2020 Canon Oceania Grants Program open

Canon Oceania has opened submissions for its 2020 Grants Program. Each Grant winner will receive a total of $5,000 in cash and Canon products, ranging from cameras and printers, to projectors and other accessories. For the first time, winners will receive an equal donation of cash and equipment – $2,500 each – to support causes trying to rebuild themselves in a weaker economy (where the previous split was $1,000 in cash and $4,000 in products).

Submissions are now open until Friday 31st July via www.canon.com.au/grants. The wider community will vote on finalists in August, and winners will be announced in September.

The winner of the 2019 Education Grant was Elonera Montessori Robotics, a robotics team from an independent school in NSW that provides outreach opportunities for disadvantaged individuals. They used the Grant to provide a series of free, hands-on robotics sessions for children and young adults who are refugees or living with a disability.

“So much of our work centres on promoting STEM to marginalised communities, and the equipment we’ve received from the 2019 Grant has enabled us to do exactly that. We’ve really enjoyed using the Canon camera to capture the journeys of the students as they’ve discovered what they can achieve, through their own eyes,” said Karen Love, the robotic team’s Mentor.

“We’ve created robotics build videos for YouTube, which we call ‘Wedo Wednesday.’ It’s been very rewarding to see the students’ excitement as they continue to enjoy robotics, even though we can’t meet in person. For anyone who is seeking to inspire greater connection within their workplace or community, I encourage you to apply for Canon Oceania Grants 2020.”

This year, Canon has introduced a new Small Business category to its Grants Program, in recognition of the way they have been impacted by bushfires, floods and the restrictions brought about by COVID-19.

Winners will also be selected from two additional categories: Community, which is open to organisations ranging from not-for-profits, to grassroots groups and environmental causes, and Education, which is open to schools and other educational centres for children and adults alike. Winners will be selected based on the strength of their initiative and the impact it will have on their community or business.

“The pressure COVID-19 has put on small businesses, schools and community organisations is unprecedented. While we are helping our customers, partners and employees navigate this new normal, we believe it’s equally important to help the community around us. So even as the government starts lifting restrictions, we know now is the time to support organisations that will be permanently changed by the course of 2020 thus far.” said Dave Yoshida, Managing Director, Canon Oceania.

The 2020 Grants will be awarded under the following categories:

• 1 x Small Business Grant – AU$5,000
• Open to all businesses across any sector that employ fewer than 20 people and have less than AU$10 million aggregated turnover.
• 1 x Community Grant – AU$5,000
• Open to a range of organisations keeping their community at the heart of what they do, ranging from not-for-profits, to grassroots groups and environmental causes.
• 1 x Education Grant – AU$5,000
• Open to schools and other educational centres for children and adults alike.
• 1 x Runner-up Grant – AU$1,000
• A runner up will be selected from any of the categories above.

Over the last 14 years, Canon Oceania has supported over 75 schools, not-for-profits and community groups with more than $400,000.