Grassroots Community-Led grants

Grassroots Community-Led grants help not-for-profit organisations and local governments deliver great outcomes for communities across Western Australia. 

Our Grassroots Community-led program is where organisations and the community are in the driver’s seat. Come to us with your big (or small!) ideas to contribute towards making your community better and healthier.

Applications are open year-round, and we’ll be looking to support grants which align to our priorities.

Extra emergency relief support 

To provide additional funding and support to organisations who are helping Western Australia’s most vulnerable, we’ve increased our emergency and crisis relief support to $15 million per year for the next two years.

These grants will help community organisations and local governments to support people experiencing financial crisis to meet their basic needs. Lotterywest is committed to supporting best-practice emergency relief provision, including prioritising projects that demonstrate wrap-around services and referrals to further support, are open and accessible, non-discriminatory and best placed to service a key area of need.

Applications are open year-round, and should show how planned activities will contribute towards the priority area of ‘Inclusive thriving community’ and achieving the outcome of ‘reducing vulnerability and disadvantage’ in our Community Investment Framework. 

Apply now

Priority area alignment

We’re keen to support your ideas that contribute towards building a better and healthier WA and align to one of our Community Investment Framework priority areas.

We are committed to maximising the positive impact of our grants for the WA community.  This includes looking beyond the direct outcomes of an initiative to promoting practices that are respectful of Aboriginal peoples, inclusive, healthy, sustainable and child safe.

That’s why our Good Practice Requirements  apply to all grant requests received from 1 January 2024.

It is always good practice to engage with those who will benefit from, or be affected by, your initiative to make sure you are considering their needs and maximising impact.

Our team are here to help you think about what you need in order to meet these requirements. This includes considering any costs associated with addressing the requirements as part of your grant.

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Get in touch

Not sure if your idea aligns?

We will work with you to explore what you’d like to achieve and how it connects to one of the priority areas. We’re here to support organisations to develop a strong application.

Timeframes

You can submit your grant application at any time – we aim to give a response within four months of receiving a complete application. 

We encourage you to discuss your ideas with one of our grant officers first, so we can help guide you to achieve the best chance of success.

Webinar

Watch our introduction to the Community Investment Framework webinar to learn more about Lotterywest’s grant-making.

Watch Video

Next steps

Make sure you’re eligible

You're an eligible organisation if you are:

  • a not-for-profit organisation (i.e. none of the profits go to owners or shareholders); or
  • a local government authority.

Smaller not-for-profits may prefer to be auspiced by an eligible organisation. Contact us for more information if you are considering this approach.

Your organisation also needs to:

  • be an Australian entity undertaking activities for the benefit of the Western Australian community;
  • not be operating on behalf of the State or Federal Government; or
  • have the authority to undertake the proposed grant activities.
Consider the timing

We aim to give a response within four months of receiving a complete application. We are unable to support retrospective or urgent costs.

We encourage you to get in touch with us early to discuss your idea.

Learn about what can be supported
  • The grant must clearly result in community benefit. This can include providing relief to people facing significant needs.
  • There must be a clear link between the activity or item to be purchased with the grant, the grant purpose and one of the outcomes in the Community Investment Framework.
  • The benefit of the grant must be realised in Western Australia.
  • Grants can be used to support income generating activities if they are clearly intended to lead to a charitable or benevolent outcome. All profits must be directed towards a charitable purpose.

Learn more about what can’t be supported here.

Check our assessment criteria

You will need to demonstrate that your proposal meets the following four assessment criteria:

  1. Link to Community Investment Framework outcomes
  2. Merit of the proposal
  3. Value for money
  4. Organisational capacity

Learn more here. 

Get your documents together

All applicants will be asked to provide the following documents – we recommend that you start getting these ready early.

  • Your organisation’s rules or constituent documents
  • List of current Directors/Board or Management Committee members
  • Budget and quotes
  • Annual report and AGM minutes
  • Bank statement
  • Any other supporting documents e.g. project plans
  • Referee details
Plan for success

Getting clear on what you’re trying to achieve, and how to do it, will give you the best chance possible of a successful grant project.

Our online Community Impact Planner  has three tools to help you plan your project and present it to others.  The planner will help you understand your vision, plan your impact and report on the outcomes of your project.

If you would like some dedicated project design support, please get in touch with the Knowledge and Insights team at community.impacthub@lotterywest.wa.gov.au

Apply

Grant applications take place in the Lotterywest Portal. You will be asked to login or create a profile. You will then be able to start a new application which you can save and return to as required.

Read out tips for answering the application questions here.

Apply here.

Call us if you require any help with completing the application form online.

Share the good news

Getting the word out that you have received a Lotterywest grant lets people know that the money spent on Lotterywest games supports WA not-for-profit organisations. It’s also a great opportunity to raise your profile.

  • Call us or give us a shout out on social media with your updates and photos so we can share your news.
  • Tag @Lotterywest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and use our hashtag #Lotterywest.
  • You can also order Lotterywest signage and use the Lotterywest logo to acknowledge our partnership.

Learn more here.

How do I manage my grant?

Through the Portal you can manage and acquit (account for) your grant including:

  • Providing an update on progress
  • Requesting an extension of time or variation
  • Providing your final acquittal report including outcomes reporting
  • Viewing all upcoming payments and any prepayment conditions

Access the Portal here.

More FAQs