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 31and 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.