The IMB Bank Community Foundation has been empowering communities for 25 years, supporting grass roots local heroes who commit their time, energy, and expertise to make our communities more prosperous and sustainable.
Since 1999, we’ve donated over $12m to over 900 transformational grassroots projects and witnessed the remarkable and positive impact on our local communities.
Applications for 2024 grants have now closed. We are looking forward to announcing successful applicants later in the year.
Each year, we fund a wide variety of important projects across six key themes:
Social
Educational
Community Development
Environmental
Cultural
Community Connection
Here’s the six things we value when we choose who to fund:
We seek high-impact projects that deliver measurable benefits in communities where our members live and work, with evaluation plans in place.
We invest in enduring initiatives that build and transfer skills and knowledge and provide economic and social benefits in communities that deliver long-term, measurable benefits.
We love fresh, ‘new to community’ ideas with potential for breakthrough impacts and opportunities to partner with entrepreneurial organisations.
We look for initiatives with strong community support with wide-reaching benefits.
We favour applicants who have, will, and are able to continue to commit their time, energy, expertise, and physical and financial resources to their initiative.
The initiatives and organisations we fund need to be not-for-profit. There’s more detail on that below.
We will generally fund tax exempt bodies under the Income Taxation Act, and/or organisations as described below:
On occasion, we may consider funding organisations that do not meet the criteria above if the benefits of their initiatives are well established against other criteria. If you think this is the case for your organisation and initiative, please contact [email protected] before applying.
We seek projects that have proximity to our branches and communities. Find your nearest branch.
We want your project to succeed in delivering the benefits intended, so we ensure the projects we fund have strong evaluation plans in place.
Our total pool of funding is $700,000 for the Foundation’s activities in 2024. We generally provide grants ranging from $1,000 up to $30,000. Larger grants may be made where the proposed project has outstanding merit, sustainability and impact, and clearly meets all ICF criteria. In addition, preference will be given to projects that demonstrate a high degree of self-help, either in the form of the applicant’s own efforts and work already undertaken, or in the form of actual physical or financial resources already committed to the project.
ACT
Far
South Coast
Newcastle
Illawarra
Shoalhaven
Sydney
Melbourne
Southern Highlands
The Foundation supports projects that support the communities we’re a part of. To receive funding, your project will need to serve communities in these regions, and you’ll need to be able open an IMB Bank Account in one of our branches.
What | When |
---|---|
Applications Open | 01 May 2024 |
Applications Close | 21 June 2024 |
Projects assessed | July 2024 |
Meetings with shortlisted projects | August 2024 |
Recipients announced | October 2024 |
You will receive an acknowledgement application after you submit your application, noting the submit button acts as a save and/or submit button. All applicants have the option to update their application right up until up to the close date and time: 5pm on 21 June.
If you have questions or need any help, reach out by submitting an online enquiry form or email our Foundation team at: [email protected]
If you have questions or need any help, reach out by emailing our Foundation team at: [email protected].
Here’s the six things we look for when selecting projects to fund.
Social – Foundation sponsored projects mentor and empower men and women in our communities, build inclusion, diversity, and equity, and inspire the young. Further, we invest in projects that provide support for vulnerable or disadvantaged people.
Environmental – We encourage communities to think global but act local. We invest in projects that improve the environment by way of regeneration of community habitats, encouraging recycling, assisting in the recovery from disasters, and driving sustainability by using clean energy.
Cultural – We care about nurturing culture in our communities, supporting programs that recognise and preserve heritage and history to benefit local communities and make our lives so much richer.
Educational – We’re excited by programs that help people acquire skills, break free and embrace new challenges, and projects that support community health and wellbeing – both mental and physical.
Community development – We love projects that enhance experiences for locals and visitors alike, provide economic and social benefits and develop community assets and programs that support shared prosperity.
Community connection – We back initiatives that bring communities together, connecting residents, businesses, the vulnerable and volunteers for mutual benefit.
All those details will be provided if your project is successful. But, you will need to open an IMB Bank account to receive the funding. For now, there’s nothing you need to do.
You will be able to print your completed application form. You’ll also receive a PDF version for your records. We’ll receive your application online – so if you print it out, you don’t need to send it to us.
1. The IMB Bank Community Foundation may consider funding for professional fees and wages for trainer or instructor related costs where the project is dependent on such positions to be successfully completed, and where the project is otherwise able to demonstrate that it is sustainable.
2. The Committee closely assesses each application before anything is ruled out on these grounds. It is accepted that either type of expenditure may well be an integral part of a whole project.
If your application is successful, your organisation will be required to have open a current bank account with IMB for the purpose of direct transfer of funds. If there are extenuating circumstances, e.g. local government organisation procedures, etc.., we will discuss with you the possibility of specific alternative arrangements.