Successful recipients
We're proud to have supported 80 community groups across Australia since the program first took flight. In 2024, 28 applications were awarded funding, selected from a record breaking 1,700 plus applications across Australia.
2024 recipients
Deadly Hair Dude - To provide free haircuts to vulnerable First Nations people across the Darwin region.
Very Special Kids - To provide a free, safe, and reliable transport service for children and young people from regional Victoria to the Very Special Kids Hospice in Melbourne.
Emerald State High School - To assist with the funding of an annual humanities tour for students from the Central Highlands to Brisbane.
All Aboard disABILITY Support Services - To help establish a supported café for people with a disability to work, meet, and socialise.
Feed the Little Children Inc. - To help purchase a new vehicle for meal runs and the Full Bellies Outreach program.
Cape York Institute - To help purchase a new purpose-built truck for the social enterprise Mayi Market.
Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. - To conduct 15 island clean-up trips of collected marine debris and recycling events.
LiteHaus International - To prepare and deliver 250 refurbished laptops to high school students living in regional, rural or remotes part of Australia.
Deadly Rugby - To help fund Indigenous employees’ attendance at on Country camps, including Indigenous Elders and Indigenous Cultural Ambassadors.
Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council - To enable 50 Aboriginal students from local schools to participate in a new project that will map, revegetate, and protect the Peel Wetlands.
Story Dogs - To fly volunteer coordinators to the 2024 Story Dogs leadership conference in Tweed Heads.
NSW Rural Fire Service - To purchase 13 new radio kits for the Lower North Coast District to ensure each fire truck and operational vehicle has a portable radio available.
Foodbank SA and NT - To procure additional food for distribution across Foodbank’s network of warehouses and Food Hubs in regional SA and the NT.
Reading Out of Poverty Inc (ROOP) - To provide literacy resources for children from low socio-economic backgrounds as part of the Book from Birth program.
Boort Resource and Information Centre - To purchase two electric mobility scooters for ageing members of the local Men’s Shed, ensuring they’re able to attend events and remain engaged.
Talk About It Pty Ltd. - To establish grief support groups and wellness gatherings throughout Cape York, and to expand the TAIT merchandise range.
BlazeAid - To bolster the resilience and efficiency of BlazeAid base camps, that can help rebuild communities following natural disasters.
Wild Horse FM Community Radio - To purchase quality recording and editing equipment to help celebrate the local community in Yarraman and record their life stories through the “Shoot the Breeze” program.
LYFE LANGUAGES LTD - To help four language champions create health care assets in local indigenous languages and to engage Elders in assisting with the translations and mentoring of youth.
Heartbeat of Football Foundation Limited - To bring 12 “Heart Health Matters” event days to 12 regional communities.
Earbus Foundation of WA - To send specialist clinicians into regional communities to help reduce the incidence and impact of Otitis media (middle ear disease) in at-risk children.
Holistic Avenue - To fund the addition of a full-time counsellor in providing free trauma support for domestic, family violence and sexual assault victims.
GP Lyf Hacks - To fund four health forums in South Australia for nursing and ambulance staff.
WE CARE 2 INC. - To purchase a tow vehicle for the Sunshine Van, a mobile service in Hervey Bay that provides hot showers, clothes washing and phone charging facilities for the disadvantaged and homeless.
Pat Cronin Foundation - To deliver Be Wise anti violence education programs in schools and sporting clubs across regional Australia.
CASPA Foundation - To provide equipment, clothing and education fees for young people who have lived in out-of-home care to explore Trade careers.
Wuyagiba Bush Hub Aboriginal Corporation - To help transport students to and from The Wuyagiba Study Hub (Bush Uni) in southeast Arnhem land, providing access to tertiary education on Country.
GreenSTEM Education - To purchase and fit out a custom trailer to transport STEM resources to young Australians in regional areas.
An example of a successful application in 2023: Eat Up Australia
Tell us about your community group or organisation. (150 words)
Eat Up provides free lunches to disadvantaged school children who would otherwise go without. After I read a local newspaper article about kids going hungry at school in my hometown of Shepparton (regional Victoria), I was shocked and immediately wanted to help. I pinched what I could from my Mum's cupboards - bread, cheese, Vegemite, and margarine - I bought some extra loaves and with her help we made 100 sandwiches for the 2 schools mentioned in the article. That was in 2013, today Eat Up supports 623 schools across Victoria, NSW, QLD, WA and NT, and has made and delivered over 2.5 million lunches to kids who otherwise would have been too hungry to learn. We've been able to scale our impact thanks to generous volunteers who give their time to make sandwiches for children in-need in their own local communities. This support extends across regional Australia.
