Charities invited to share in $320,000 to empower Australians

The already announced pandemic has disrupted the personal and professional routine of many Australians, and with any change in routine, making the right choices when it comes to maintaining health and wellbeing is so important.

That’s why nib foundation is calling for charities across Australia who are dedicated to empowering youth and young adults to be health smart in their everyday lives to apply for their 2020 Health Smart Grants.

Six charities will each receive $40,000 in grant funding to help deliver engaging and innovative programs that will equip young Australians with the information and skills they need to not only better understand health risks but also adopt healthier lifestyle behaviours that will set them up for life.

nib foundation Executive Officer, Amy Tribe, said that now is more important than ever to invest in health promotion and prevention.

“We recognise that COVID-19 restrictions are significantly impacting the charity sector and believe it’s crucial to continue our usual funding support for the benefit of community health and the charities who are looking to adapt their new or existing programs to the current climate,” Mrs Tribe said.

“The grant program encourages eligible applicants to use existing technology and easily accessible platforms to continue to deliver their health promotion initiatives to help Australians make healthy choices that positively impact their health and wellbeing during COVID-19 and beyond,” she added.

The Health Smart Grants program was developed in 2019 in response to the reality that far too many people in Australia die prematurely or live for many years with poor health and wellbeing related to chronic illnesses and many of these illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and mental health disorders share the same and often preventable risk factors.

“It is estimated that one third of the total burden of disease in Australia comes from these preventable risks, such as smoking, alcohol, diet, and physical activity,” Mrs Tribe said.

“Our grants help tackle this by focusing on building the healthy literacy of young Australians through relevant and engaging programs that help people to access, understand and use health information to empower them to form positive health habits at an early age, and ultimately reducing the risk of chronic illness later in life,” she added.

Successful charities will also be given the chance to double their funding, with the remaining $80,000 in the funding pool to be decided by nib members and the public during the Health Smart Grants People’s Vote, to be held in 2021.

The grant program will be open for both local and national charities to submit an Expression of Interest from 1 June – 30 June 2020.

The 2020 Health Smart Grant Guidelines and Expression of Interest form are now available on our website.