Government funding is one of the most significant and competitive revenue streams available to for-purpose organisations. But securing it takes more than a well-written application. It takes strategy, relationships, and preparation that starts long before a grant round opens.
In our webinar Engaging Government for Influence and Funding, we explored how for-purpose organisations can confidently engage with government, influence funding decisions, and build the kind of relationships that lead to sustainable funding. Here’s what we covered.
What the 2027FY Federal Budget signals for the sector
The May 2026 Federal Government budget reinforced something we see consistently: civil society and the for-purpose sector are considered central to delivering both services and broader policy outcomes. Government is no longer just contracting out program delivery; it’s increasingly relying on community organisations to help achieve lasting social and economic change.
We’re seeing this across workforce participation, early intervention, social cohesion, housing, mental health, disability, and community resilience. The common thread is recognition that Australia’s most complex challenges cannot be solved by government alone.
What this means in practice is that organisations with strong governance, robust impact frameworks, a demonstrated track record, and trusted community relationships are well-positioned to engage government and secure funding.
Organisations that align with government priorities and can translate strategy into delivery will be best positioned to secure funding.
What’s also shifting is the framing. Social policy is increasingly being positioned as economic policy — through the lens of productivity, workforce capacity, and long-term fiscal sustainability.
Four key factors for government funding success
Whether you’re approaching federal, state, or local government, funding success comes down to four interconnected factors:
- Meeting genuine need and policy objectives. Government funding is a conduit to achieve policy objectives. Your organisation and its programs must address real societal needs that align with the current government’s priorities.
- Strategic relationship and engagement. Relationships with government stakeholders across all political parties need to be established before you make the ask. Funding decisions happen in rooms where trusted, known organisations have already made their case.
- Strong governance and a track record. Government, like all funders, needs confidence in your organisation. This means solid governance, regulatory compliance, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks that enable meaningful outcomes reporting.
- Demonstrated alignment. Understand the specific objectives of the government entity you’re approaching and make that alignment explicit in your engagement and funding application.
Engage effectively before you ask for funding
Effective government engagement means building relationships with the right people — ministers, members of parliament (MPs), policy departments, and central agencies — and understanding how funding decisions actually travel through that chain. A proposal can have ministerial support and still fail if a central agency can’t see how it fits the broader agenda.
The practical principle: engage at least three times before making a substantial ask. Invite a local MP to a community event. Share a program outcome. Give them a reason to know you. And make sure they understand your reach — mapping program delivery postcodes to electoral boundaries can show an MP exactly how many of their constituents you serve.
Keep your profile materials simple (two pages maximum), frame everything from the MP or stakeholder’s perspective, and connect it to what’s local and relevant to them.
Stewardship is part of the strategy
Securing a grant is the beginning of a partnership, not the end of a process. Thank everyone involved, meet reporting obligations ahead of schedule, and maintain genuine engagement between funding cycles.
Organisations that build strong funder relationships improve their chances at long term, sustainable funding.
Ready to go deeper?
Government funding is increasingly competitive, and the organisations that succeed are those that combine strategic engagement with genuine preparedness.
To explore how Strategic Grants can support your grant-seeking strategy, reach out to Bianca Williams. To build your government engagement approach, contact Angus Crowther at Tanck.
View the webinar “Engaging Government for Influence and Funding” presented by Strategic Grants and Tanck on May 28th, 2026.
Strategic Grants has been working with for-purpose organisations across Australia and New Zealand for over 17 years to build their capacity and support their success in grants fundraising.
Tanck is a certified B Corporation who shares the knowledge and experience of political insiders with for-purpose organisations, so they have greater engagement and influence with government.
Additional resources
About the authors
Bianca Williams is Client Services Manager at Strategic Grants.
Bianca has over 13 years of experience working in for-purpose organisations; and 10-years working with Strategic Grants. Her experience includes grants management, fundraising, marketing, business development, stakeholder engagement, and event management.
Working with state-based, national and international charitable organisations has provided her with valuable experience in developing and implementing various fundraising programs. Bianca loves the task of establishing systems and processes to create efficiencies within an organisation, whilst building capacity and helping clients achieve their grant-seeking objectives.
Angus Crowther is Co-Founder and Executive Director at Tanck.
He works with for-purpose organisations to strengthen their engagement with government and improve their chances of securing funding. Having spent years as a ministerial advisor working across the social sector portfolios of education, communities, disability services, seniors and an economic super portfolio, Angus deploys his deep knowledge of the political and for-purpose sectors to empower organisations to align with government priorities and build influence to achieve lasting impact.