Canon Oceania 2018 Grants Program – $30,000 available

Canon Oceania has announced that its 2018 Grants Program is now open for nominations.

The program is part of Canon Oceania’s commitment to Kyosei – a founding principle of the company that means to live and work for the common good. Winners will be selected based on the positive impact their project will have on their environment or community, as well as the importance of technology for the project’s success.

More than 70 schools and not-for-profit groups have received more than $360,000 to further their causes and affect meaningful environmental, educational and societal change.

This year, Canon is offering over $30,000 worth of grants made up of both cash and Canon equipment across Australia and New Zealand*. For the first time, the wider community will be invited to vote on the finalists before the winners are announced for each sector.

“Each year we are inspired by the hard work, dedication, and selflessness of the schools and not-for-profit groups who apply for the grants. It is our great pleasure to give a these organisations a helping hand and we encourage anyone, who fits the criteria, to apply. The program is one of the many ways we have been giving back to the community; something that is intrinsic to the way we operate across the globe,” said Dave Yoshida, MD of Canon Oceania.

Previous winners include The Last Straw, that won the 2017 Environmental Grant, receiving $5000 worth of Canon multi-function printers and DSLR cameras. The devices helped them further their mission to end the use of plastic straws in venues around Australia, enabling them to create high-quality videos to raise awareness of the disastrous impact that single use plastic – especially plastic straws – has on ocean ecosystems.

Eva Mackinley, Founder of The Last Straw shared: “The grant equipment has been incredibly helpful so far. We are just in the final stages of editing three pieces of video content we were able to shoot with the Canon gear. Creating more compelling videos enables us to engage with our audience in a more powerful way, so they can truly see and understand how the straws they use are harming the environment."

The 2018 grants will be awarded under the following categories:

Australia

• 1 x Environmental Grant - AU$5,000
• 1 x Education Grant - AU$5000
• 1 x Community Grant - AU$5000
• 1 x Runner-up Grant - AU$1000

Nominations are open from Tuesday 5 June until Tuesday 19 June via canon.com.au/grants, following which nominees will receive email prompts to hand in their detailed submissions between 20 June to 20 July.

This year, the wider community will vote on finalists in August and grant winners will be announced in September.