Community Grants

Championing environmental and social sustainability while supporting the community through the energy transition by funding initiatives that enhance energy efficiency, promote self-sufficiency, and foster local engagement. Examples include:

• Electrifying community facilities: Replacing gas appliances and hot water systems with electric alternatives.
• Supporting energy self-sufficiency: Installing renewable energy technologies, such as solar panels, batteries, and EV chargers, at community facilities.
• Energy education for vulnerable customers: Developing and delivering energy education, awareness, and efficiency resources for diverse and vulnerable communities.
• Enhancing community spaces: Supporting projects like community gardens to foster environmental stewardship and local engagement.

Projects that drive positive outcomes for First Nations people and communities, as well as initiatives that empower the broader community to begin or strengthen their reconciliation journey through cultural understanding and collaboration. Examples include:

• Projects led by First Nations people
• Cultural awareness training: Providing training for staff and volunteers
• Reconciliation action plan: Develop and implement a plan to strengthen relationships with First Nations communities.
• Engaging a first nations artist: Commission artwork, such as murals for community spaces or schools, or designs for sports jerseys for Indigenous rounds.
• Involving a First Nations elder: To provide guidance on initiatives such as cultural cool burning, ecosystem restoration, community gardens, and education programs to enhance biodiversity, improve land and climate management, and deepen community understanding of First Nations cultural practices.

To be eligible for and receive an SA Power Networks Community Grant, applicants must:

• Be an incorporated not-for-profit organisation, registered charity on the ACNC, school, or community group with a registered Australian Business Number (ABN).
• Deliver the funded activity in South Australia within 12 months of receiving funding.
• Agree to share activity outcomes with SA Power Networks in the form of photographs or short videos, written updates, and a brief acquittal upon activity completion.
• Agree to SA Power Networks promoting you and the activity your grant supports through SA Power Networks websites, social media, annual reports, and other channels.
• Be open to SA Power Networks participating in the activity and related promotional activities.
• Hold a current bank account in Australia in the organisation’s name.

Through SA Power Networks Community Grants, we aim to fund activities, programs, events, or equipment that positively impact one or both of the following areas:

• Growing a Sustainable SA
• Fostering Reconciliation & Cultural Understanding

We can only fund grants up to $5,000.

Examples of fundable activities

Growing a Sustainable SA

Championing environmental and social sustainability while supporting the community through the energy transition by funding initiatives that enhance energy efficiency, promote self-sufficiency, and foster local engagement. Examples include:

• Electrifying community facilities: Such as replacing gas appliances and hot water systems with electric alternatives.
• Supporting energy self-sufficiency: Installing renewable energy technologies, such as solar panels, batteries, and EV chargers, at community facilities.
• Energy education: Developing and delivering energy education, awareness, and efficiency resources for diverse and vulnerable communities.
• Enhancing community spaces: Supporting projects like community gardens to foster environmental stewardship and local engagement.

Fostering Reconciliation & Cultural Understanding

Projects that drive positive outcomes for First Nations people and communities, as well as initiatives that empower the broader community to begin or strengthen their reconciliation journey through cultural understanding and collaboration. Examples include:

Projects led by First Nations people

• Cultural awareness training: Providing training for staff and volunteers
• Reconciliation Action Plan: Develop and implement a plan to strengthen relationships with First Nations communities.
• Engaging a First Nations artist: Commission artwork, such as murals for community spaces or schools, or designs for sports jerseys for Indigenous rounds.
• Involving a First Nations Elder:  To provide guidance on initiatives such as cultural cool burning, ecosystem restoration, community gardens, and education programs to enhance biodiversity, improve land and climate management, and deepen community understanding of First Nations cultural practices.

SA Power Networks Community Grants cannot fund:

• Individuals, commercial businesses and government entities (except public schools and kindergartens).
• Activities outside of South Australia.
• Activities completed before the Application Period.
• Activities occurring during the Determination Period.
• Organisations or activities not aligned with SA Power Networks' values.
• Organisations or activities not reflective of local community standards.
• Activities that denigrate or exclude community members.
• Activities that are or could be perceived as unsafe or harmful to people, animals, or the environment.
• Political or religious pursuits.
• Organisations or activities associated with gambling, drugs, or alcohol.
• Organisations, individuals, or bodies unwilling to provide sufficient details on the proposed activity or program.

