Empowering Women and Girls Grant | Northern Rivers Community Foundation

Youth + Disability + Health & Wellbeing + Environment & Conservation + Aged Services

Applications for the 2025 Empowering Women and Girls Grant are now closed.

This grant will be awarded at our Grant Giving Celebration on Thursday 4 September 2025.

The NRCF Empowering Women & Girls grant is an annual program that offers funding to grassroots initiatives in the Northern Rivers that focus on empowering women and girls to overcome inequality and disadvantage. The objective of the grant is to provide seed funding to pilot new programs and services to empower women and girls, or enable existing programs and services to pivot, scale or build their evidence base.

The program is unique to other grants because the funds raised come from women in the Northern Rivers, through the NRCF Women’s Giving Circle. By bringing together passionate women from the Northern Rivers, the Circle aims to promote equality, human rights and an environment free from discrimination and violence for women and girls through collective giving and participatory grant making.

Key Program Dates

14-31 July 2025	Call for applications period
15 July, 2025	Grant-writing Webinar 1
17 July, 2025	Grant-writing Webinar 2
1 – 8 August 2025	Evaluation Committee scores applications
11 August 2025	Evaluation Committee convenes to confirm shortlist
12 August, 2025	Shortlisted applicants and unsuccessful applicants notified
18 August, 2025	Closing date for submission of Stage 2 Submission
20– 24 August 2025	Voting period opens and closes
25 August 2025	Successful and unsuccessful applicants are notified
4 September, 2025	Grant-giving ceremony and celebration
4-14 September, 2025	Grant Agreements and Funding distributed
31 March, 2026	Mid-way pulse check
31 September, 2026	Final check-in and submission of financial acquittal

Grants

Eligibility

There are four basic criteria for being eligible for the Empowering Women and Girls grant:

Locally based: The grant supports organisations working within the 7 LGAs of the Northern Rivers (Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley, Ballina, Byron and Tweed).
Locally governed: The implementing organisation demonstrates local governance, through a board or committee based in the Northern Rivers.
Women-Led: The organisation or project is led by women or has developed a formal mechanism to ensure that the project is informed by women and women’s organisations (e.g. in the form of a partnership, advisory committee etc.).
Not-for-profit: NRCF can only grant funds to organisations holding Deductible Gift Recipient 1 (DGR1) status.

Notes:

If you do not have DGR1 status (e.g. you are an Incorporated Association without DGR1) then you should look for a DGR1 organisation to accept the funds of your behalf (also known as an “auspice”). If you would like NRCF’s help with this, please let us know in the appropriate question in the application.
NRCF is not able to fund projects that operate through a business structure (e.g. company or sole trader) even if they are a social enterprise.

Further Support