We want this grant round to be as open and welcoming as possible.
If your initiative supports environmental or climate outcomes in the Northern Rivers, you’re encouraged to apply — even if you’re unsure whether you meet other criterion.

This might include initiatives with any of these outcomes:

• Restoring land, rivers and or the environment;
  
• Conservation;
• Caring for Country;
  
• Sustainability education;
• Sustainability enterprise development;
• Sustainable development;
• Creative projects with environmental outcomes;
• Projects that deepen community connection with Country or ecology.
  
• Food resilience;
• Climate action;
• Community resilience;
• Sustainability;
• Circular economy initiatives;

We also value the following other criteria but they are not necessary to apply:
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Be community-led & place-based
To what extent is the work grounded in the Northern Rivers and connected to the communities it serves?

Honour First Nations wisdom
Projects led by, or centring, First Nations knowledge systems and governance traditions for Caring for Country are welcomed and encouraged.

Back diverse voices
We welcome projects led by, or uplifting, communities and voices often left out of environmental action.

Show systems-aware thinking
We look for an understanding of how your project contributes to broader change — whether through collaboration, shifting narratives, regenerating ecosystems, or strengthening local resilience.

📨 If in doubt — apply. or  reach out to us

Your initiative doesn’t need to fit perfectly into every category for us to consider it.
If your work contributes to caring for the environment or climate in the Northern Rivers in any way, we’d love to hear from you.

In the 2025–2026 grant round, the Seed Giving Circle anticipates raising around $7,500 for our grants funding pool. These funds will go directly to the grant recipients, who will be announced in February. We expect to provide three applicants with grants.

We say “anticipates raising” above because the Seed Giving Circle is powered by a growing community of 60 locals who generally contribute $10 a week. This means the final funding pool may be slightly higher by the time voting is complete.

Based on current projections, we expect small grants ranging from approximately $1,250 to $5,000.

In addition to the funding pool, The Seed Giving Circle expects to raise a further $7,500 to support the Changemaker Collective — Seed Northern Rivers’ capacity-building program. This funding helps us offer grant recipients access to mentoring, leadership development, and our emerging resilience and wellbeing program for changemakers launching in 2026.

In other words: we back projects not only with funding, but with ongoing support and capacity development so they can grow their impact over time.

Once you submit your application, our community-led process kicks in. Here’s how it works:

Grant Application Timeline

• Applications close — 2 December
  All applications must be submitted by midnight. You’ll receive an email confirming we’ve received your submission.

• Shortlisting — Early December
  Our Seed Giving Circle Grants Committee (a group of volunteer members) reviews all applications against the criteria and creates a shortlist. If we need any extra information from you at this stage, we’ll be in touch.

• Member Voting — December to January
  The shortlisted projects are shared with the full Seed Giving Circle membership. Each member casts their vote to determine which projects will receive funding and how the funds are allocated.

• Grantees Announced — Early February 🎉
  Successful applicants will be notified directly, and all applicants will receive an update. We also announce the funded projects publicly and celebrate them across our networks.

We aim to keep the process transparent, community-powered, and supportive — and we’re always here if you have questions along the way.

You don’t need to be a formally registered not-for-profit to apply — but all projects must operate on a not-for-profit basis, meaning the project exists to benefit the community or environment, not to generate private profit.

If you’re already a registered NFP, great. If you’re an unincorporated group or an individual, you can still apply — shortlisted applicants will simply enter into an auspice agreement with Seed Northern Rivers or another eligible NFP.

Being “not-for-profit” does not mean you can’t pay yourself. You can use the grant to cover fair wages, contractor fees, materials, venue hire, and other legitimate project costs. You just can’t treat the grant as personal profit or use it for non-project purposes.

If you’re unsure, reach out — we’re happy to help.