Community Underwriting 2024 Grants Program Recipients

Community Underwriting is pleased to announce the completion of its Small Grants Program for 2024.

Under our unique business model, Community Underwriting allocates 5% of our annual surplus to clients that have renewed their insurances with us. Our insurer partners Berkley Insurance Australia and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company provide additional contributions which enables us to respond to a greater number of worthy projects each year.

In our 11th year of the Grants Program we are proud to have assisted 70 terrific projects across the sector (up from 52 in 2023). The 2024 grants program has made contributions to projects addressing a diverse range of wonderful initiatives including:

The Road Ready Initiative – a targeted program designed to empower at‐risk youth in the community by helping them achieve their learner driving hours and develop critical road safety skills.

Contributing to a significant security upgrade project that will enhance safety for both staff and clients, particularly benefiting homeless women aged 12‐22 who are pregnant or expecting, as well as the staff working with them.

The Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Training Programme (ASRHR) run in Tanzania’s Arusha Region to empower youth to make healthier decisions, reducing teenage
pregnancies and HIV infections.

Installation of cameras on location at Beagle Rescue Victoria, allowing staff and volunteers to quickly identify health or safety concerns, improve individual care plans, and provide peace of mind as they rehabilitate and rehome these animals.

Expansion of the successful “Cook + Connect” service which provides a cooking skills service for people with a disability run either in groups, or one on one aiming to increased confidence, improved cooking skills, enhance independence and ability to help with household tasks as well as providing social connection and new friendships.

Lets Do Death Differently ‐ a free, one‐off inclusive and culturally diverse community event planned for 1 November 2025 to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and provide choices regarding palliative care, community care, death, dying, loss, grief, and bereavement.

Dance Scholarships for regional talent in musical theatre addressing a notable lack of access to high‐quality dance and musical theatre training for students in regional and remote areas, which limits their career opportunities compared to urban peers.

Hearing A Young Person’s Voice in Separation ‐ Child Inclusive Practice (CIP) appointments, where children can express their views to a practitioner, and this feedback is shared with parents undergoing family dispute resolution.

Stronger Starts for Students and Parents ‐ a 6‐week program designed to help parents in regional communities support their families with the 2025 back to school transition. The program includes take home resources like school bags, books, pens, lunch boxes, drink bottles and lunchbox food ideas and provides practical tools and advice to make back to school easier and more successful.

Feed & Flourish ‐ a transformative 13‐week Food Bank initiative aimed at supporting asylum seekers and refugees in south and south‐eastern Sydney, offering comprehensive support to foster self‐efficacy and empowerment within these vulnerable communities.

Girls in School ‐ Back to School Kits – providing back‐to‐school kits to impoverished families in Sierra Leone including essentials like uniforms, shoes, textbooks, and solar lights for studying after dark.

Emergency Hospital Packs supplying two major public hospitals on the Gold Coast with packs containing shampoo, conditioner, a comb, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, providing essential items for patients admitted unexpectedly without personal belongings.

The Community Billboard ‐ a collaborative project for the development of an online webpage on Retina Australia’s website where other community organisations supporting people living with low vision and blindness can have their support services promoted.

Engaging a WA native bee expert to deliver an education event suitable for children and families regarding native bees in the environment, with the hope that suitable habitats will be retained and developed to encourage survival of these important insects.

The Youth Camp aims to educate and upskill young lifesavers, connect them with peers from 21 surf lifesaving clubs, and increase membership within the association that protects beachgoers.

Supports women and their children to stay safely in their homes after experiencing domestic and family violence by funding quick‐response lock changes, enhancing their safety and helping them feel secure as they transition out of violent relationships.

In addition, we were able to assist with a range of much needed replacement equipment and other important disability and security upgrades, vouchers and hampers, community facilities, health information resources, sensory rooms, signage improvements, art workshops, community and family events.

Our annual donations to NFP shareholders and the Small Grants Program enable us to continue to reinvest our client’s insurance dollars back into the sector every year. Since Community Underwriting commenced operations in 2014, we have now donated more than $10m to clients / shareholders in the Not for Profit sector – an achievement the whole team and our insurer partners are immensely proud of.

Please let me know if you would like any further information.

Graeme Berwick
Executive Director

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