News
Applications Open for Connected Together Grants.
Guide Dogs is now accepting applications for the new Connected Together grant opportunity!
Connected Together is a program that aims to support community and peer support activities for people with low vision or blindness, carers, family members or support networks. These activities could be in person, online or via telelink, and they could be anything to do with sports and recreation, art and culture, or general social and community connections.
The grants will support established communities or support groups, or help bring a new idea for a peer group to life. Whether you are in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Queensland, South Australia or Northern Territory – you can apply!
You also don’t need to be a Guide Dogs Client to apply. Connected Together aims to support people who are ineligible for NDIS supported funds.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. We know that grant applications can be tedious and often there just isn’t the right sort of grant available for what you need.
The good news is this is not like other grant applications! It is accessible, personalised, and is a “one-time” funding opportunity with various funding sizes to select. These sizes are in response to what community and peer members have told us and include the following:
1. Small grant up to $500.
This category is designed for social coffee catch-ups, or craft days.
2. Medium grant up to $2,500.
This medium category is designed to sustain social connection activities for one year across an array of community activities such as transport and venue hire – saving hassles with accessibility and/or public transport, so you can focus on catching up, in community.
3. Large grant up to $5,000.
This large category is designed with national initiatives in mind with significant reach. For example, to help to support the costs of a national conference on low vision or blindness with a goal of helping families connect, or perhaps a blind sports tournament consisting of a regional exhibition game.
So apply for your group online here. Applications close Thursday 31 March.
Connected Together is made possible through the Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) grant program, which aims to ensure that people with disability, their families and carers are supported to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the same community activities as everyone else.
