The NAB Foundation has today announced 39 local and regional community groups across Australia will receive grants of up to $10,000 to help them prepare for, or recover from, natural disasters.
The first 2022 round of the NAB Foundations $1.2 million Community Grants program will see funding going towards projects such as emergency response equipment, wildlife rescue support, mental health and wellbeing programs, urban permaculture, reforestation, and carbon footprint reduction.
NAB Group Executive Personal Banking Rachel Slade said the projects would help businesses and communities prepare and recover from natural disasters.
"We have seen again this year the devastation caused by natural disasters. Many communities in QLD and NSW are continuing to feel the impact of the of the recent floods and areas in WA are still recovering from bushfires," Ms Slade said.
"There is a growing need for ongoing support to help communities rebuild and prepare for the challenges ahead.
"Recovery extends well beyond the clean-up, and many of these projects focus on the long-term needs of the community including supporting mental health and building environmental resilience.
"We have seen great progress from our 2021 Community Grant recipients and will continue to support many more local groups as they work to build safer communities."
The NAB Foundation Community Grants program is part of NAB Ready Together, an initiative from NAB to support Australians before, during and after natural disasters.
Four of the 39 grant recipients were chosen through a poll of NAB colleagues to receive an additional $25,000 each to scale their projects for long-term social or environmental impact. These are:
- Autism STEP Australia (NSW): The grant will fund 'Ask Me What I Need' autism training in high-risk natural disaster communities in NSW. The training will help to educate the local community on how to better communicate with autistic youth and adults when preparing for a natural disaster.
- Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue (SA): Based in Adelaide, Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue (SKER) is a charity protecting and rehabilitating injured native wildlife. The grant will fund a 1000 litre trailer for fire-fighting and supplementary watering of koala food tree plantations.
- Carbon8 Fund (NSW): Carbon8 Fund in Wallangra, NSW, aims to help Aussie farmers transition to regenerative agriculture and rebuild the carbon (organic matter) in their soil from 1% to 8%. This grant will fund a field day for Central Coast farmers use the tools they have available to improve farm resilience and reduce their carbon footprint through the entire supply chain.
- BlazeAid (WA): The grant will be used to fund base camps in communities impacted by the February 2022 fires in WA (located in Denmark, Bridgetown, Corrigin/Bruce Rock and Narrogin) for volunteers to rebuild kilometres of damaged fences enabling farmers to contain their stock and/or restock their land after a fire.
Autism STEP Australia CEO Berinda Karp said the funding would have a big impact on their training program.
"The grant means that we can offer training directly to those affected by the recent floods and bushfires," Ms Karp said.
"We're training community leaders so that they can replicate and duplicate the learning within their own groups. The ultimate purpose of this training is it will save time and save lives."
A complete list of NAB Foundation Community Grant winners can be viewed at www.nab.com/nabfoundation
Through NAB Ready Together, almost $4.8 million in emergency grants and donations were distributed in 2022 to customers and communities impacted by the devastating floods across New South Wales and Queensland.
About NAB Foundation Community Grants Program:
The focus of the NAB Foundation Community Grant program is unique to corporate Australia. It aims to make communities more prepared for natural disasters, support long-term recovery and build community and environmental resilience to natural disasters and climate change. In 2021, the NAB Foundation awarded a total of 112 grants of up to $10,000 to local and regional communities across Australia to support their initiatives.
Applications for NAB Foundation Community Grants are open all year. The next round closes on August 31, 2022 and will be awarded in October 2022.
Learn more about the program and find out how to apply for the next round at www.nab.com/nabfoundation
About NAB Foundation:
The NAB Foundation is an independent charity that aims to be a catalyst for positive social and environmental change in Australia. Since 2008, the Foundation has supported programs that help address issues important to our customers and communities.
About NAB Ready Together:
NAB Ready Together is an initiative from NAB to support Australians before, during and after natural disasters. Through NAB Ready Together, the bank has committed funding and resources to customer and community support projects including the $1.2 million NAB Foundation Community Grants program and the NAB Foundation Environmental Resilience Fund of up to $10 million over ten years.
