Through these grants the YWCA of Canberra aims to help women in the Canberra region achieve their potential. The grants will provide financial assistance to women in Canberra and the surrounding regions to help them develop their skills and enhance their contribution to themselves, their families and their community. The grant is open to current and new financial members of the YWCA of Canberra.

Women who have new and innovative ideas are strongly encouraged to apply for a grant. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women or young women, 30 years of age or under, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Some examples of the types of projects that the grant could be used for include:

• community-based activities
• seeding funds for the establishment of a small business
• contribution towards the cost of secondment to another YWCA
• education or training opportunities
• conferences.

All submissions will be considered and as long as the eligibility requirements are met, your submission is only limited by your imagination!

The funding cannot be used for extension of or further development of programs already funded and delivered through the YWCA of Canberra.

The annual pool of funds available through the Small Grants Program will be $8,000. Applicants may apply for any amount up to $4,000 (including GST). The aim of the program will be to support as many women and projects as possible, and all applications will be considered on merit regardless of how small an amount of funding is applied for. Multiple smaller grants or partial grants may also be awarded depending on the number of applicants.

Funding is for up to a 12 month period and will involve a formal acquittal process.

The next funding round will open in early 2012.

2011 Great Ydeas recipients

Jac Torres Gomez and Kiri Dicker
Feasibility Study in Papua New Guinea
Jac and Kiri will form a partnership with the YWCA of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to examine the feasibility of locally produced, culturally appropriate, environmentally friendly and affordable sanitary products for women in PNG.

Tanya and Casey Keed
Dance Beyond Barriers
Tanya and Casey, through Dance Beyond Barriers, will put together a performance for the National Anniversary of the Apology on 13 February 2012. Dance Beyond Barriers is a new dance group in the ACT created to raise awareness of sexual abuse, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and many other issues within the Aboriginal community.

Donisha Duff
Indigenous Business Excellence
Donisha will be undertaking professional development at Harvard University Summer School from June to August 2011. This experience will contribute towards the progression of Donisha’s Masters of Business Administration and will support her commitment towards reconciliation by supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to be educated and empowered to lead in their communities.

Abbey Townsend
English4everyone
Abbey will run ‘english4everyone’, a program offering migrants, refugees and visitors opportunities and support to develop English language skills in order to understand Australian society and to share culture, resulting in increased feelings of belonging and enhanced abilities to contribute to community life.

2010 Great Ydeas recipients

Anya Dettman
Voices of the voiceless: the women of East Timor’s resistance
Anya will be creating an oral history archive of filmed interviews (subtitled in English) with several East Timorese women who worked for the Resistance against Indonesian occupation. At the completion of the project, Anya will hold a screening to show the films and talk about the project.

Helen Moran
Shades of Brindle Cross Cultural Educational Resources
Helen will be developing and publishing a series of six cross cultural educational resource books for pre-school to year six students. Dindima’s Adventures: Learning Aboriginal Culture, will tell the story of a young Aboriginal girl and a group of native Australian animals and didgeridoo characters as they learn about Aboriginal culture.

Nicole Ella
Professional Development
Nicole will be undertaking professional development courses, including attending the 6th National Homelessness Conference in Brisbane. These opportunities will help Nicole gain a better understanding of the homelessness sector, the alcohol and other drugs sector and Indigenous sector.

PJ Ann Aguilar
Simplicity Retreats
PJ will be running two Nurturing Yoga retreats for mothers, in order to give mothers a day off to feel refreshed, and regain balance and focus. PJ aims to introduce yoga as a tool to cope with stress, maintain physical fitness and mental balance.

Rita Markwell
Stripping off the Layers
Rita and her project partners will script, produce and perform a creative stage production combining theatre, dance, song and film. The performance piece will explore the journey of cultural identity and belonging from the outside, as seen through the eyes of three Canberra women.