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Quirky Kid was selected among the first recipients of the Australian Government’s Sector Readiness Fund, receiving a $130,000 grant to strengthen its impact measurement and investment readiness.
Announced on 17 May 2019, the grant recognised Quirky Kid as one of seven organisations with growth potential to deliver positive social outcomes. The funding enabled Quirky Kid to engage Social Impact Hub for specialist support as the organisation prepared for its next stage of growth.
At the time, Quirky Kid had already developed beyond its origins as a child psychology clinic into a broader organisation spanning psychological services, educational publishing, evidence-informed programs and digital products for children, families, schools and professionals.
Building the foundations for greater impact
The Sector Readiness Fund was designed to help established social enterprises access specialist capability-building support, attract investment, grow sustainably and increase their social impact.
For Quirky Kid, the $130,000 grant supported work with Social Impact Hub on areas including impact measurement, investment readiness and the development of a stronger framework for scaling the organisation’s work.
The Australian Government’s announcement identified Quirky Kid alongside six other organisations selected in the first round of the fund. The original announcement described Quirky Kid as providing mental health services for children alongside educational publishing services, products and software.
A period of national and international growth
The grant came during a period of significant development for Quirky Kid. The organisation was expanding its work with schools and families, participating in international education and entrepreneurship initiatives, and receiving recognition for its publishing and child-development programs.
Quirky Kid’s Basecamp® program had received the Educational Initiative Award at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards, while The Best of Friends® was continuing to expand into schools and clinics and later received independent evaluation through the University of Wollongong.
These developments reflected a broader goal that remains central to Quirky Kid’s work: combining clinical expertise, engaging resources and scalable models to make evidence-informed support available to more children and families.
Why the grant mattered
The Sector Readiness Fund was not funding for routine clinical service delivery. It was capability-building support intended to help purpose-driven organisations strengthen the systems required to grow their impact.
For Quirky Kid, the grant marked an important point in the organisation’s development, providing external recognition of both its social purpose and its potential to grow beyond traditional clinic-based service delivery.
The Australian Government’s Sector Readiness Fund later ran from 2018 to 2023, supporting established social enterprises to increase their social impact.