How does your community group or organisation currently fundraise? (150 words)
Eat Up has a diverse fundraising mix made up of corporate sponsors, in-kind food donors, philanthropic grants, and social enterprise volunteering opportunity for workplaces. Eat Up's national sponsors include Accenture, Ashurst, ESR, Nook, Swisse and Xero. In-kind donors include: Goodman Fielder donate Wonder White bread. Peerless Foods donate margarine. Bid Food donate cheese and use of cool rooms. Chobani donate yogurt. Messy Monkeys donate healthy recess snacks. Philanthropic grant support funds broader operating costs and fresh fruit. In metropolitan areas, our social enterprise workplace volunteering has created strong team-building opportunities for major national and international companies like Amazon, Coles, Westpac, and many more to get hands-on and tangibly contribute to prepare sandwiches that feed kids in-need in the areas their businesses operate. Eat Up charges a fee for these workplace events and we are fortunate to have a growing waiting list for these opportunities.
What is your community group or organisation's goal or mission? (100 words)
Eat Up's mission is to feed hungry students so they can grow, learn, and succeed! Teachers have explained the need to us in very clear terms: When kids are hungry, they can’t concentrate, when kids can’t concentrate, they can’t learn. Linda Richards, Principal, Lalor East PS: Missing meals has a big impact on a child's growth, development, and learning - leading to fatigue, illness, challenging behavior, and poor learning outcomes. Many children come from homes experiencing financial hardship, substance abuse, violence, homelessness or are refugees. Hunger contributes to the disadvantage cycle, with children falling further behind their peers in school.
Describe how you would use the cash component of the grant. (150 words)
Cash will be used to: Purchase food-ingredients in remote-areas where access to our in-kind donors is not possible. Provide accommodation costs when training/onboarding new local teams/areas - targeting up to 8 additional regional/remote areas over 12-months. Eat Up supports 200+schools in regional & remote areas around the country. We're able to do this thanks to the assistance and collaboration of 20+ community organisations (e.g. Rotary/Lions Clubs, Country Women’s Association, Veterans Groups). Eat Up identifies areas of high need, liaises with local schools to quantify volume required, then connects with passionate local community groups who generously give their time to make & deliver sandwiches to schools in their own communities. Sandwiches are prepared and delivered fresh, in-bulk once every 3-weeks during school-terms. Teachers identify children in need, defrost, toast, then distribute sandwiches as required (with snacks we provide) in plain packaging, to prevent any potential stigmatization or embarrassment.
Detail how you would use the flight contra component of the grant. (150 words)
Flights to up to 8 additional regional Australian communities to train, onboard and support passionate local groups to feed hungry kids in their hometowns. Flight support will also allow us to engage local business communities more broadly in the existing regional communities we assist, i.e. for funding support and in-kind food donations (e.g. local fruit growers are critical to improve the nutritional value of our lunches). Eat Up currently supports hungry kids in collaboration with local community groups in: NT: Palmerston; WA: Geraldton, Bunbury, Esperance; Queensland: Cairns, Maryborough, Townsville, Bundaberg, Toowoomba; NSW: Newcastle, Orange, Goulburn; Victoria: Geelong, Bairnsdale, Morwell, Traralgon, Lakes Entrance, Warragul, Mildura, Colac, Bendigo, Ballarat, Mornington Peninsula. Regional areas of need that we would love to start supporting with the support of the Qantas Regional Travel grant include: NT: Alice Springs; WA: Karratha; Queensland, Emerald, Mackay, Rockhampton, Longreach; NSW: Tamworth, Griffith, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo.
Please detail the marketing campaign you envisage bringing to life across Qantas channels. Please describe how the national exposure will further your organisation's mission. (100 words)
With Qantas' help, we would create a video that can be used to educate and inspire various target audiences including government and community groups about Eat Up and how they can get involved. Additionally, the support would be used to increase the number of volunteers in regional areas.
