Brisbane Women’s Club (BWC) Charitable Giving Program comprises all our activities to support local Brisbane women through giving, this includes our key projects, annual BWC Charitable Giving Grant, working with past grant recipients, collecting goods for charities that we work with and providing opportunities for our members to give back to the Brisbane community.

We are very proud of the history of BWC giving and the many women’s lives we have been able to support and improve through our community.

BWC Charitable Giving Grant – CURRENTLY CLOSED

BWC promotes an annual grant(s) distributing funds that have been raised through our operational and investment activities; including calling for grant applications, establishment of a members grants committee who review grant applications and make a recommendation to the BWC Board for award of grant(s), distribution of grant funds and reporting back to our community on how grant funds have been used to support local women.

• Providing projects or support aimed at improving the lives of women;
• Delivering social welfare and / or education support to those in our community who are most disadvantaged;
• Mentoring and guiding women to achieve equal participation in social, cultural, economic and political arenas of Australian life; and
• Exercising leadership around issues affecting women.

BWC is currently reviewing Charitable Giving program. We look forward to sharing more details soon. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Key Projects

When opportunities arise through our members’ connections and community conversations the Board may vote to endorse and financially support a Key Project.  Sometimes this comes in the form of donating monies to deliver a specific project, or partnering with other charities and local government to improve our community or backing inspirational women who are making change for all women……our Key Projects can take many different forms and shapes and may draw upon all aspects of what we do (including for example holding a social and or fundraising event, gifting funds, collecting goods, educating or raising awareness).

Some of our recent key projects we have delivered, which build the BWC legacy include:

• Sponsoring 2x red benches in partnership with Red Rose Foundation to help draw attention and be a talking point reminding all of us that we need to bring an end to domestic violence in our community
  • 1x red bench has been installed in collaboration with Lovewell Foundation and Brisbane City Council at the Lovewell Café, Mt Gravatt
  • 1x red bench has been installed in collaboration with Women’s College, within the University of Queensland, St Lucia

• Supporting the production of a Brisbane short film highlighting the impact of domestic violence on women, “The Wilted Rose”. As Associate Director BWC financially supported the production costs of filming and will continue to support the film’s female director Elise Lamb and Maddie Sturgess to take their short film overseas to film festivals before returning here to Brisbane, Australia for its release in May next year (to coincide with domestic violence awareness month).  We are pretty excited about this ongoing Key Project – stay tuned for further updates!

• Securing a Queensland Government Women for Change grant to develop and deliver financial literacy program ‘Invest in Yourself’ over 12 months. The project saw financial services experts and community agencies provide financial guidance, resources and tools for women to be financially literate, resilient and confident.  BWC helped develop a website, training package, face to face workshops and separate financial literacy information pack.

• Working in partnership, BWC and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) developed a joint initiative to assist women interested in developing board careers by gathering an experienced panel of female board members including Professor Julie Cogin GAICD (Dean and Head of Business School, University of Queensland), Ms Rachel Foley-Lewis MAICD (Partner, Deloitte), Dylys Bertelsen MAICD (CEO, Windsor Group) and Jennifer Robertson FAICD (Senior Consultant, Board Matters Pty Ltd) speaking about “How Women Can Shape Their Director Career”. The panel were able to draw on experience from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to share their tips and provide practical advice to members and guests from BWC and AICD, commenting on (1) understanding the current context surrounding board appointments; (2) identifying requisite and desirable technical and leadership skills and experience; and (3) structuring a career in order to obtain board appointments.

Past Grant Recipients

In the past few years, we have provided nearly $100,000 in grant funding to worth organisations, including:

• Hannah’s House, Ipswich
• Reason to Thrive, Equine Assisted Learning life-skill program
• 4 Voices
• Good Samaritan Housing
• A Brave Life
• Suited to Success
• Lady Musgrave Trust
• Logan Women’s Health & Wellness Centre
• Qld Institute of Medical Research – Ovarian Cancer Research
• Country Womens’ Association Qld – Building Governance Capability
• Lioness Club Brisbane to forward to Prof Ian Frazer Cervical Cancer Research
• Womens’ College University of Qld – Student Scholarship
• Womens’ Legal Service – Domestic Violence Support Services
• Ovarian Cancer Prognosis and Lifestyle (OPAL) project
• Yalari – secondary eduacation for indigenous girls

Goods Drives

From time to time, BWC will promote a ‘goods drive’ to get behind and support a local charity helping local Brisbane women.  We will identify a charity, low value items that they need to deliver their own programs and activities and how our members and our BWC community can contribute new and or good quality used goods to help.

Follow our social media and sign up to our Mailing List to be advised when we are promoting a Good Drive.

In the past we have held goods drives for:

• A Brave Life – to fill baby bundle bags for new mums who do not necessarily have everything needed for mum and bub when they leave the hospital (washers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo/condition, coffee cups, water bottles, tissues, body soap etc)
• Zig Zag Young Women’s Resource Centre – to gift Christmas food hampers to those living in short term accommodation
• Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital Foundation – to provide new clothing (pj’s, singlets, underwear, pants and shirts) to women needing additional clothing when they leave hospital having arrived in unexpected circumstances and without support
• Support the Girls – bra drive to collect new and good quality second hand bras to be distributed in remote communities to help restore dignity and confidence to women
• NPT Women’s Council – to donate warm jumpers, jackets and coats to aboriginal women in the Northern Territory
• Lovewell Foundation – to donate journals and notebooks for self improvement and development courses supported delivered by Lovewell Foundation at Sunflower House for vulnerable women

Community support and fundraising

We are fortunate to have a wide membership of women from many professional backgrounds, ages and interests. This fantastic mix enables the Club to directly access and proactively support a diverse range of projects, charities and businesses operating in the women’s health, advocacy and empowerment space. If you have a business, not for profit or project which you think would benefit from the support of the BWC, please get in touch!