How community groups can help with finances

Have you ever wondered how community groups can help with finances? We all experience times of need in our lives, and sometimes we just may not know where to turn. When life gets us down, sometimes all it takes is for us to ask for a little help getting back on our feet. There are many community groups in Australia, also known as social enterprises. You don’t always have to get financial help from banks or other lenders.

There are many of these organisations who take a special interest in the welfare Australians who live in their community. Strong members of the community make for stronger communities. These community groups are well aware of this, and have made it their goal to help those in need.

The services that Australian community groups offer may vary from one organisation to another. These groups offer grants for many things, including buying property, seniors and positive aging and many other purposes.

 
As a first time home buyer, these groups may be able to give you a first home owner’s grant. You can receive a grant up to $15,000 is you are building your home, and $5,000 if you are buying n already established home. To be eligible for the grant, you must be 18 years of age or older, and buying a home or property with less that $575,000 market value. You also must have not owned a property in Australia after 1st July 2000 and lived in it for six or more months.

If you are a first time home buyer you may be eligible for the first home owner’s grant. If you are building your first home you may be entitled to a grant up to $15,000. If you are buying an established home you may be entitled to a grant of $5,000. Joint owners will also be considered an applicant for a first home owner’s grant, meaning that your spouse must not have previously owned a home as well.

Grants for Seniors (GFS) provide one-time grants to community groups for the assistance of seniors. Up to $5,000, these grants help seniors in Australia to become more active and participate in activities of interest to them. This grant can be used for equipment and materials, social or cultural activities, sports, fitness, and educational programs. Priority is given to applicants from populations seen as special needs areas.

These community groups may also provide some financial relief to those who are struggling. This may include helping pay for a portion, or the entirety of a utility bill. Sometimes even, they will help pay for a portion, or the entirety, of your monthly rent.

These community groups may even pay for some of the tuition for classes to improve you marketability to employers. The benefit here is amazing, with more education under you belt you are much more prepared to go out and grab those higher paying jobs, ones that will likely treat you much better, more akin to your value to the company.

Providing help with transportation is another form of assistance you may find with community groups. Transportation is an essential part of life, getting to and from work and the grocery stores is something that we all need. But also, much more than just help with transportation, they may also help you to fix your broken vehicle. Vehicle repairs can be quite expensive, and these community groups may have a list of preferred mechanics that will do the repairs for them.

As well as repairs, help may be found for those needing an extra hand putting gasoline in their vehicles. These community groups know that gasoline is an essential part of many people’s lives. As the resource used to bring us to and from faraway places, having access to gasoline is extremely important.

Another way that these groups can help financially is with food assistance. Many of these organisations have food pantries or other types of food drives that they use to help feed families having a hard time financially.

More information on community groups and other forms of public assistance in Australia can be found on state/territory based websites such as www.sa.gov.au.