TCF Chairman Gerald Loughran said the Fund was established to provide grants for worthwhile community purposes and projects. It ensured that the value of the Trust Bank would be returned to the people of Tasmania in perpetuity and the decisions would be made on merit, without fear or favour.

Mr Loughran said the independence of the TCF Board was enshrined in legislation with an annual appropriation based on the Consumer Price Index and not subject to Budget deliberation.

Since the first funding round in 2000, the TCF has allocated more than $44 million to some 1187 projects in every area of the State.

“The TCF is Tasmania’s biggest philanthropic body and operates according to best practices, delivering unprecedented outcomes to the community,” Mr Loughran said.

“The Fund is responsive to community needs, is flexible and its operations are highly transparent through its annual report to Parliament, briefings of all political parties and the Legislative Council, presentations to community and specialist interest groups, its web presence and media activity.

“Our full independence enables the TCF Board to consider a wide range of inputs, including political, social and community views when establishing strategy and awarding grants

“Research shows that the Tasmanians believe the TCF is working well and meeting a valuable community need.”

The Tasmanian Community Fund was established in 2000 from the proceeds of the sale of the Trust Bank, to make grants for worthwhile community purposes throughout the State. The TCF holds two general grant rounds every year, each of which attracts approximately 250 applications and distributes funds across a broad range of project areas, offering benefits to many different community sectors and regions. It also conducts targeting funding initiatives, recently announcing grants as part of its $9.5 million, five-year ‘Building Tasmania as the Learning Community’ initiative focusing on adult and family literacy.

Close Article

In just one example of the community benefit, facilities for people with a disability to enjoy horse riding and associated activities will be further upgraded with the TCF allocating $10,000 for the Riding for the Disabled Association’s Kalang Centre at Lenah Valley. The Riding for the Disabled Association’s centre in Kalang Avenue, Lenah Valley has now received grants totalling more than $73,000 to undertake a series of projects to upgrade facilities and equipment.

The funding has seen the development of a new accessible toilet block, a mounting ramp, new horse carriage and work to the preparation area. This latest grant is for upgrading its preparation and working area. A similar centre in the north-west previously received funding for an all-weather shelter and the State body received a grant in the current round for training materials.

Kalang Centre Coordinator Cathy Bantick said the funding was invaluable in ensuring that it could cater appropriately for disabled riders and their carers.

“Riding for the Disabled Association Kalang Inc. commenced programs in February 1991 to provide horse related activities, including riding and carriage driving with people with disabilities.

“As a result of the TCF funding, we now have toilet facilities that can cater for people in wheelchairs and with other disabilities, as well as a much improved centre,” Ms Bantick said.

“Currently we have some 27 people participating in programs with 30 volunteers, plus carers and parents, and the upgraded facilities are making a real difference.

“It has made our life so much easier and more enjoyable and this would not have been possible without the support of the TCF.

“This latest grant will further improve facilities.”

TCF Chairman Gerald Loughran said the project was another example of how the funding could provide much-needed support to a worthwhile community endeavour.

“We are very proud of the nearly 1200 projects we’ve identified and the more than $44 million that we have provided to assist them,” Mr Loughran said.

The next TCF grant round opens on 18 July and closes on 27 August. Further details and funding guidelines are available from Melissa Gunn on (03) 6233 2920,on the website www.tascomfund.org, or by email at admin@tascomfund.org

A full listing of successful recipients in the latest TCF grant round is available at http://www.tascomfund.org/GR-Recipients/g-round18-recips.html

Close Article

This is the first initiative in a a five-year strategy with up to $9.5 million to be made available to the Tasmanian community over that period to address learning and literacy issues.

The Tasmanian Association of Community Houses (TACH) will use the grant to establish a 10-year capital fund to create an Everyday Literacy Fund for Local Communities in line with the TCF’s Learning in Perpetuity funding stream.

TACH will resource practical adult literacy projects developed by the organisation’s network of Neighbourhood Houses. There are 34 Neighbourhood Houses across Tasmania, located in communities facing significant socio-economic disadvantage or social isolation. The program will see functional literacy activities developed covering everyday practical situations, as well as the development of local literacy groups to meet particular community needs.

With the establishment of the program and a fund built from the interest on the initial grant over 10 years, more than $770, 000 will be distributed to adult literacy projects and more than $440,000 will be available to fund the program in perpetuity. The remaining balance of $1.7 million will be returned to the TCF in 2019, to be used for similar or other community programs.

