Funding has been the single biggest challenge to not-for-profit technology work for years running. In Infoxchange’s 2025 Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector report, 59% of the 824 organisations surveyed named budget and funding their top barrier, ahead of access to affordable, skilled technical resources at 44%. Funding has ranked as the top barrier in every edition of that survey since at least 2020, and it holds at every size of organisation, from volunteer-led and very small (1 to 5 staff) groups through to very large (501+) organisations.
That challenge has a real answer in WA. Lotterywest alone distributed $151.4 million in discretionary community grants across WA in 2024-25, and grants like this exist specifically to help organisations invest in value-creating system upgrades that funding pressure would otherwise rule out.
This article gives an overview of some of the grants available to WA not-for-profits looking at custom software. It isn’t a complete list. Funding rounds open and close constantly, and eligibility depends on your organisation’s structure, size and focus. These are the three we hear about most often from not-for-profit clients scoping a software project, current as of September 2026. Check the live dates and eligibility on the funder’s own page before you apply: rounds close, amounts change, and criteria get updated. If you’re still weighing up whether custom software is the right call in the first place, our last post walks through a three-question check.
Three grants worth knowing about
- Lotterywest: best for most WA not-for-profit projects with a clear community benefit. Amount varies by program. Status (September 2026): most community grants are open year-round, with no set closing date.
- auDA Foundation Community Grant Program: digital projects specifically, but a national program narrowly targeted at organisations serving people with disability, remote communities, First Nations people, or young people aged 12 to 24. Amount not published. Status (September 2026): closed for 2026 (ran 1 to 31 August); next round expected around August 2027.
- Impact100 WA: one high-impact project addressing an underserved WA population. $100,000. Status (September 2026): the 2026 round closed 21 May; the next is expected in 2027.
Lotterywest: apply any time, for almost any WA community benefit
Lotterywest funds most of its community grants on a rolling basis, with no set closing date to work around. That makes it the easiest of the three to fit into your own project timeline rather than the other way around. It doesn’t have a dedicated technology stream, so a software project needs to be framed around the community outcome it enables (more volunteers matched, faster support, less time lost to admin), not the software itself. Some larger, earmarked Lotterywest programs run to fixed rounds instead (its current Arts and Culture Infrastructure Program, for example), so check which category your project fits. Call the Lotterywest grants team on 13 37 77 to talk through fit before you draft anything.
auDA Foundation Community Grant Program: the closest fit on paper, but national and narrow
This is the only one of the three written for digital projects specifically, which makes it worth knowing about first. The auDA Foundation Community Grant Program funds digital innovation and inclusion projects for not-for-profits and research institutions right across Australia, not WA specifically, and it prioritises organisations working with people with disability, people in rural, regional or remote Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and young people aged 12 to 24. If your organisation doesn’t serve one of those groups, it’s unlikely to be a fit. This isn’t a general-purpose technology grant for any WA not-for-profit. The 2026 round ran from 1 to 31 August and is now closed. If your project does centre on digital access or inclusion for one of those groups, it’s worth watching for the next round.
Impact100 WA: one grant, but a substantial one
Impact100 WA is philanthropic rather than government-funded, and gives out at least one $100,000 grant a year to a WA not-for-profit with an annual operating budget between $100,000 and $5 million, at least three years of operating history, and DGR/ACNC registration. It prioritises smaller, lesser-known organisations over ones that already have name recognition, and wants a project that makes a measurable difference to an underserved population, which a well-scoped software project can be, if the case is built around who it helps rather than what it runs on. See Impact100 WA for the current criteria. The 2026 round closed on 21 May; the next is expected to open in 2027.
Where else can I check for current WA grant rounds?
The WA Community Impact Hub is a good starting point for Lotterywest and Healthway funding specifically, including planning tools for scoping a project before you apply. For everything else, checking directly with the relevant department or funder is still the most reliable way to catch a round before it closes.
Before you apply
A grant application is only as strong as the budget behind it. Funders want a defined cost, not a rough guess, which means getting your software scoped and quoted before you write the application, not after you’ve won it. Our guide on How Much Does Custom Software Cost in Australia? is a reasonable starting point for sizing a project before you talk to a funder.
It’s also worth being upfront with a potential delivery partner about which grant you’re applying for and its ceiling. A good one will tell you if the project needs trimming to fit the funding, or if the funding needs stretching to fit the project, before you submit either.
Ready when you are
We’ve spent 10+ years building the systems WA not-for-profits run on, and increasingly that means a conversation about funding as well as scope. Every project starts with a fixed-fee Design Phase that produces a written scope and a real number, which is exactly the case a funder wants to see, before you write the application. If you’re weighing up a software project against a grant deadline, get in touch.