Effective governance is the foundation of a well-run community organisation, charity, or social enterprise. Boards and committees that understand their responsibilities, manage risk appropriately, and govern with integrity are better placed to deliver outcomes for their communities. Grant funding for governance training and capacity building helps community organisations strengthen their foundations. This guide covers the key funding sources.
Governance training grants exist because the philanthropic and government sector recognises that:
- Strong governance protects against fraud, conflicts of interest, and poor decision-making
- Well-governed organisations are better grantees — they manage funds appropriately and report clearly
- Community organisations often have volunteer boards without formal governance training
- Governance failures cause community harm and wasted funds
Governance is sometimes called "capacity building" in grant contexts — investment in the organisation itself, not just its programmes.
The Commonwealth Department of Social Services funds community sector capacity including governance:
- PNIP (Philanthropy and Not-for-profit Information Programme): Some governance resources and support
- Community sector capacity building: Specific to social services organisations
DIA's Community Operations team funds community sector capacity:
- Community and voluntary sector grant programmes
- Organisational effectiveness investment
- Regional community development
Lottery Community funds community sector capacity including governance training for smaller organisations.
Each state has community sector capacity building investment:
- Victoria: Office for Community Sector Strengthening
- NSW: NSW Government community capacity building
- Queensland: Community capacity building grants
- WA and SA: State community development grants
FRRR funds governance and capacity building for rural community organisations across Australia. Governance training in rural areas is a specific priority.
Community foundations in many cities and regions fund governance capacity:
- Auckland Foundation, Acorn Foundation, Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, and others
- Often targeted at smaller organisations that can't access other governance support
Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD): Provides governance training — some scholarships for NFP directors from specific funding programmes.
Institute of Directors NZ (IoD): Governance training — some scholarship funding for community sector directors.
Community Directors Council (CDN Australia): Resources and some funded training for community directors.
Chartered Governance Institute: Professional governance training.
The Ian Potter Foundation (Australia): Funds organisational effectiveness including governance.
The Paul Ramsay Foundation (Australia): Community sector resilience and effectiveness.
Perpetual (Australia): Various philanthropic clients who fund governance capacity.
Todd Foundation (NZ): Capacity building for community organisations.
Most funders distinguish between:
- Programme grants: Funding activities that directly benefit the community
- Capacity building grants: Funding organisational development that improves programme delivery
Some funders only fund programmes and see governance training as an organisational overhead. Others — particularly community foundations, DIA, and DSS — specifically fund capacity building. Apply to the right funder for the right purpose.
Strong governance training applications demonstrate:
- Specific need: What governance gap are you addressing? (New board, rapid growth, financial complexity)
- Who benefits: How will better governance improve outcomes for the communities you serve?
- Sustainability: How will governance improvements be maintained after the grant?
- Organisation context: Size, volunteer nature, complexity of governance challenge
- Training specifics: Who will deliver the training, what format, what outcomes are expected?
Tahua's grants management platform helps community organisations find and manage governance capacity building grants, track organisational development funding, and demonstrate the organisational effectiveness that underpins strong grant outcomes.