Canberra warmly welcomed The Funding Network's first event in the ACT on Thursday 30 June, with over 160 guests gathering at the new Vibe Hotel Canberra to support four passionate grassroots charities doing important work in their region.
Together, the audience generously pledged over $86,000 for the finalists: Global Sisters, Abundant Water, Paperworks and Malpa. Read more about the presenters on our blog here.
A special thanks to Hands Across Canberra, the Snow Foundation, the Aspen Foundation and the English Family Foundation who generously match-funded donations on the night up to $5000 for each charity.
Thanks to event partner, Canberra Airport in collaboration with the Snow Foundation, Deloitte and Hands Across Canberra for helping us to put on such a fabulous event.
See photos from the event and watch the pitches.
Global Sisters enables women to lift themselves out of poverty, forever. We are an Australian first and global innovation, providing a technology based solution that addresses all the barriers for low income women seeking to establish flexible, sustainable self-employment. Global Sisters aim to expand their programs in Canberra to support another 15 women to start up or grow their businesses. www.globalsisters.org
Watch the 6 minute pitch
Funds raised: $19,800
 Read Global Sisters' Application Read Global Sisters' Financials
Abundant Water is a Canberra initiative that offers domestic water filtration services in Laos. Abundant Water has a social business model that supports community members - increasingly women - to establish their own businesses as vendors selling and installing filters. The team aim to install filters in five Lao schools and train five local vendors to demonstrate the filters in the villages. www.abundantwater.org
Watch the 6 minute pitch
Funds raised: $21,545
 Read Abundant Water's Application Read Abundant Water's Financials
Paperworks employs marginalised people to manufacture stationery, recycle textiles and seed tiles from locally harvested plant fibre. To foster social inclusion for disadvantaged people, they also host social papermaking workshops. Paperworks seek funding to employ a studio coordinator who is central to supporting and training its artisans plus delivering workshops.
www.paperworks.org.au
Watch the 6 minute pitch
Funds raised: $20,645
Malpa delivers grassroots âYoung Doctorsâ programs for Indigenous and non-indigenous children, where communities train their young people to become active health ambassadors. In each community, local people help to identify key health topics and are then employed to train the kids about traditional and modern health principles including hygiene, nutrition and, importantly, leadership. Malpa aims to extend its programs into the ACT for the first time. www.malpa.org.au
Watch the 6 minute pitch
Funds raised: $27,797
