The Mercy Foundation’s Social Justice Small Grants Program provides seed funding to assist communities and organisations to build capacity that will help create structural change and bring about greater social justice in Australia. 

Funding under this program ranges between $1,000 to $10,000 per organisation.

The focus for the 2025 program is on projects that bring about greater inclusion for marginalised groups in communities across Australia.

The following criteria will be used to assess Social Justice Small Grant applications:

1. Innovative projects that require seed funding to increase social equity and inclusion and challenge unjust structures and systems will be prioritised.
2. The Mercy Foundation prioritises projects that target disadvantaged women and/or women with children.
3. In this grant round, priority will be given to projects that promote the inclusion of marginalized groups in the community.
4. Small to medium organisations with a turnover of less than $3,000,000 with limited access to other funding sources are prioritised.
5. Note that organisations with projects concerning homelessness should apply to the Mercy Foundations Grants to End Homelessness program.

General Criteria

The following criteria will be used to assess Social Justice Small Grant applications:

• Applications are accepted for projects that are run wholly within Australia, by community-based groups or organisations based in Australia.
• Organisations applying for funds must be a legal entity (or auspiced by a legal entity), not-for-profit and therefore exempt from income tax, but are not required to have Deductible Gift Recipient status.

Social Justice Small Grants are not available to fund:

• Core (normal) operating costs of applicant organisations
• Vehicles
• For-profit organisations
• Private individuals
• Projects that require recurrent funding
• General fundraising appeals
• Research
• Deficit funding
• Duplication of existing services
• Organisations that have, or have access to, significant government or other funding
• Government entities
• Projects that do not meet the identified goals and priorities of the Mercy Foundation.

• Address: Social Justice Small Grant Applications, Mercy Foundation 40 Rocklands Road Wollstonecraft 2065 NSW
• Phone: 02 9911 7390
• Email: office@mercyfoundation.com.au