icare Foundation Encourages Charities to Pitch for a share of $100,000 in Funding

A NSW social venture is offering funding grants of up to $100,000, for charities which run innovative programs in prevention or post-injury-care.

The icare foundation looks to invest in “promising, inspiring programs benefiting the NSW community”.

They have encouraged charities running a health and wellbeing program in preventative, rehabilitation or treatment of mental or physical injuries caused at work or on the roads, to pitch for this funding at a “pitch in” event at icare foundation’s headquarters in Sydney on 6 December.

The foundation’s general manager, Amanda Keogh, told Pro Bono News that this grant-funding opportunity was opened to “create some excitement”.

“Our foundation was only established in November last year… and we have $100 million to give away over five years,” Keogh said.

“Our tagline is to ‘invest in a new state of wellbeing’, and so we wish to prevent injuries, we wish there to be an optimal recovery, we wish there to be a quality of life for those seriously injured. But we want to go beyond that and care for the carers and invest in communities.

“We want to create some excitement and we want our people to be a part of the investment process.”

Keogh said there would be a considered process to select finalists for the “pitch in”, which would involve extensive consultation with icare employees.

“I want icare people to be part of it. The idea is that we invite charities to come into our head office and pitch for a share of $100,000 in funding, with our employees deciding where [this funding] goes,” she said.

“I think that’s a wonderful way to have your people as a part of your foundation and actually see and meet the people who want to make a difference.

“We will review those applications and whittle them down to a shortlist, which will go to a panel including our leadership team, who will then decides the final three who get to pitch to us on 6 December.

“And the charities which are selected will actually be coached in pitching as well, so they’ll receive capability coaching as part of the process.”

Applications for the funding close on 5 October, and Keogh said charities should have a specific goal in mind before they apply.  

“I’m expecting the charities in question will have something specific they want to do with the funds,” she said.

“It could be maybe that they want to expand what they do to a part of NSW they don’t currently have coverage in, or maybe they want to trial a different approach, working with a specific cohort and they need some capital to develop this.”

This “live-crowdfunding” approach has become popular in recent years, and icare said it had “a proven track record of successfully connecting donors, employees and other stakeholders to grassroots programs and social entrepreneurs.”

Keogh noted that icare had been inspired by the work of The Funding Network, and she said it was a “fantastic format” to foster innovative approaches.

“Innovation is something on the tip of everyone’s tongue and philanthropy and foundations are no exception. I think there’s a sense that foundations and philanthropic organisations are realising that they need to have fresh ideas brought to them,” she said.

“They need to have innovative approaches supported and I think they want to be a part of the exciting social innovation that’s currently underway.”

She added that social entrepreneurs also benefitted from this approach, as it allowed them to receive funding for grassroots action.

“There’s so many social entrepreneurs out there that are excited about their ideas to make a difference, but they need capital. And the connection between the people who have the social innovation and the people who have funding, isn’t always easy to make,” Keogh said.

“And I think the really important function for The Funding Network and our pitch in, is to be able to provide that connection.

“It’s a fantastic development in the philanthropic sector [to] get this funding in the right hands, so people at the grassroots level can make a difference.”