Charitable organizations looking for a little help are being encouraged to apply for funding from the Goettler Family Foundation.

The funds, in the form of a $5,000 grant, will be awarded to help non-governmental organizations make needed changes, whether to improve business practices, serve clients more effectively, or launch a pilot project.

“I’m excited to see who comes out to apply,” said Lauren Goettler, who along with her husband, Vaughn, created the foundation when they sold their home heating and cooling business.

“We thought it would be great to help people with the grants,” she said. “$5,000 is a lot of money for somebody with a great idea who needs help getting over the finish line.”

The foundation has helped fund a wide range of projects abroad and back home in their native Niagara-on-the-Lake: everything from supply water to villages in Africa to creating a fish farm in Bolivia.

Back home, the Goettlers most recently helped fund a film school at the Yellow Door Theatre.

The idea for the initiative, Goettler said, came from grant advisor Jodey Porter, who called it “something new and different” for the Foundation.

“We’ve kept it pretty open,” said Porter. “Our foundation is entrepreneurial philanthropy. We don’t want brass plaques. What we want is change.”

The program, she said, is meant to give organizations a boost.

“We just want to help NGOs that don’t have the latitude to do what they want.”

Organizations wishing for more information or who are interested in applying for a grant can send an email to GFFinnovation@gmail.com.

Applications should include details of what the funds would be used for and the organization’s charitable registration number.

The competition will be open from Jan. 1 to March 31. Successful applicants will be announced in April.

hutton@niagaranow.com