Philanthropic funding

At Flinders University, we seek philanthropic funding from individuals, organisations, trusts and foundations to support our research and education.

Read about individual donors and organisations who share the University's mission of changing lives and changing the world.

In need of philanthropic funding? Support is available.

The Trusts and Foundations Coordinator in the Advancement team works closely with Research Development and Support (RDS), the Colleges, Legal and Finance Services to find philanthropic funding opportunities, particularly with Trusts and Foundations.

The Coordinator supports staff to find funding sources for their research activities when this is not readily available through regular competitive/peer reviewed grant rounds. The Coordinator can also support grant applications that are available by directly approaching a Trust or Foundation. For more details, please contact Advancement.

Competitive/peer reviewed research grant applications continue to be managed by RDS. Internal RDS submission dates apply and certification forms are required for research grant applications.

Support available:

identifying funding opportunities
facilitating meetings to develop and build relationships for long term mutual benefit between trusts and foundations and Flinders University executive and academics
assistance with administration
donor relation support i.e. stewardship, reporting, acquittals and engagement events.

Application process

Some trusts, foundations and philanthropic organisations provide purpose-specific grant funding and have formal grant rounds with eligibility and selection criteria. The selection process may be simple or involve several stages, e.g. expression of interest versus request for funding followed by an invitation to submit a grant application. The funding amounts, eligibility criteria and application processes vary.

Other trusts and foundations will consider requests for funding at any time of the year. These expressions of interest and requests may be accepted via post, email or online form.

The Trusts and Foundations Coordinator can guide you through this process. Please submit your project details below and the Trusts and Foundations Coordinator will be in contact to discuss the funding needs of your research project or education program.

Submit your project details

Frequently asked questions

What is philanthropy / philanthropic funding?

Philanthropy is the planned and structured giving of time, information, goods and services, influence and voice as well as money to improve the wellbeing of humanity and the community.

How do trusts and foundations work?

A foundation will have an asset base (corpus), with the interest from the corpus provided to organisations in the form of grants or donations. Trusts and foundations are governed by trustees or directors who are responsible for making decisions about investments and giving – they ensure the trust earns and re-invests income and continues to operate for the specific charitable purpose it was established for.

What is DGR status?

Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status is a charitable endorsement from the Australian Taxation Office. Since 1 July 2000, Flinders University has been endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR).

What is a TCC? Is Flinders University a TCC?

Tax Concession Charity (TCC) is a charitable endorsement from the Australian Taxation Office. Flinders University is a Charity endorsed to access the following tax concessions:

GST Concession from 1 July 2005
Income Tax Exemption from 1 July 2000

How do I know if a charitable or not for profit organisation provides grants?

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the national regulator of charities. The ACNC maintains a free and searchable public register so that anyone can look up information about registered charities. The financial overview for each organisation shows the amount they have given as donations or grants. Search for a charity.

I’m seeking funding from a trust/foundation, do I still need to complete a ResearchNow/Certification form?

Yes, the ResearchNow application (previously Certification/cert form) is used to obtain the required College approvals before an application for external funding can be submitted.

ResearchNow Application (10% or more of the project is research)
Non-research Certification form (less than 10% or no research within the project)

Does the University Infrastructure levy apply to philanthropic funding?

The Flinders Cost Recovery and Pricing Guidelines apply to philanthropic funding. Categories of external funding that are exempt from the Infrastructure Levy are listed. For more information, contact the Trust and Foundations Coordinator.

Need help?

If you require any further information related to trusts and foundations or applications for philanthropic funding, please don't hesitate to contact the Advancement Team.

Email: giving@flinders.edu.au

(08) 7221 8944