Nine worthy recipients of QBE Foundation’s 2022 local grants

• The QBE Foundation local grants program awarded nine local community organisations with grants of $40,000 each in 2022
• The selected organisations’ work aligns with QBE Foundation’s vision to create strong, resilient and inclusive communities
• Grants were awarded across three categories – inclusion, climate resilience and QBE employee choice.

The QBE Foundation is committed to creating strong, resilient and inclusive communities across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. We work in partnership with community organisations, with a focus on climate resilience and inclusion – two areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact.

As well as supporting community partners including R U OK?, Red Cross, Foodbank, Orange Sky and Save the Children, in 2022 the QBE Foundation invited Australia-based not-for-profits to apply for a $40,000 grant to support their work.

“We want to improve the resilience and preparedness of our communities through partnerships that are making a tangible and sustainable difference,” says Jon Fox, Chief Claims Officer and QBE Foundation Chair.

“We know that by working together, we can have a lasting impact.”

Nine grants awarded across three categories

The QBE Foundation local grants program in 2022 had three categories – climate resilience, inclusion, and QBE employee choice, which encouraged QBE staff to nominate a community organisation close to their heart.

“It was a difficult task to narrow down hundreds of strong applications. We were overwhelmed by the response. There are so many organisations doing amazing work to help people, communities and the environment right across Australia and the Pacific,” says Jon.

The focus was selecting organisations doing sustainable and impactful work, in areas of need that align with QBE’s goals and strategy.

“We’re confident we have nine superb organisations that will all be empowered to make an even greater impact thanks to the grant. It’s also great to know these grants were ultimately awarded by our people, who voted for the winning grants in a final round of assessment.”

We are delighted to award the deserving recipients $40,000 from the QBE Foundation.

Climate resilience winners

This category was open to Australia-based not-for-profits working to address key areas of need in locations in which QBE Australia Pacific operates. Initiatives in the Climate Resilience category could include environmental regeneration, climate action and disaster preparedness, among others.

OzFish Unlimited

OzFish Unlimited partners with fishers and the broader community to protect and restore Australian waterways. The local grant will help the organisation establish the most suitable method for Zostera seagrass restoration in Tasmania, and provide restoration practitioners with critical data to help direct future seagrass restoration efforts in the region.

ActionAid Australia

ActionAid Australia is a women’s rights organisation that empowers women on the frontlines of injustice to mobilise and transform their communities. The local grant will enable ActionAid to help Women In TokTok Tugeta members adapt to climate change and prepare for disasters in two new locations in Vanuatu.

Bush Heritage Australia

Bush Heritage buys and manages land for conservation, working in partnership with Australia’s First Nations people and the agriculture sector, to protect irreplaceable landscapes and native species. The local grant will support the cost of helicopter hire and wages for the Traditional Owners of Birriliburu Country to conduct a fire management project that will increase climate and wildfire resilience.

Inclusion winners

This category was open to Australia-based not-for-profits working to increase awareness for marginalised groups in our communities, with a focus on reconciliation, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, disability, mental health, and gender equality.

ICAN Learn

ICAN Learn, a subsidiary of the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network Ltd [ICAN], provides financial counselling, capability and consumer advocacy services with a primary focus on Indigenous Australians. Our local grant will support the adaptation of Yarnin’ Money™ – a program designed to build financial capability for Indigenous Australians living in remote areas – and enable safe and culturally appropriate conversations with women who are victims of financial abuse.

Sister2sister

Sister2sister’s mission is to grow Australia’s most marginalised girls into strong, independent women capable of taking their place in the world. Our grant will enable the organisation to extend their existing workshops to an online platform, and give them an opportunity to pair 35 vulnerable girls aged between 12-18 with professional female mentors.

Mettamorphosis

Mettamorphosis is a community-led organisation based in Western Australia, working towards ensuring that all children and young people feel safe and have access to education – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our local grant will enable the organisation to run a series of interactive workshops for 280 young people from marginalised backgrounds, with conversations about safe sex, consent, coercive control, intimate abuse, and family violence.

Employee choice winners

The QBE Employee Choice category invited QBE employees based in Australia to apply for a grant in collaboration with a not-for-profit they work with or feel passionately about.

Mentoring Men

Mentoring Men provides free long-term one-to-one life mentoring for men Australia wide. Our local grant will enable the organisation to increase the number of at-risk men they can support, by providing mentor and suicide prevention training to 12 volunteer mentors and supporting 12 new mentees through a six-month life mentorship.

Jigsaw Group

Jigsaw Group is a social enterprise that trains and transitions people with disabilities into employment. Our local grant will help Jigsaw transition 16 trainees into mainstream employment through year-long support for both the trainee and employer.

OzHarvest

OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, stops good food from going to waste and delivers it to community organisations that help feed people in need. Our local grant will fund a Youth Worker to support 72 young people taking part in the OzHarvest 18-week hospitality focused education program, for one day a week in Sydney, Newcastle and Adelaide.

Jon concludes, “We can’t wait to follow the progress of these different programs of work and see the amazing impact they’re having in our communities.”