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The objectives of the Small Environmental Grant Scheme is to support biodiversity conservation projects in Australia that are concerned with one or more of the following:

• monitoring and recording data
• community education
• community capacity building (training)
• research and science
• sustainable land management (NSW only)

The Trustees look for the following things in an application and your application is scored according to these. Please consider these points when filling out your application:

• objectives – be clear, list long term objectives, list short term outputs, how will your group benefit in the short and long term from the project?
• need – why is this project needed and how do you know?
• innovation – be interesting, engaging or clever if you want to our grab attention. You don’t have to come up with something new, but you are welcome to be creative or have a bit of fun.
• viability – show us that the project is realistic and achievable, can you do it?
• support – you must have partnerships and collaborations in your project. If your EOI is accepted, you will be asked for reference letters. Ask people to write reference letters for you who really believe in your project and can support you, or will benefit somehow. Don’t just give your referees a template to fill out, we can tell and this doesn’t look good for your application.
• budget – how can you show us value for money? We are aware of what most things cost e.g. prices on equipment, or catering at a workshop, or publishing a brochure. So if your budget is unreasonable, you may be asked to provide a quote or an explanation. Most of our Trustees are involved in community groups themselves and are aware of costings and necessity – so be honest and realistic. Your budget isn’t needed until your EOI is accepted.
• gut feeling – the Trustees get to score you on their gut feeling – you never know, you may score points because it just sounds good, or your passion and enthusiasm shines through your application.

Have a look at the Can you Apply page to see more details on eligibility. Please don’t waste your time filling in the EOI – see if you are eligible first.

I also recommend you read the section on Frequently Asked Questions.

There are four grant rounds each year – March (money in May), June (money in August), September (money in November), December (money in February).  See Dates for applying for a list of opening and closing dates.

The Small Environmental Grants Scheme is proudly supported by the RE Ross Trust, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, and private donors through the Australian Communities Foundation and the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network. See the Partners Page for more information on these organisations.