The last few weeks of the year are always a mad scramble, and here at StreetSmart, we’re no different. With DineSmart is in full swing, behind the scenes we’ve been busy wrapping up CafeSmart 2018. We recently announced our Fundraising Awards and most importantly – reviewing grants and distributing proceeds to local projects.
It’s always exciting to bring you this news, which is the culmination of a lot of work for us and over 850 small business partners across Australia. Thanks to this effort, CafeSmart Community Grants are now making their way to 159 projects.
Getting much-needed funds into local communities is what it’s all about – and we are excited to finally share the results and funded projects!
The Result
This year we had a record 815 participating cafes and 50 Roaster Partners together with generous customers we raised $205,500. With matched funding from the Besen Family Foundation and Australian Community Foundation, our final CafeSmart tally is $238,720
Clair, Amy and Elizabeth (pictured below) at Tassie Mums in Hobart received a CafeSmart community grant thanks to local cafes in Hobart.
“Thank you! We are really very grateful to StreetSmart who have been with us from the beginning on this amazing journey to help Tasmanian families. The funds will support three of our projects. Our undies, socks and singlets drive – these items are always needed and we often buy them new. We’ll also buy a much-needed trolley bin to help move donations and completed Bundles and finally, as we continue to grow, we need to invest in a delivery system to make sure our help can get to where it is needed.” – Clair, Tassie Mums
That is what CafeSmart is all about – local communities working together to support the most vulnerable. As a sister organisation, St Kilda Mum’s recently put it ‘it’s about “helping each other and sharing the load.”
Lead Grant Projects
With public funding uncertainty, many important organisations find it hard to test good ideas, extend proven programs, or fully fund priorities.
Through our Lead Grants, which are supported by the StreetSmart Collective philanthropic matched giving, we were able to boost funding and scale these projects to multiply their impact.
This year we provided 8 Lead Grants to support a range of important work – from advocacy to fix our housing system, to specialist services for people who have experienced chronic homelessness.
We are supporting Footscape to scale up its operations and help more people. Wounds and chronic health issues, like diabetes, are common for people sleeping rough or experiencing extreme disadvantage. Thanks to a lead grant we are helping the volunteer-led team at Footscape to scale up their work with rough sleepers – providing foot care kits, health advice, shoes and socks.
Another Lead Grant went to the Father Bob Foundation (pictured below) to expand their education work with young people who are homeless or living in extreme disadvantage. The RoboBus is a hi-tech classroom on wheels keeping disadvantaged young people technologically literate. The bus will offer training in a range of new technologies from 3D printing to VR environment learning – with the aim of helping kids break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and preparing them for the future of work in Australia.
You can check out this years’ lead grants, in more detail, here.
Here’s the State breakdown – reflecting the funds raised in each State
| State | Funds Raised | Projects Funded |
| ACT | $ 3,000.00 | 2 |
| NSW | $ 66,500.00 | 55 |
| NT | $ 1,500.00 | 1 |
| QLD | $ 25,550.00 | 25 |
| SA | $ 7,500.00 | 8 |
| TAS | $ 6,250.00 | 4 |
| VIC | $ 111,670.00 | 47 |
| WA | $ 16,750.00 | 17 |
| Totals | $ 238,720.00 | 159 |
A Small Grants Snap Shot…
ACT: $1500 to Street Law Outreach Legal Service to create information packs for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse clients.
NSW: $1700 to Bayside Women’s Shelter to help fit out their new women’s shelter.
NT: $1500 to Larrakia Nation to provide street based outreach services in Darwin
QLD: $1900 to EDON Place Domestic & Family Violence Centre to provide starter packs of essential items for women accessing the refuge in Bundaberg.
SA: $1000 to Essentials for Women, to provide women’s hygiene products to women’s services across SA.
TAS: $2250 to Homeless Healthcare to provide vital medical outreach on streets of Hobart.
VIC: $800 to Clean As Casper to provide mobile showers and care to people in the outer South East suburbs of Melbourne.
WA: $750 to Orana House to provide a children’s holiday program in their refuge in Inglewood.
For a full listing of where the funds have gone, in each State, to support your communities, check out these detailed grant sheets:
And a final word from a grant recipient.
“Women’s Community Shelters would like to say a huge thank you to StreetSmart for the ongoing support of our shelter network. The funds provided will allow us to help even more vulnerable women and children who are escaping homelessness or domestic and family violence. Our new Bayside Shelter, which you are helping fit out, is the sixth shelter in our growing network and can assist up to 65 women and their children every year. Our aim is to expand our network to at least 10 shelters by the end of 2020 and grants such as this will help us to carry on our work.” Nathalie Peacock
