Step One: Preliminary Enquiry

A Preliminary Enquiry should be no more than two typed pages in length (using arial font size 10) and must include the following information:

• A brief description of the organisation and an indication of organisational mandate and competence in the area proposed.
• A short outline of the project including: aims and objectives; the need(s) being addressed; project beneficiaries; anticipated outcomes; and how success will be measured and evaluated.
• The theme under which the project resides, i.e. Children and Young People, Rural and Regional Australia, Christianity or Community. ONE category only must be nominated.
• The timeline of the proposed project.
• The proposed method of evaluation for the project.
• An overview of the project budget, income sources and expenses.
• The amount of support requested from the VFFF.
• Confirmation that the applicant organisation holds endorsement from the Australian Tax Office as an income tax exempt charity (ITEC), a tax concession charity (TCC) or as a deductible gift recipient (DGR).
• Contact details of one or more key contacts within the organisation.
• Details of how the organisation learned about the VFFF.

Preliminary Enquiries which do not include all of the above information will not be considered.

If you are unsure of your eligibility as outlined in these guidelines, it is often advisable to contact the VFFF via telephone on (02) 9291 2706 BEFORE submitting a Preliminary Enquiry to discuss the nature of your project, as this can save time and effort on both sides.

All Preliminary Enquiries should be submitted via foundation@vfff.org.au with 'Preliminary Enquiry' in the subject field.

Alternatively, you can submit your Preliminary Enquiry online here.

All Preliminary Enquiries will be acknowledged by email. Notification of the outcome of Preliminary Enquiries will be sent via email within 21 working days of acknowledgement.

Preliminary Enquiries may be submitted at any time, however applicatants should be aware that processing of applications is likely to be delayed during the holiday period of December/January.

In some cases, VFFF staff will contact applicants to request further information regarding a Preliminary Enquiry. The VFFF reserves the right to seek assistance from external experts in examining and assessing Preliminary Enquiries across all themes. Accordingly, applicant organisations should be mindful when preparing their application that any material provided to the VFFF may be passed on to one or more third parties during the assessment process.