Our Grants

We have a number of things that we look for:

• Clear alignment with VFFF's funding outcomes – clarity on what will be different as a result of the grant, and mechanisms to track outcomes as you go along, allowing refinement in real time
• Strong leadership – ‘doing’ leaders with vision, action and tenacity – people who are making things happen and motivating others
• An organisation in good health – sound governance, effective operational systems and financially viable
• Demand-driven work – evidence that the work proposed is informed by and relevant to young people
• Sound strategy – the work proposed is a logical and practical response to the issue, and there is evidence suggesting it will be effective in these circumstances
• Capacity and experience to deliver the strategy effectively – relevant specialist skills and a deep relationship with and understanding of the young people you seek to work with
• Other financial contributions – or a sound plan to leverage VFFF support to obtain further funding

VFFF exclusively grants under Backing Young People. We define young people as those aged 15-24 years old.

VFFF provides core operations and capacity building grants to strengthen organisations and support them to operate more effectively beyond the conclusion of the grant.

Core operations grants fund organisational and administrative costs such as salaries and overheads that maintain the everyday operation of an organisation.

Capacity building grants aim to strengthen organisations by investing in core competencies such as strategic or business planning, fundraising, board development and governance, evaluation and taking an evidence based approach, leadership development and infrastructure.

VFFF makes grants to charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) in NSW and QLD.

VFFF has four granting areas –Decent Work, Caring for the Environment, Contributing to Society and Exploring Christian Faith and Values. The guidelines offer information to assist grant seekers in determining whether their organisations aligns with VFFF’s goals and funding outcomes. Go to the page for each area for an overview and to read the guidelines.

VFFF’s Grants Committee conducts assessments and makes decisions on requests up to $50,000. The VFFF Board consider grants above $50,000. In FY2021 our grants ranged from $41,720 to $1,380,000 and 79% of grants were multi-year commitments.

VFFF does not provide funding for: Scholarships, public fundraising appeals, endowment funds established to provide a corpus for institutions, disaster appeals, political projects, litigation and/or political lobby groups or individual churches.

VFFF does not accept unsolicited applications. The VFFF team proactively seeks granting opportunities aligned to the funding outcomes in each focus area. See Our Grants for more information on the granting status of each focus area.

If invited to apply, applications are made through our online portal, accessed through this website. Applicants create a log in and are guided through a series of questions. You can save your application and return to it later.

We also require copies of organisations’ latest audited financial statements and up-to-date management accounts be uploaded with applications.

We aim to be of assistance to grant seekers during the preparation of applications and encourage organisations to contact us with any queries that arise. VFFF will contact grant seekers to work through any concerns or questions and may also request meetings or site visits.

Once a grant is approved, VFFF will request successful organisations to:

• Sign and return a grant agreement
• Nominate a single point of contact for administration of the grant
• Provide their bank details for payment
• Provide a receipt of payment.

VFFF is always interested in hearing from grantees about their achievements and challenges and relies on feedback to inform our work. We invite grantees to stay in touch as it suits them.

VFFF asks grantees to provide an acquittal report and an expenditure statement at the end of the funding period, for which templates are provided.

For multi-year grants, yearly progress reports, including expenditure statements, are also required.
VFFF reminds grantees when reports are due and provides templates to assist in the process.

VFFF aims to be helpful and flexible and encourages open communication with grantees beyond specific reporting requirements.

While we value the spirit in which these acknowledgements are given VFFF prefers not to receive framed certificates, plaques or other tokens of appreciation.

It is important that grantees inform us of any significant changes that will have an impact on the work we are funding. VFFF is mindful of the fact that circumstances can change and will seek to be flexible.

We hope our grants will help recipient organisations to attract funds from other sources and are happy for our support to be mentioned to other funders or included in Annual Reports. We request that grantees ask us before using our name or logo.

The launch of Backing Young People does not alter our commitment to current grantees that received funding under VFFF’s retired focus areas. VFFF remains invested in our relationships with all grant recipients and existing funding agreements are unchanged.