General EOIs

The Balnaves Foundation supports Australian not-for-profit organisations that work in the arts, health and education, with a focus on initiatives that benefit young people, First Nations and those facing disadvantage.

In 2026, we celebrate 20 years of partnership and shared vision with more than 60 not-for-profit organisations over the past two decades.

Key Information

If your organisation primarily works in the arts, health or education, then you are welcome to submit an online Expression of Interest (EOI) through our General EOI process.

There are no specific grant rounds for our General EOI process and submissions are generally open year round.

The Foundation only supports grants delivered in Australia by Australian not-for-profit organisations. The Foundation prefers to support multi-year projects with a funding range of $150,000 – $250,000 per annum.

Within the health space, The Balnaves Foundation is focused on supporting projects that deliver significantly improved health outcomes for young Australians through the prevention and early intervention of chronic health conditions.

Please note that the Foundation’s trustees meet four times a year. If your EOI moves forward to the Proposal stage it may take between 3-6 months from your initial EOI submission for it to be presented at a Trustee meeting. The Foundation recommends timing your EOI submission to allow for this. Submissions received less than 3 months before the commencement date are unlikely to progress.

Due to limited capacity the Foundation team is unable to accept meeting requests or review applications prior to submission.

Eligibility

Who is eligible:

• Australian not-for-profit organisations that work in arts, health and education and hold both Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) Item 1 and Tax Concession Charity (TCC) OR have an approved auspicing arrangement in place.

Who is not eligible:

• As a Private Ancillary Fund, The Balnaves Foundation can only make grants to registered charitable organisations, not to individuals.
• Organisations without approved DGR Item 1 and TCC status or an eligible auspicing agreement.
• Projects that are delivered overseas

Additional Considerations:

• The Foundation prefers to support projects rather than recurrent administrative, operational or capital expenditure. However, operational costs that are directly related to the specific project can be included in your budget and will be considered.
• The Foundation is conscious of not becoming too large a share of any organisation’s overall funding. If your funding request exceeds 15% of your total annual revenue, you will have the opportunity to explain why this level of funding is appropriate in the EOI form.
• If the proposed project involves interaction with young people (e.g. a youth art program) it is a condition of funding that the applicant must comply with all Australian laws relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including Working with Children Checks, and align their practices with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
• Projects involving First Nations cultural material, or where First Nations peoples and communities are the primary beneficiaries, must be First Nations-led or developed in genuine partnership with First Nations people and communities. If your organisation is not First Nations-led and primarily serves First Nations people and/or communities, you must be able to demonstrate that First Nations creative sovereignty is reflected in the project governance and design.

The Application Process

EOI Submission

1. Read through the information on this page to determine that your organisation and proposed project fit the eligibility criteria. You might also consider reviewing the What We Fund section of the website to see our current grants and reading our Annual Reports.
2. Submit an EOI to the Foundation through the EOI portal at the end of this webpage. Please do not email your EOI directly to the Foundation.

Your submitted EOI will be reviewed by the Foundation team within four weeks of being received. You will receive a response that will either advise you that your EOI is moving forward or notify you that your EOI was unsuccessful.

EOI Progression

If you receive notification from the Foundation that your EOI is progressing, the next steps are generally as follows:

1. The Foundation team will request additional information; this may involve a meeting or additional documentation being provided.
2. If your EOI progresses to a proposal the Foundation team will work with you on developing this.
3. The proposal will be presented to the Foundation’s Trustees at a quarterly meeting; this may take between 3-6 months.

Please note that the only way to apply for a grant with the Foundation is through the Expression of Interest form below. The Balnaves Foundation does not engage third parties to act on our behalf. If you have been contacted by someone claiming to represent the Foundation, particularly via LinkedIn, please get in touch with us before responding. When we do reach out, it will generally be via email or phone call.