UCF small grants are typically up to $2,000 and this amount – a “small grant” – can make all the difference to whether a programme or project is implemented or not.
While we call them small grants, their impact can be huge:
- In Adelaide – a new freezer makes the difference between accepting more food for the community or having to turn it away
- In Africa – the difference between students sitting on dirt floors or having desks and chairs built
- At Oakbank – new trot poles so disabled riders could resume their trail and traffic courses after relocation to Oakbank
The pictures below depict just a few of the more than 100 small grants that UCF has awarded since it’s beginnings in 2011 when a group of successful Adelaide business people decided they wanted to “pay it forward”.
Local heroes deserve a helping hand
In many cases small non-profits full of “local heroes”, whether in Australia or overseas, just don’t have the staff, time, experience, or the expertise to apply for grants for their special programmes. At UCF we’re different – our grant application can be completed in just an hour or two and applications are assessed monthly.
The Universal Charitable Fund (UCF) was founded by local business people in South Australia as a simple and cost effective way to provide practical support and encouragement to local charities doing a terrific job in helping people in need both in Australia and overseas.
Why donate to UCF?
Why not donate direct to a charity? Very often your donation goes into a large bucket of general funds to help a well-known, specific cause. The majority of those are high profile large organisations which are supported by Foundation and Government grants as well as generous individuals such as yourself – all very valuable and needed.
However – the small non-profits generally miss out
The small charities we fund:
- typically do not have large grant support;
- seldom have more than one, or any, paid staff
Yet they are often providing much needed services and have projects which their small budgets simply don’t stretch to cover. Take a look at the grants we’ve made since inception and you’ll get the idea.
We encourage you to know exactly where your money is being spent, so we’ll send you a monthly newsletter telling you about the small grants approved that month and a link to their write-up on the UCF website. You can also sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the page.
When the project UCF funded is complete, we require a grant acquittal which often comes with a photo or two showing the happy result – we add these to the original post as they are received, so you can always go back to check on something you are particularly interested in.
Consider it – no overheads, no administration fees – just getting it done!
You can, of course, donate any amount you wish – large or small, we’re grateful for it all!
The UCF approach is on “keeping it simple” with contributors to the fund – like you – making a monthly, or one-off donation with a method to suit you. All receipting and monthly grant updates are sent electronically to keep down overhead expenses.
Click on a picture to see the other UCF small grants in your particular area of interest
