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Who do we support?

Universal Charitable Fund (UCF) is a partner group of Foundation South Australia and a sub-fund of Australian Communities Foundation.  Founded in 2010, we make small grants (typically up to $3,000) to support the work of small Australian based charities engaged in alleviating poverty and building individual and community capacity  both in Australia and overseas.   We only make grants to Australian registered charities with ATO Deductible Gift Recipient status (known as DGR1).

Briefly what this means to you:

We cannot make grants to individuals (even if you are raising money for a good cause)

Applications must be from the organisation to which the grant will be awarded.

The applying organisation must be registered with the ACNC.

We do not make donations to general funds. We do not fund printing, advocacy, start-ups, welfare or marketing.

The applying organisation must have ATO endorsed Deductible Gift Recipient status (DGR1). 

Australian applicants only.  Funds may be expended on overseas projects if your organisation has an Australian registered office or already has an auspice arrangement (project account) with an ACNC registered charity with DGR1 tax status.  

NEXT GRANT ROUND OPENS MAY 2025

All Applications must be submitted through the online application form process on the Foundant Grants portal hosted by Australian Communities Foundation. 

To apply, please follow the steps below:

Read the Grant Guidelines here to make sure your project or activity meets the objectives.

Register at Foundant Grants portal here – https://www.grantinterface.com.au/Home/Logon?urlkey=australiacf 

If you already have an account through Australian Communities Foundation, please use your existing username and password.

Important: Preview the grant application form (hard copy attached here for info only – remember though, application must be completed online through portal) which includes questions and budget template before you get started.

Once logged into the portal, click the Apply button in the top left of the dashboard and enter the access code: (NOW CLOSED – NEXT GRANT ROUND MAY 2025) 

Complete and submit the application form.

Make sure to note your username and password as you will be able to save and continue the form at a later date.