JMR with Minister for Regional Health the Hon. Dr David Gillespie MP
The Morrison Government is providing up to $750,000 in the 2022 Community Awareness Grants for initiatives to reach key audiences and provide creative ways to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation.
Senator for Victoria Sarah Henderson encouraged community groups, local businesses and not-for-profit organisations to apply for a grant of between $10,000 to $50,000 to help drive community awareness about the importance of donation, family discussion and increasing the number of registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register.
“Organ and tissue donation are life-saving and life-changing for recipients, yet there are still 13 million eligible Australians who have not yet registered their decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register,” Senator Henderson said.
“We know nine out of ten families will agree to organ donation if their loved one is registered and they’ve spoken about it as a family, so these types of grants are crucial in helping us get the message out and ultimately saving the lives of those on the Australian transplant waitlist.
“The easiest way to increase our donation rate is to get more families talking about donation and registering to be organ and tissue donors,” Senator Henderson said.
To register as an organ and tissue donor at either donatelife.gov.au or through myGov or the Medicare Express Plus app when downloading your COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
Applications are invited in one of three categories:
- Broad-reaching national events;
- Media, public relations or digital activities; and
- Research/behavioural change projects or the development of education resources.
Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie said the grant round is particularly looking for applicants to help reach audience groups with low awareness about donation, including young Australians, First Nations Peoples and multicultural groups.
“We know community groups and local businesses often have great ideas but do not have the resources to bring their ideas to life – these grants support those ideas,” Dr Gillespie said.
The 2022 Community Awareness Grants are provided by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of its national Community Awareness and Education Program.
Applications for this round of funding open on Friday 22 October 2021 and closes at 10:00am AEDT, Wednesday 17 November 2021. Multi-year funding of up to three years is available for national events applications. Successful applicants will be announced in February 2022.
For more information about the Community Awareness Grants, including the assessment criteria and the application process, visit donatelife.gov.au/grants
23 October 2023