ING DIRECT is calling on Australia’s most inspired go-getters to apply for their share of $100,000 of funding through Dreamstarter – an online initiative to get bold ideas for social change off the ground.

ING DIRECT is eager to build on its successful pilot in 2013, which helped raise over $168,000 for 15 inspiring projects covering diverse areas such as indigenous entrepreneurship, youth homelessness and environmental education.

“ING DIRECT developed Dreamstarter because we believe each and every one of us has the power to help our communities get ahead. We’re keen to enable people to bring to life their own vision for a better future and we’re really passionate about playing our part in that.” – Vaughn Richtor, CEO ING DIRECT.

“Dreamstarter has certainly captured the imagination of the community and we are proud to back such a worthwhile venture with additional funding,” said Richtor.

Through Dreamstarter, ING DIRECT provides seed funding towards selected projects or ideas that are also supported by the Australian community through crowdfunding – a model which uses the power of social media and collaboration to raise funds for projects which communities collectively wish to support.

“As Australia’s first online bank, we want to make it simple for people to connect with what the community truly values – crowdfunding is a great way to do this. Quite simply, the combined contributions from lots of people can make big things happen,” said Richtor.

ING DIRECT will support 15-20 projects by the end of the year with the average funding amount approximately $5,000.

ING DIRECT has a strong affiliation with social enterprise in Australia and projects will be selected by a panel that includes representatives from the School for Social Entrepreneurs and StartSomeGood, Dreamstarter’s crowdfunding platform partner.

Recruitment of new Dreamstarter projects will be open until July 31 and selected projects’ crowdfunding campaigns will go live in September. An additional round of funding will open in October.

Application process
Projects will be selected based on a range of factors including likely social impact, if the campaign will succeed, originality and X Factor.Applicants have the flexibility to request various funding amounts according to the size of their idea.

For selected projects, ING DIRECT will fund up to 50% of the project’s ‘tipping point’ – the amount requested for the project to kick off. This will require our ‘Dreamstarters’ to enlist the support of the broader community to ensure their project goes ahead.

For more information, visit www.ingdirect.com.au/dreamstarter

Interview opportunities and high resolution photographs available for:

• ING DIRECT, StartSomeGood and the School for Social Entrepreneurs
• Previous Dreamstarter candidates, social entrepreneurs and students from the school for social entrepreneurs, from various locations throughout Australia.

Media Contacts:

About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT changed the way Australians bank 15 years ago by launching the country’s first high interest, fee free online savings account. Since then, we’ve brought this low fee value to home loans, transactional banking and superannuation. With over 1.5 million customers – and $30 billion in savings and $38 billion in mortgages – ING DIRECT has the highest reputation of any other bank in Australia (RepTrak, Oct 2013), as well as the highest Net Promoter Score (NFSM, December 2013).
Please note ING DIRECT is never abbreviated to ING.

About StartSomeGood
StartSomeGood is a crowdfunding platform for social innovation. They aim to create an “everyone a changemaker” world, where anyone with an idea for creating a better future is empowered to make it happen. They connect your dream with the people and resources you need to make an impact. www.startsomegood.com

About the School for Social Entrepreneurs
The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Australia runs practical learning programs for entrepreneurial individuals who have an idea or start-up venture with a social or environmental benefit. www.sse.org.au