Lending to Community Organisations

Why does Foresters Community Finance provide Finance Community Organisations?

Most social issues in Australia (such as poverty, homelessness, childcare, migrant support, domestic violence and disability, to name a few) are addressed through social policy, services and financial support provided by various government programs through community organisations.

On the ground and at the front line, Australians who have low incomes or are disadvantaged are supported by a multitude of small to medium sized not for profit community organisations operating within their local community.

Currently, such organisations receive the majority of their funding through government grants, with a small amount of income from client fees, sales of goods and services and donations. These organisations play a vital role, but their effective operation and capacity to deliver services is hampered by funding constraints and their financial sustainability is often uncertain. *

We use funds received through the Community Investment Fund to provide a new source of investment to community organisations– one which provides a financial return to investors as well as significant social returns for community organisations, their constituents and their communities.

Our vision is to help these community organisations to build their financial independence and resilience through community asset building strategies – helping them to acquire and manage physical assets such as real estate which they can leverage for community purposes.

Through this approach we are able to help community organisations to become more sustainable, broaden the services they can offer to the people they assist and work towards financial independence.

To view some case studies of community organisations that have borrowed from Foresters visit our Publications page.

* In Queensland in 2000 there were a total of 1,318 non government, not-for-profit organisations involved in the provision of community services; with expenditure of ~$1.1billion. (ref Queensland Community Sector Mapping Report May 2006, Social Pty Ltd). A 2007 survey indicates that in Queensland, such organisations receive 77% of funding from federal, state and local government, with the remainder from client fees (6%) and other sources such as payment for goods and services and donations (15%). (ref Australian Community Sector Survey Report 2007, ACOSS paper 145 Feb 2007).