Our vision is to ensure that no Aussie child goes hungry at school. To achieve this goal, we need to raise national awareness for childhood hunger. Increased national exposure through a joint campaign with Qantas would help us educate the public, funders, and Government about this critical social issue.
How would the grant positively impact the wider regional community? (150 words)
Growing up as a country kid, I was all too familiar with national programs that either overlooked regional communities entirely or offered a watered-down version of their support. Eat Up Australia is the only organisation providing free lunches to students on a national scale - both in the city and in the country. Eat Up offers a simple, cost-effective solution to a complex social problem: hidden hunger in the classroom. Eat Up works directly with locals in-need communities, no matter how remote, to feed hungry kids who would otherwise go without. Eat Up identifies need, provides ongoing funding support, and liaises directly with schools - creating a manageable, and sustainable opportunity for local volunteers to make and deliver lunches to schools in need where they live. Regular lunches: Improve student health & well-being, concentration, learning, and educational outcomes. Reduce stigma and social isolation. Feed 30,000+ regional hungry kids.
Is there any other detail you would like to provide? (100 words)
Our research has confirmed that there is a 28% increase in lunch support needed by the schools we currently support. With recent cost-of-living rises, natural disasters such as the recent floods, and increased food- insecurity, demand for our services has risen exponentially. Children who benefit from Eat Up’s amazing work no longer have to worry. Guaranteeing a nutritious lunch for children who would otherwise miss out has an enormous impact on nutrition & energy for the brain and concentration, and in turn, on the learning outcomes that are vital to our long-term goal of breaking the cycle of poverty and disadvantage.
Past recipients
Somerset Storyfest Ltd – to deliver more than 40 workshops at a youth literature event that engages 10,000 students from 70 schools.
Are you Bogged Mate? Limited – to develop a retreat intervention program for rural men recovering from mental health challenges.
Ability Enterprises – to build a plastics recycling facility and provide employment to 45 vulnerable people.
Townsville State Emergency Services – to buy a portable solar generator and battery unit to power critical equipment needed during disaster recovery.
Drought Angels – to build a website that provides digital resources, relief and financial assistance to farmers facing mental health stress and financial hardship.
Women's Centre for Health and Wellbeing (Albury Wodonga) Inc – to support women and children fleeing domestic and family violence through financial assistance.
On-Country Pathways (Albury/Wodonga) – to help more First Nations youth gain their driving license and enter the workforce, through a driver-mentor program.
Take 3 for the Sea – to reduce plastic pollution in our oceans and water ways through educational programs and resources.
Australia’s Wildlife Ark Ltd – to build eco-tourism accommodation and support the conservation of threatened native animals.
Bikers Against Child Abuse Newcastle Chapter – to create a safer environment for abused children by providing accommodation for parents and free therapy.
Jenny’s Place Incorporated – to establish a critical tenancy support fund that provides private tenancies for women escaping domestic violence.
Good360 Australia – to source, refurbish and redistribute laptops to residents of NSW Northern Rivers who were impacted by the 2022 floods.
Wings4Kids – to provide free flights for children and their families in regional communities who have serious or life-threatening illnesses and require travel for treatment.
Cowra Community Enterprise Incorporated – to build a coffee shop that helps disabled members learn new skills, gain employment and create an inclusive environment.
The National Association for Loss and Grief (NSW) Inc – to help train more volunteers to become specialist loss and grief support providers across NSW.
Sober in the Country Ltd – to raise awareness of the negative impacts of alcohol in the bush and provide resources and support.
The Indigenous Marathon Foundation Limited – to work with remote and regional schools to increase attendance and improve health outcomes of First Nations primary school children at the Indigenous Community for Activity and Nutrition Champs festival.
Navigate Family Services Inc. – to provide free therapy for school aged children, their parents and siblings who present mental health and neurodevelopmental challenges.
Eat Up Australia – to purchase ingredients and train more volunteers to provide free lunches to disadvantaged school children in eight more regional areas.
Ardoch – to deliver up to 13 education support programs for disadvantaged primary school children in regional Victoria.
SisterWorks – to run workshops that help migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women learn new skills and gain employment in Geelong.
The 5000 Club Incorporated – to train volunteers and offer more hot meals for citizens of Daylesford and Hepburn Shire experiencing financial hardship and social isolation.
