Now in its eighth year, YWCA Canberra and its partners have supported women and girls in the Canberra region to bring their dreams to life through the Great Ydeas Small Grants Program, with 7 successful recipients announced today.
With the support of many business and philanthropic partnerships, this year’s grants program offered a pool of $14,000 in funding.
Grants of up to $2,000 were made available in the categories of small business, community development, the arts, diversity and inclusion, social enterprise, and professional development.
Frances Crimmins, YWCA Canberra’s Executive Director, said she is thrilled that these new partnerships facilitated a range of targeted grants this year, in addition to the $8,000 available through YWCA Canberra’s own funding.
“With the support of our partners, Microsoft, EY and the CBR Innovation Network, we have demonstrated the collective social impact that is possible when corporate, philanthropic and community organisations connect.
“It’s wonderful to see the growth of the Great Ydeas program over the past eight years, and the significant impact this program has made on Canberra women and our broader community,” Ms Crimmins said.
The program was launched in 2010 in celebration of YWCA Canberra’s 80th anniversary. Since then, more than 50 women have been awarded a grant, and received ongoing support as they work towards their goals.
“Our past recipients have gone on to achieve amazing things. One of our 2014 recipients, Hannah Wandel, has since been named one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence for her project, Country to Canberra. 2017 recipient Kavinya Welikala used her grant to develop a heart monitoring mobile app for people with cardiovascular conditions that can detect irregular heart activity, and instantly provide a notification to emergency services, and was a finalist in the BHP Biliton Science and Engineering Foundation Awards.”
Recipients of the 2018 YWCA Canberra Great Ydeas Small Grants were announced at the YWCA Canberra Great Ydeas Innovation Breakfast earlier today, held at QT Canberra.
The event is also an annual celebration of World YWCA Day and a fundraiser for YWCA Canberra’s Clubhouse, which connects young women and young people from diverse backgrounds with science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM).
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Media contact: Helen Machalias 0455 655 330
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