TACH President Ann Harrison said the funding announcement and the literacy program would make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged people and their families.

“Neighbourhood Houses are places where people feel safe to come for support when they have struggled with school and formal training systems, and many have poor literacy skills. This program will provide them new opportunities and have an immediate impact in local communities.

“Our Neighbourhood Houses will now be able to provide a creative way that builds on the relationships and activities that the people who most need support with their literacy are already accessing within their communities,” Mrs Harrison said.

“The funding to achieve this would not have been available from any other source and we are extremely grateful that the Tasmanian Community Fund has seen the merit of our proposal which allows local communities, through Neighbourhood Houses, to decide the best way to create literacy programs in their communities.

TCF Chairman Gerald Loughran said the program provided an ideal vehicle for the TCF to target its literacy initiative where it was most needed.

“We are aware that Tasmania falls behind in a range of educational measures, such as school retention rates, adult literacy and levels of skilled employment.

“We recognise that literacy is a key aspect for individual learning and building community capacity and this major grant maximises the outcome and the benefit the disadvantaged communities will receive,” Mr Loughran said.

Close Article

The robotics program, conducted by the School of Engineering at the University of Tasmania and piloted at the Princes Street Primary School has been granted almost $16,000. The grant will fund an after-school program for a year, with the potential to expand it statewide.

The TCF has announced funding totalling $1.37 million for eight projects directed at improving adult and family literacy in six key areas – prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, problem solving, technology and information literacy, and health literacy.

As well as the robotics project, TCF grants go to:

• The Family Support Services Association - $167,000 for West Coast Community Pathways.
• Circular Head Rural Health and Circular Head Council - $400,000 for a family literacy program.
• Derwent Valley Community House - $$35,000 for a ‘Learning for Living’ adult learning and literacy program.
• Bridgewater Police and Citizens Youth Club - $58,578 for music and design workshops for at risk youth.
• West Moonah Community Action Group (on behalf of four southern neighbourhood houses) - $441,573 for literacy programs.
• The Migrant Resource Centre - $84,775 for a culturally orientated literacy program.
• Mission Australia - $164,025 for the U-turn literacy and numeracy project.

Robotics project mentor Dr Graeme Faulkner said the TCF funding would be vital in expanding the pilot program so that it could then be evaluated for wider application across the State. Dr Faulkner said the program presented a series of challenges for parent and child teams to cooperatively solve using robotics.

“The teams teach the robots to solve the problems, with any failure the fault of the robots, not the team.

“This overcomes the adult fear of being blamed for mistakes and minimises the risk of blame.

“The challenges are free-form and encourage cooperation and the development of parent – child communication, enhancing family relationships.”

Dr Faulkner said the Princes Street School pilot project had demonstrated the impact of the program and identified a number of approaches that could be employed to expand the initiative. The TCF funding would now enable the development of a program that could make a significant impact on learning and family relationships throughout Tasmania.

TCF Chairman Gerald Loughran said the robotics project was an example of a unique initiative that could enhance Tasmanian learning. It, with the other projects funded, provided ideal vehicles for the TCF to target its literacy initiative where it was most needed.

“This special grant funding will go some way towards improving adult and family literacy and learning throughout the State.

“In addition to the funding announced this month, other projects supporting learning can be submitted to the TCF in other funding rounds.”

A full listing of the special round recipients is available at http://www.tascomfund.org/tip-succ-apps.html

Close Article

The workshops will be held at Hadley’s Hotel in Hobart on 7 July, Weller’s Inn Burnie on 13 July and the Launceston Tram Sheds on 14 July. The three events will run from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and morning tea will be provided.

TCF Senior Executive Officer Mark Green said workshop topics would include general grant-writing tips, the identification of potential grant sources, the importance of project planning, successful grant project presentations and how to respond to successful or unsuccessful grant outcomes.

Mr Green said the workshops would be invaluable for community organisations in preparing applications to funding bodies.

“For example, the TCF has established guidelines, but realistically not every application can be successful.

“It is important that applicants tick all the boxes and the workshops will assist organisations to understand the information they need to present to have the best chance of success.

“Strong applications also assist funding bodies and ensure that the available funds go to where they can achieve the best benefit for the community.”

Further information on the workshops is available from the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation on email: foundation@earlyyears.org.au.

Close Article