Applications for the Gottstein Trust’s 2025 capacity-building grants are open until midnight (EDST) on Monday, 27 October 2025. “Now is the time to put yourself in the running for a capacity building grant,” according to Helen Murray, the Trust’s long-time organiser. The grants, offered in three categories, are designed to advance careers across the forest products value chain.
Gottstein Trust chair Suzette Weeding noted the panel’s anticipation. “Our selection panel feels a real sense of anticipation about what applications will come in for the annual grants, and know we face tough decisions about which will receive offers.”
The 2025 grant categories are:
- Skills Development Grant: Open to professionals at any level. Eligible activities include conference fees, field trip attendance, short-course enrollments, and travel to acquire specialised skills or machinery operation expertise.
- Gottstein Scholarship: For individuals pursuing a TAFE vocational qualification or an undergraduate/postgraduate university course. Recipients may allocate funds to course-related costs or general living expenses at their discretion.
- Gottstein Fellowship: The premier award for applicants who have developed an industry-relevant research project. Proposals are assessed on topic relevance, methodology and the applicant’s capacity to deliver. Fellowships often involve international travel, with findings published in a written report. Previous projects are available at https://gottsteintrust.org/projects-reports.
“We encourage people throughout the industry to apply for these fantastic opportunities,” Weeding said, adding that individuals associated with the forest products sector—including students—can submit applications online.
“In particular, we invite company human resource/people and culture teams, business owners, company executives and managers everywhere to alert their personnel about these industry opportunities and encourage them to apply,” Weeding said. “As the Gottstein Trust does not have a large marketing budget, we do rely on the support of industry to get the word out as widely as possible”.
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by a trustee panel, and offers will be extended in December. Testimonials from past recipients, highlighting the transformative impact of the grants, are available at https://gottsteintrust.org/testimonials.
“We find it so satisfying, as trustees, to assist with a written application transitioning into a reality. Enabling someone to pursue an idea and a goal, in a way that will not only benefit the person but also the industry they are part of, is the real heart of the Gottstein Trust,” Weeding said.
For full details and application guidelines, please visit www.gottsteintrust.org.