For full eligibility criteria, please see Terms and Conditions.

We’ve made a few updates to the 2025 program, including changes to the focus areas and the introduction of a new grants administration platform, SmartyGrants, to improve the applicant experience and streamline the assessment process.

For 2025, our grants program will focus on two key areas:

• Growing a Sustainable SA
• Fostering Reconciliation & Cultural Understanding

We remain committed to supporting community projects and empowering South Australians to make a positive difference. Please note that our focus areas may change each year, which could affect your eligibility for the program.

In 2025, we are introducing a new grants management platform, SmartyGrants. This is a grants administration platform.

This platform will streamline the application and assessment process, providing a more user-friendly experience for applicants and improving the efficiency of grant management. Key benefits include:

• Easier submission and tracking of applications.
• Improved assessment process

Through the SmartyGrants platform, you can save progress as you go, before submitting. You won’t be able to make any changes once you press submit – so please ensure everything is reviewed and finalised.

Yes, funding is competitive. We expect to receive more applications than we can fund, so applications will be assessed based on specific criteria.

We recommend exploring other community grants available, including those offered by local councils, state governments, and other organisations, to increase your chances of securing funding for your initiatives.

Applications will be assessed on the following criteria: 

• Location: Where will the activity take place, and where do its beneficiaries reside?
• Alignment with focus areas: How do the activity’s outcomes align with SA Power Networks' focus areas?
• Beneficiaries: Who will benefit from the activity, and what specific benefits will it deliver?
• Reach: How extensive is the activity's support within the community?
• Project impact: What long-term impact will the activity have, and how will its success be measured?
• Previous funding: Has the organisation received funding or in-kind support from SA Power Networks in the last three calendar years (2022, 2023, and 2024)? Has funding for the activity been sought or secured from other sources? Projects exceeding the grant amount must demonstrate sufficient additional funding to ensure successful delivery.

Funding decisions will be made by a panel comprising of representatives from across SA Power Networks, as well as our Vulnerable Consumers Advisory Board.

All applicants will be advised of the outcome no later than 30 September 2025. Therefore, activities that qualify for funding must commence after this date.  

In certain circumstances, we may consider auspiced applications where the organisation does not fully meet the application criteria. SA Power Networks will review these on a case-by-case basis and reserves the right to determine whether to provide funding.

Applicants can only apply once per funding round. If you have applied in a previous round, you are welcome to reapply again if you meet all the criteria. 

Due to the high volume of enquiries we receive, we are unable to provide a direct phone contact. However, you can reach us via email at communitygrants@sapowernetworks.com.au with any questions or to request a callback. Alternatively, you may contact our general enquiries team on 13 12 61 and leave a message to request a callback. We are happy to assist with general enquiries.

Please note that we cannot provide specific advice or guidance on the content of your grant application. This ensures the integrity of the process and fairness for all applicants.

Certain activities / projects will require landowner consent (if not owned by your group), especially if your project involves any type of installation, such as solar panels or EV chargers. We will require written approval of this before providing a community grant if you are successful. If you do require land owner consent, you will be asked to attach when completing your application.

You can obtain this by directly reaching out to the landowner or their representative to request. Make sure to provide all relevant project details to ensure they can make an informed decision.

Our community grants program provides funding to support activities that make a positive difference in South Australia. An important part of your application is explaining how you will evaluate the impact of your activity and therefore demonstrating how our funding will make a positive difference in our community.

Thinking about how you will evaluate impact is an important part of project planning and can help you think about what benefits your activity will deliver.

Evaluating impact is equally relevant to all activity types: programs, events, equipment purchase etc.

A good way to think about how you will evaluate impact is to first of all outline the logic model. A logic model is a clear explanation of how the funding will deliver the outcome. Next, think about how you will measure the outcome, what data you will need to calculate your expected outcomes and how you will collect and record this. Finally, think about how you will evaluate your activity, comparing the outcomes that you expected with the outcomes that you achieved.