This is a real, published case study, not an illustrative example. It was written by Adrian Spencer, Director of Empower Australia and Co-Founder of GrantGuru, and originally published as Partner Content in F&P (Fundraising & Philanthropy) on 17 August 2026. Read the original article on F&P →
Three million meals. One hundred volunteers. Twenty thousand gifts distributed to children. Empower Australia has grown into one of Australia's largest face-to-face food relief providers, and grants have played an important role in that journey, not as the whole story, but as one part of a much bigger funding mix.
Empower Australia was founded in 2015 in Melbourne as the community support arm of Planetshakers Church, running programs including anti-bullying work in schools, English language classes, support for families affected by incarceration, and programs for residents of large-scale public housing communities.
The Pantry: Built Under Pressure
Everything changed in 2020. As COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in demand for food relief and essential household supplies across Melbourne, Empower Australia established a small food relief centre called The Pantry. What began as a modest response quickly grew into something much larger, putting pressure on every part of the operation, from sourcing and storage through to distribution and volunteer management.
The visible queues outside The Pantry created an unexpected opportunity: a local McCain Foods executive stopped to ask what was happening. That conversation led to a long-term partnership, with McCain becoming a significant supporter of Empower's food relief work. As donations grew, Rotary stepped in to fund and donate a commercial freezer, enabling the organisation to safely store much larger volumes of food.
Where Grants Actually Fit
Since 2020, Empower Australia has secured more than $168,000 in grant funding from local councils, community foundations, corporate giving programs and government initiatives, funders including Fareshare, Good2Give, CHEP Australia, Give Where You Live, Maroondah City Council, City of Casey and City of Melbourne.
Those grants rarely funded entire programs. Instead, they provided the practical resources needed to maximise everything else already in motion: food donations are only valuable if they can be collected, stored and distributed, and volunteers can only be effective if they have the tools and infrastructure to operate safely and efficiently. As Empower expanded across multiple food relief centres, grant funding helped support the transport, equipment and distribution systems needed to move food efficiently between locations.
Grants also provided credibility. External funders recognised the value of what Empower was building, and that validation often encouraged businesses, donors and community partners to invest alongside them, opening doors well beyond the original funding amount.
Finding The Grants: GrantGuru's Role
The Empower team monitors GrantGuru email alerts daily to find relevant programs. As Adrian puts it, "it's not a magic wand, just a tool that alerts us to relevant grants, so we never miss an opportunity." From there, Empower's own CEO developed real grant-writing skill, learning to choose the right grant to apply for and to prepare successful applications, exactly the kind of skill this non-profit tool is designed to help build.
Why This Matters For Your Organisation
Grants were an important part of Empower's story, but never the whole story. The real impact came from bringing grants, partnerships, fundraising, volunteers and community generosity together into a single funding ecosystem. When those elements work together, they create outcomes far greater than any one source of support could achieve alone, and it usually starts with recognising that an everyday operational need, storage, transport, equipment, has a name in the funding world at all.
Sign up to GrantGuru now - it's free!
Already a BIG4 Fundraising sponsor benefit. Get started with the F&P GrantGuru portal today.
Sign Up Free →Facts and figures in this article are drawn from Adrian Spencer's original article, "Grants within the funding mix: a case study from Empower Australia," published by F&P (Fundraising & Philanthropy) on 17 August 2026. Read the original article →