Royal Flying Doctor Service SA / NT – to develop a telehealth unit at the newly established William Creek Clinic and provide healthcare access to remote communities.
Pannawonica Men's Shed – to buy a four-post hoist to safely lift cars in the town’s car servicing workshop, which supports skill development and positive mental health in Karratha.
Lionheart Camp for Kids – to fund and provide travel to families outside of Geraldton attending a bereavement program for children who have lost loved ones.
Glass Jar Australia – to provide opportunities for First Nation girls and women to travel outside their community to pursue new pathways and experiences.
John's Vision Inc – to buy a portable eye camera and transform the business into a mobile optometry, providing high quality eye care to aged care and community centres in the state’s regions.
RAISEducation – to purchase a trailer that provides accommodation and carries resources that facilitates playgroups for children and parents in Central Australia.
Birth and Beyond Parent Resource Centre – to pay for parenting experts to share their knowledge on a range of parenting topics at Alice Springs.
fabALICE Festival Inc. – to encourage more interstate and international tourists to visit Central Australia and build the festival’s inclusive profile.
Isolated Childrens Parents Association Northern Territory – to advocate for equal access to education in regional areas of the Northern Territory.
Two Two One Mental Health Charity – to help fund three forums in Northern Territory to teach parents skills to support their children’s mental health and resilience.
In 2019, 20 grants were distributed to causes ranging from farming assistance and mental health services to a local gymnastics club and a community ensemble.
Country to Canberra - C2C is empowering young women to reach their leadership potential by providing advocacy and education opportunities to thousands of girls in rural communities.
Lifeline Central West – to travel to remote communities and train local community leaders to recognise when a person needs help.
The Footnotes - to provide career advisory services and resources to regional high schools.
Kids Can - to work with remote Indigenous communities to create stronger futures for youth and their families through a unique ‘community-as-family’ model of health, wellbeing and capacity building programs.
Red Dust Role Models – to work with remote Indigenous communities to create stronger futures through a unique ‘community-as-family’ model of health, wellbeing and capacity building programs.
Outback Futures – to take their clinical team to Central West Queensland to deliver mental and allied health services to isolated communities.
Mount Isa Community Ensembles – to engage and involve the Mount Isa regional community in various musical ensembles for the social benefit of the members and wider community.
Outback Paddle Regatta Festival – to reduce social isolation and create a strong community spirit through the annual festival as well as boosting visitor numbers.
Regional Development Australia Townsville and North West Queensland – to enable residents from remote towns to attend a major skills and economic development initiative in North and North West Queensland.
Badhulgaw Ngurpay Lag (Badu Campus - Tagai State College) – to develop a Science Technology Engineering Maths (STEM) learning space for primary school students.
ifarmwell – to further develop and promote the interactive, farmer-driven, self-help website designed to equip Australian farming families with practical strategies to strengthen their own mental wellbeing and better manage future challenges.
Ten Days on the Island – to support and promote Tasmania’s biennial international arts festival which presents new work from Tasmania’s leading artists alongside the work of the world’s most exciting creative practitioners.
AgBiz Assist - to employ Rural Financial Counsellors to assist farmers, fishing enterprises, forestry growers and small rural-related businesses experiencing financial hardship.
Australian Women in Agriculture - to enable women from regional Victoria to attend conferences and to develop and fund a youth committee enabling an innovative and inclusive agricultural industry.
Future Leaders of Industry - to deliver an immersive leadership and development program for Year 11 students in south west Victoria and connect young people with potential future employers.
Fair Game Australia – to collect pre-loved sports equipment and distribute it along with health education and fitness programs to young people in Western Australia’s regional and remote communities.
Enterprise Partnerships WA - to support grassroots micro-business development in Western Australia and support people living in remote Aboriginal communities to use enterprise as a vehicle for economic and social change.
Kimberley Community Legal Services - to provide legal and family support services to towns and remote Aboriginal communities, delivering a service that is holistic, culturally appropriate and innovative.
Broome Pride - to promote social inclusion for the LGBTQI+ community in the Kimberley to reduce feelings of isolation for those living regionally.
Karratha Gymnastics Club - to support attendance from the largest regional gymnastics club in Western Australia at national competitions.