Open Call: Strengthening Our Culture Funding Pool (Australia)

Deadline: 30-Jun-2027

The Strengthening Our Culture Funding Pool provides grants to South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations for culturally grounded projects that improve Aboriginal health and wellbeing. The funding supports community-led initiatives and partnerships based on culture and self-determination. It forms part of the broader Closing the Gap strategy and aims to strengthen the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and increase Aboriginal-led service delivery across South Australia. The Strengthening Our Culture Funding Pool is designed to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people across South Australia through culturally safe, community-designed initiatives. The programme supports projects that are grounded in Aboriginal culture and self-determination and respond to health and wellbeing priorities identified by communities. It also aims to strengthen the capacity of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and support sustainable, long-term improvements in Aboriginal-led health service delivery. A total of $480,000 GST exclusive is available through the funding pool. The programme offers several grant streams to accommodate projects of different sizes and durations.

Funding is available through:

The flexible funding structure allows organisations to select a stream that is appropriate for their proposed project. Projects must improve Aboriginal health and wellbeing and be grounded in culture and self-determination. Funded projects must align with one or more Cultural Determinants of Health. Projects should also address relevant prevention priorities, including: The programme encourages initiatives that promote healthy lifestyles and create sustainable, long-term change within Aboriginal communities. The funding pool supports health initiatives designed by and for Aboriginal communities. Projects should provide culturally safe approaches to health and wellbeing and reflect the priorities and needs of the communities they serve. Community-led design is an important part of the programme, ensuring that funded activities are connected to Aboriginal culture and self-determination. Projects must align with one or more of the Cultural Determinants of Health. This requirement ensures that funded initiatives recognise the important role of culture, community, identity, and self-determination in Aboriginal health and wellbeing. Applicants should demonstrate how their proposed project connects its activities and outcomes to relevant cultural determinants. The programme supports projects addressing key health prevention priorities.

These include:

Projects can use culturally appropriate approaches to encourage healthier lifestyles and address health risks affecting Aboriginal communities. The Strengthening Our People stream provides grants of up to $5,000. Projects under this stream can run for up to six months. This stream is intended to provide flexible support for smaller initiatives addressing Aboriginal health and wellbeing priorities. The Strengthening Our Mob stream provides grants ranging from $10,000 to $30,000. Projects can be supported for up to 12 months. This stream provides greater funding capacity for community-led initiatives requiring a longer implementation period. The Strengthening Our Communities – Major Projects stream provides grants of up to $50,000. Projects can run for up to two years. This stream supports larger initiatives designed to create meaningful and sustainable health and wellbeing outcomes within Aboriginal communities. The Strengthening Our Communities – Major Partnership stream provides up to $100,000 per year for a period of up to three years. This stream is intended to support major projects and partnerships that can deliver longer-term and sustainable outcomes. The partnership approach can help organisations work collaboratively to address Aboriginal health and wellbeing priorities. Eligible applicants must be South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. Applicants must meet the programme’s organisational requirements and demonstrate their ability to deliver services and manage the proposed project.

Applicants must:

Applicants should ensure that their proposed project is clearly connected to Aboriginal health and wellbeing priorities. Applicants must be able to identify a project committee to oversee the proposed initiative. The committee is intended to provide oversight of project implementation and help ensure that activities remain aligned with the project’s objectives. Organisations should identify an appropriate structure for overseeing their proposed project. Several types of organisations are not eligible to apply directly for funding. Although these entities cannot apply directly, they may participate as partners where appropriate. The programme allows ineligible organisations and entities to participate as partners. Partnerships can bring together additional expertise, resources, and capabilities to support Aboriginal-led health and wellbeing initiatives. However, eligible Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations must be the applicants for the funding. The programme incorporates a Community of Practice approach to support participating organisations. The Community of Practice is designed to facilitate: This approach aims to strengthen participating organisations while helping effective programmes and approaches reach other Aboriginal communities. An important objective of the Community of Practice is to support the sharing of successful programmes across Aboriginal communities in South Australia. Participating organisations can learn from one another and strengthen their approaches through shared experiences and ongoing support. This can help build broader capacity across the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector. The funding pool encourages projects that can contribute to sustainable improvements rather than short-term act