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Financial Literacy Grants

Applications for the 2008 round of Financial Literacy Grants have now closed.

Details of successful grant recipients will be posted online on November 17.

If you would like to talk to the Financial Literacy Grants team about your existing application, or if you have not yet received a confirmation email, give our team a call on 02 8572 5611 Monday to Friday during work hours, or email financialliteracygrants@cba.com.au.

Application guidelines and judging

Past financial literacy grant judges have provided general feedback to assist prospective grant applicants.

Financial Literacy is not only about business management. Be creative with your approach to financial literacy and concentrate on how best to develop students’ skills for today and for the future.
The program must be sustainable by showing how it will improve the financial literacy skills of students over a substantial period of time. Your program should not rely on only one teacher or staff member.

Your program should:

demonstrate a clear understanding of the meaning of financial literacy.
have set guidelines for assessing student outcomes and how your program can be evaluated against students’ financial literacy skills.
explain how the initiative will fit with current and proposed school curriculum programs.
give a full explanation as to why these items are essential for the implementation of the program if purchasing additional resources.
provide insight into what skills you want your students to develop from the implementation of your program. You must clearly demonstrate how your program will directly develop students’ financial literacy in the short and long term.

Applications for 2008 Financial Literacy Grants will be assessed against the 2008 Commonwealth Bank Foundation Financial Literacy Grants Judging Matrix.

Judging panels will include a representative from a state/territory affiliate of Business Educators Australasia (BEA) and teaching representatives from each education sector. They will have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of state/territory curriculum and syllabi, with a sound understanding of financial literacy.

As per the Conditions of Entry, the Commonwealth Bank Foundation, BEA and/or state/territory judging panels will not give individual feedback to schools about their application or why they did not receive a grant.

Case studies and previous winners

What makes a good Financial Literacy Grant application?

These case studies show some successful previous applications for Financial Literacy Grants. Each of the applications in the booklets highlights a sustainable program that is creative, engaging and linked to outcomes and needs.

For details on all previous recipients, click on the below links:

Financial Literacy Grants frequently asked questions

What is the role of the Commonwealth Bank Foundation?
The Commonwealth Bank Foundation was established in 2003 to encourage developments in education, in particular the financial literacy skills of young Australians. The Foundation is guided by the goal of creating awareness, skill and understanding of a more financially literate community.

What is the Commonwealth Bank Foundation Financial Literacy Grants program?
The Commonwealth Bank Foundation Financial Literacy Grant program is designed to help secondary schools fund initiatives that will develop awareness, skill and understanding of the financial literacy of secondary students.

How long has the program been running?
The program has been offered annually since 2004.

How many grants are awarded?
Each year, the program awards 100 grants of $3,500 each to secondary schools across Australia.

When are applications open?
This year applications for the Commonwealth Bank Foundation Financial Literacy Grants program will be open from 21 July until 17 September 2008.

Who is eligible to apply?
Government, Catholic or Independent secondary schools with students from Years 7 to 12 are eligible to apply. Previous grant winners are also eligible to apply.

Could a cluster of schools apply?
No, we accept applications from individual schools only.

What is the process for submitting an application?
Applications are made via the online application form.

Who judges the applications?
The grants are judged by panels including a representative from a state/territory affiliate of Business Educators Australasia and teaching representatives from each education sector.

If you have a question that is not covered here, please send an email to financialliteracygrants@cba.com.au or call (02) 8572 5611.

Important Information

Checking your details
Have you or a colleague already applied, but not received a confirmation email? If your school has already applied for a 2008 Financial Literacy Grant, please double check that the applicant received their confirmation email as this ensures that your application has been submitted successfully. If you haven’t received notification that your submission has gone through, we would like to take the opportunity to double check your details. Please contact our Financial Literacy Grants team on 02 8572 5611 during working hours or 0435 166 445 after hours. Alternatively, you can email financialliteracygrants@cba.com.au