Our Grants

Our approach

Grants to individuals

Grants to organisations

Our approach

VFFF exclusively funds under our five year granting strategy Backing Young People, supporting organisations and individuals whose work is focused on young people aged 15-24 years old.

We see our role as Backing Young People with innovative opportunities that advance their independence, social purpose and future security.

We fund work in NSW, QLD and at a national level across our four focus areas: Decent Work, Contributing to Society, Exploring Christian Faith and Values and Caring for the Environment. VFFF only funds work that is strongly aligned to one or more focus areas.

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Grants to individuals

Backing the Future Round 2 

Geography: QLD only

Grant: $50,000 over 12 months to individuals

Number of grants (awarded per round): 10

Applications open: 3 February 2023

Applications close: 3 March 2023

Interviews for shortlisted candidates: By 24 April 2023

Successful candidates notified of background check process: May 2023

Grants paid: July 2023

How to apply: Applications must be submitted through this link. Please note that the application process requires both written and video responses. 

Note: Our priority is for Backing the Future to be as inclusive as possible. If the application process raises accessibility challenges or if you have concerns about the scope of the background checking process, please call (02) 9291 2727 or email [email protected] 

What is a Backing the Future grant?

VFFF provides grants to individuals through Backing the Future.

Backing the Future grants award $50,000 over 12 months to individuals whose work is focused on rural and regional young people across one or more of VFFF's four focus areas: Decent Work, Contributing to Society, Exploring Christian Faith and Values and/or Caring for the Environment.

Each year, VFFF will open applications for both a NSW and QLD round. 10 grants will be allocated per funding round.


Backing the Future grants support: 

  • Individuals (18+) researching, piloting or accelerating early-stage ideas
  • Work based in rural and regional NSW/QLD focused on young people across one or more of VFFF's four focus areas
  • Individuals committed to working with and elevating the voices of young people
  • Salary, start up or project costs.

VFFF encourages young people and people from diverse backgrounds to apply.

 

Backing the Future grants are not open to:

  • Registered charities and/or established organisations
  • Individuals seeking support for scholarships, public fundraising appeals, disaster appeals, political projects, litigation and/or political lobby groups.

You can watch VFFF's information webinar here. Please note this webinar was conducted in August 2022 during Round One - NSW. 


How do I apply?

Applicants should read through the following documents prior to starting their application:

To apply, applicants should:

  1. Click here
  2. Create an account
  3. Complete the eligibility quiz
  4. If eligible, complete the written and video application process.


Application process

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Grants to organisations

VFFF provides grants to organisations to strengthen their capacity, enable innovation and support them to operate more effectively beyond the conclusion of the grant. We especially aim to support organisations through critical times of transition or development.

These grants are made across VFFF’s four focus areas by invitation only. The VFFF team proactively seeks granting opportunities aligned to the funding outcomes in each focus area and initiates discussions with aligned organisations.

Each year, our aim is that at least 60% of our granting supports young people in rural and regional areas.

 

VFFF looks to:

  • Back new ways of thinking and working, supporting organisations that are forward-looking and ready to take ambitious steps to bring their ideas to fruition
  • Strengthen organisations we believe in by funding core operations
  • Support evidence-based approaches to create change and evaluation of impact 
  • Direct funds towards organisations that demonstrate clear evidence of demand from the young people they seek to support
  • Support young people to shape what they want for their future
  • Connect young people with others who have similar goals and support collaborative work.

 

Grants to organisations must be aligned with one or more of VFFF's four focus areas: Decent Work, Contributing to Society, Exploring Christian Faith and Values and/or Caring for the Environment. 


Types of grants to organisations

These grants are made across VFFF’s four focus areas by invitation only. The VFFF team proactively seeks granting opportunities aligned to the funding outcomes in each focus area and initiates discussions with aligned organisations.

→ Core operations grants* provide multi-year, general operating funding to build organisational effectiveness.

→ Exploration grants provide flexible funding to contribute to the development, design and feasibility testing of early-stage ideas and/or to support the successful establishment of new, high potential organisations.

→ Strategic partnerships are large, multi-year partnerships established with organisations to deepen the impact of our grant making strategy. We see these grants as a two-way partnership working alongside an expert organisation to deliver the work and leverage our collective knowledge, networks and learnings. Current VFFF strategic partnerships are with:

 

*The majority of VFFF grants are core operations grants. These grants fund organisational costs at the discretion of the organisation. This may include salaries and overheads that maintain the everyday operation of an organisation and/or investing in core processes such as strategic or business planning, board development and governance, measurement and evaluation, leadership development, fundraising, IT and other infrastructure.

 

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