Grants

Gardiner Community Development Grants leverage the rich local knowledge and skills of Victoria’s dairying communities to support locally-led initiatives that strengthen the social fabric and connectivity of Victoria’s dairying communities. 

Approaches to social connectivity may include, but are not limited to, initiatives that: 

  • Promote social interaction and community participation 
  • Enhance wellbeing 
  • Enable digital inclusion, and/or 
  • Improve mobility and access to community 

Projects must seek to benefit disadvantaged or marginalised people or groups in Victoria’s dairying communities, particularly those that intersect with the dairy supply chain. Grants of up to $10,000 are available for events & workshops, equipment, project or service delivery and/or training & education. 

Contact 

Please directly contact your local community foundation for further information on the grant guidelines and application process.