Community Impact
The Bass Coast Community Foundation serves three key functions:
- To act as a vehicle for philanthropy (donor program)
- To act as a local grant maker (giving program)
- To act as a community leader (community reference point)
Each year the Foundation is obliged under Federal Tax laws to distribute a minimum of 4% of the capital back into the Bass Coast community, defined by the Shire boundaries. The Foundation has a history of supplementing this amount with funds sourced from external Trusts and Foundations.
The Bass Coast Community Foundation’s story of impact is long (coming up to 20 years), deep and compelling.
Our roles as a funder, enabler, capacity builder, and advocate for change allows us to activate a community of givers and help maximise impact across Bass Coast.
With one hand we encourage the growth of philanthropy and with the other we support community organisations to increase their impact. Distributing funds through the Bass Coast Community Foundation directly supports both these activities.
To date, we have granted over one million dollars’ worth of funds to not-for-profit organisations in our community. We have $1.2 million dollars’ worth of philanthropic funds invested for the long-term benefit of the community and we manage 10 Named Fund, donor advised accounts. Annually we distribute in excess of $75,000 worth of grants to the local community.
Our aim at Bass Coast Community Foundation is to:
- Identify and address inequities and disadvantage through evidence-based early interventions, to;
- strengthen communities, increase resilience, well-being, and opportunities for Bass Coast residents
We are tracking our collective impact across three key focus areas:
- Increase opportunities for local women and girls
- Reduce the incidence and risk of homelessness and housing stress
- Increase aspirations of young people through skills, knowledge, and learning.
Case Studies and Impact Stories relating to our work can be found here.
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