ANZ Seeds of Renewal grants open for 2010 (PDF 26kB)

ANZ and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) today announced the opening of the 2010 Seeds of Renewal program.

Individual grants of up to $15,000, up from $10,000 in 2009, will be available to fund projects that create education and employment opportunities, build financial capability, help to bridge urban and rural social and economic gaps or support disaster recovery or preparedness. 

Seeds of Renewal is funded by ANZ and independently administered through a partnership with the FRRR and is open to not-for-profit organisations in communities with a population of 15,000 people or less. Since its inception seven years ago, Seeds of Renewal has provided more than $2 million to over 500 community projects.

FRRR Chief Executive Officer, Sylvia Admans said: “We are pleased the grants have been increased to $15,000 this year. They will provide local projects with an extra boost they need to really make a difference to their communities.” 

ANZ General Manager Regional Commercial Banking, Mark Hand said: “We know from our long history in these communities that it requires local skills and resourcefulness to get things done. Initiatives that are identified and managed locally and designed to meet local needs have the best chance of delivering long-term economic and social benefits.” 

Mr Hand said that as one of the biggest banks in rural Australia ANZ has an obligation to invest in rural and regional communities: “Over a third of ANZ’s branches are in rural and regional areas and we are growing. As well as promoting financial literacy through programs like SaverPlus, Progress Loans and MoneyBusiness, we are also creating employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians and graduates from agricultural universities via our trainee and agri banking programs.” 

For more information or to apply for an ANZ Seeds of Renewal grant visit www.frrr.org.au. To find out more about ANZ’s approach to corporate responsibility visit www.anz.com/cr

Applications close 5:00pm on Friday 3 September 2010. Successful applicants will be notified in late October 2010.

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