SEDI First Nations Grants

Grant value: $50,000 to $120,000
Funding purpose: Capability-building support for First Nations enterprises
Up to 20% of funding can be used for internal costs associated with procuring capability-building services.
Applications assessed on a rolling basis until early 2027.

The Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) First Nations Grants program supports Indigenous-owned and controlled enterprises to strengthen business capability, expand operations and increase social and economic impact. Funding is designed to help First Nations enterprises access specialist expertise and services that support growth, sustainability and improved outcomes for First Nations communities across Australia.

Key Requirements

Applicant ownership and control

Applicants must be one of the following:

Indigenous community-controlled organisation that is at least 51% Indigenous owned and controlled, incorporated and not-for-profit.
Indigenous-owned and operated organisation that is at least 51% Indigenous owned and controlled.
Other Indigenous organisation that is at least 50% Indigenous owned or controlled.

Enterprise requirements

Applicants must:

Operate in Australia.
Deliver social benefits through their business activities.
Have progressed beyond the startup phase and already be trading.
Demonstrate annual revenue exceeding $50,000.
Demonstrate trading revenue exceeding $35,000 annually.
Seek capability-building support to increase impact in approved DSS outcome areas.

Approved impact areas

The program supports enterprises creating social and economic outcomes, including:

Employment
Education
Community participation
Economic development
Other DSS-approved outcome areas for social impact delivery.

What is eligible for funding?

Grant funds can be used to purchase capability-building services including:

Financial advisory services
Business consulting
Evaluation and impact measurement
Legal advice
Strategic planning
Governance support
Business growth and scaling support
Other professional capability-building services

Up to 20% of grant funding may be used for internal costs necessary to procure and manage capability-building activities.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Eligible applicants include First Nations enterprises that:

Are Indigenous-owned or controlled organisations.
Operate a commercial or trading business model.
Deliver measurable social benefit.
Have annual revenue above $50,000.
Have annual trading revenue above $35,000.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

Industry analysis presentation
Competitor Analysis Presentation
Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.

This grant is open

Apply for this grant below:

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