Challenge

The Australian Government’s inaugural LGBTIQA+ Health Program offered funding to strengthen health and wellbeing outcomes and address health inequities experienced by LGBTIQA+ people and communities.

Two established community organisations—Twenty10 in New South Wales and Meridian in the ACT—separately sought funding to expand peer-led approaches to addressing barriers to safe, accessible and coordinated care. Both organisations brought extensive community expertise and strong service concepts but were working within a highly competitive grant process and tight submission timeframe.

The challenge was to ensure each proposed project was clearly aligned with the funding objectives and the National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People, while presenting a compelling and evidence-based case for investment.

Approach

CIS provided targeted grant development support to both organisations, tailoring our approach to their individual needs and the maturity of their applications.

Our support included:

• Reviewing proposed program models, supporting evidence and responses against the grant objectives and assessment criteria

• Providing strategic advice on project framing, outcomes, impact and alignment with health equity and inclusion objectives

• Identifying areas where the case for funding could be strengthened and providing practical recommendations to the project teams

• Providing detailed review and feedback on draft application material prior to submission.

For Twenty10, CIS provided both an early strategic alignment review and detailed review of the subsequent full application. For Meridian, our engagement focused on an intensive strategic review of the proposed program logic and application approach, providing targeted advice to strengthen the submission.

Outcome

Both applications were successful in securing funding in the inaugural LGBTIQA+ Health Program. The two successful applications demonstrate how focused, proportionate grant support can help community organisations translate their deep sector expertise and strong service ideas into compelling funding proposals, securing investment to expand their reach and impact.