For Community Organisations

Community Finance for Community Organisations 

At Foresters Community Finance we understand community organisations and the challenges they face to deliver genuine social impact in their key areas of focus. We view community finance as a powerful way to assist community organisations to grow their financial and social sustainability through community asset building.

Over more than a decade we have seen the benefits of the delivery of community finance in the following focus areas:

  • Community development;
  • Homelessness;
  • Affordable housing;
  • Legal services;
  • Disability services;
  • Women's Health;
  • Childcare and kindergarten facilities.

For more information about the work done across these focus areas take a look at the Community Asset Building Case Studies in our Publications Section.

Community Asset Building takes many forms and can result in a range of outcomes for community organizations, including:

  • A stable base from which to deliver services to the community - this is often very important for community centres;
  • Increased access to residential housing stock - this is very important to community housing providers;
  • Access to premises from which to generate income - this is important for social enterprises.

Owning an asset also takes the vagaries of leasing in the open market out of the equation resulting in greater stability in the community which helps the community at large to identify strongly with the organisation.

Community owned assets also provide community organisations with equity that they can in turn leverage to achieve other goals in relation to their areas of focus.

Accessing Community Finance

Through investments made in our Community Investment Fund, we provide community finance to well-managed community organizations with Deductible Gift Recipient status that meet our community finance criteria.

We will take your organisation through a comprehensive set of steps that lead to asset ownership, including:

  • Community Finance Assessment;
  • Planning for Asset Acquisition;
  • Community Capital Raising;
  • Community Asset Acquisition.

For more detailed information about each of these steps visit the pages on this site dedicated to them.

Projects which fall outside these criteria may be supported through our Gift Fund or we can work with your organization to develop your capacity to build community owned assets.  

Why Should Foresters Community Finance be your Financial Institution of Choice?  

Mission alignment and values-driven

With Foresters Community Finance, you are working with a community development finance institution that is aligned with your mission and invested in your success. You become part of a larger community that shares our commitment to creating a robust, equitable, sustainable Third and Fourth Sector in Australia.

Partnership and commitment

We act in a catalytic way to help you explore and achieve your organization’s vision through partnerships with the public and private sectors. Our skilled staff  are dedicated to capacity building aimed at helping you organisation to achieve its goals.

Experience and innovation

Foresters has been supporting Third and Fourth Sector orgnisations for over fifteen years. We view each project as unique and we see social innovation as central to each of our projects.

For more information and to discuss your needs please contact us at:
Phone   07 3257 3166
Email    info@foresters.org.au
Mail      PO Box 742, FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006