WA regions the winners as department renews access to grant opportunities via CRCs

Since 2025, CRCs across the state have been able to access the Funding Centre to find grants and secure funding for a wide range of local projects and initiatives.

Supporting CRCs to support their communities

The impact of the Funding Centre has extended well beyond individual CRCs, with many using the platform to help other organisations in their communities. Notably, 46% of CRCs used the Funding Centre to assist external groups in 2025, helping unlock funding for a broader range of local projects, programs, and community resources.

Lee Steel, Pingelly Community Resource Centre, says, “We have been using the Funding Centre for many years and really believe it is an important tool for our community.”

Kristin Potter at Morawa Community Resource Centre, highlighted the tangible outcomes made possible by access to funding: “We found this tool very useful, not just to us but to a few organisations in our community. We were able to hold small community events that we wouldn't normally be able to do.”

These outcomes demonstrate the multiplier effect of DPIRD WA’s investment, as it empowers CRCs to unlock funding not only for their own purposes, but also for local groups and events that strengthen community connection and resilience.

Tackling the biggest barrier: time

The most common challenge CRCs identified was a lack of time to find and apply for grants, a constraint familiar to many small, community-based organisations, according to the Funding Centre’s 2025 end-of-year report.

By providing centralised access to thousands of grants and funding opportunities, DPIRD WA’s support helps reduce the administrative burden and streamline the funding search process for CRC teams.

The Funding Centre subscription provided to CRCs by DRDPI WA includes Drafter, an AI-powered grant writing tool. This tool is designed with grantseekers in mind and can help CRCs to strengthen the quality of their applications while significantly reducing the time required to prepare them.

By guiding users and drafting responses aligned with funder criteria, Drafter helps people to write clearer, more compelling applications, improving both efficiency and success rates.

A strong partnership for regional impact

DPIRD WA’s continued provision of the Funding Centre shows its strategic commitment to building the capability of CRCs and, by extension, the resilience of regional communities.

Equipping CRCs with access to grant opportunities and grant writing tools strengthens community-led projects, enables local events and services, reduces admin work, and increases the potential for funding success.

The Funding Centre looks forward to continuing this partnership in 2026 and helping CRCs across Western Australia to secure the funding they need to enhance community life.

Interested in supporting grantseekers in your community?

The Funding Centre offers multi-user annual subscriptions for up to 10 users, bulk subscriptions for 11–1000+ users, and SmartySearch, designed for local councils. Contact us or book a discussion about bulk subscriptions or SmartySearch.