Who can apply

Organisational status that is recognised through incorporation, who are registered as a business or association with an ABN (charity registration and DGR status is not required).

Funding is available to applicants who meet the following eligibility criteria:

• An Australian registered charity with the ACNC (DGR status not required); OR Incorporated organisation with an ABN (Company Limited by Guarantee); OR Sole Trader with an ABN (auspiced by or affiliated with an organisation); AND
• A small to medium-sized organisation with an annual income of less than $1.5 million. For exceptional projects, we are flexible on this
• Organisations and projects based in Australia.
• Please note that organisations are eligible for a total of two WELA grants.
  
  If your organisation has already received two grants in previous years, you will not be eligible to apply for future grant rounds.

Applications must be:

• Led by women and/or gender-diverse people; and
• Environment or climate action-based (advocacy, a campaign, and/or project to protect the environment and climate).

What do we mean by women and gender-diverse led?

• Your organisation or project will have women and/or gender-diverse people leading within these areas: your organisational structure, strategy development, storytelling, and organising
• For example, WELA welcomes applications from organisations that are led by women and gender-diverse people in their development and decision-making. This might look like women and gender-diverse people as CEOs, co-CEOS, and Campaign Managers, on their boards and at the centre of their strategy development and project implementation.

What do we mean by environment and climate action?

• WELA is looking to provide unrestricted/core funding to organisations working on impactful, cutting edge and inspiring advocacy, campaigns and projects in the issue areas of environment and climate
• We will support a full spectrum of change making tools for example (but not limited to) events, grassroot organising, creating networks, training and building skills, lobbying, media, and communication campaigns. Or surprise us with something we’ve never seen before! 

The following areas will be prioritised in WELA’s funding considerations but they are not all required for your application:

Women and Gender Diverse Leadership (this is required): WELA’s grants will build a new kind of leadership that is inclusive, collaborative, and relational. They will fund organisations and projects that have women and/or gender-diverse leadership within their organisations.

Creating Impact (this is required): WELA understands that there are many ways to create change that include differing theories of change, timeframes, and approaches. At the core, they want to collaborate with organisations and projects that create powerful outcomes, impactful movements, address systems change, and have a clear focus on environmental and climate outcomes.

Centreing First Nations Wisdom: WELA values and honours the leadership of First Nations women for country, community, and culture over millennia. They welcome applications from projects and organisations that centre First Nations knowledge systems, First Nations science, systems of governance for Caring for Country, and the experience of First Nations women in efforts to protect nature and secure our future.

Supporting Diverse Voices: WELA acknowledges the lack of intersectional and racial diversity in the mainstream environment and climate movement as a structural and systemic problem. Through their grants, they will aim to diversify the voices in our movements and put justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity (JEDI) at the heart of WELA’s strategy, storytelling, and solutions. WELA welcomes applications that include the voices of underrepresented communities.

Creating Collaboration: Collaboration is one of the foundations of feminist leadership. WELA will support projects and organisations that prioritise building relationships and networks that enable learning and knowledge sharing across generations, sectors, communities, and geographic constraints.

Type of projects and activities we won’t fund:

• Retrospective activities
• Non-charitable activities
• Projects or activities that are politically partisan in nature
• Projects led by individuals who do not have organisational affiliation or support
• Commercial activities including social enterprises
• On-ground environmental actions such as tree-planting or installation of solar on buildings
• Grant funds cannot be used for electoral expenditure or the creation or communication of electoral matters (as defined in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918) or to incur electoral or political expenditure or communicate political or electoral matters under any similar applicable state or territory legislation
• Green building projects including energy efficiency upgrades
• Political campaigns that support specific parties or candidates
• Straight research, unless it is in direct support of a developed plan for specific action to alleviate an environmental problem
• Land acquisition

● A Shortlisting Committee made up of WELA Giving Circle members will evaluate all Expression of Interests (EOIs) received and generate a shortlist of EOIs, who will be invited to complete a full grant application via interview.
● WELA’s Giving Circle membership will have the opportunity to rank projects via a voting process in May-June 2025.